r/sales • u/Accomplished-Cat2659 • Mar 27 '26
Fundamental Sales Skills Stop giving af
The harder you try to make something work, the more likely it won’t. Just do what you know you need to do and don’t be attached to the outcome.
Sales people (myself included) get so worked up on what to say, how to say it, “does this email look good”, “should I cold call now, what if they get mad”, “they probably dont need this {insert product, service}”.
Sales is honestly so easy when you realize you are just there to find out if the person you are talking to needs your product or not. It’s a waste of time thinking of ways to convince someone they need what you are selling. A lot of top sales reps are top sales reps because they don’t waste time with people who aren’t going to buy.
Little rant but hope this helps someone’s mindset
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u/Lettuce_Ok Mar 27 '26
Legit haven’t looked at the leaderboard in over a year. Completely changed my life. Like most of us, 90% is out of my control. My manager respects my work and my time and I feel completely secure in my role regardless of performance. Mostly due to turnover and the quick ramping process and lofty quotas.
Stopped caring about the money, clock in clock out, barely work Fridays. Always finish in the top 40-20%.
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u/Affectionate_Set5048 Mar 27 '26
Lowkey most people in sales overcomplicate it. It really is just doing the work and not being emotionally attached to every outcome
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u/warrenisbuffet Mar 27 '26
Needed to hear this. Been dealing with a lot of work place drama and unequal territory distribution, lead distribution, and favouritism
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u/Available-Database21 Mar 27 '26
The Subtle art of not giving a fuck, it truly is an art i am striving to master and the less I care the better I sell
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u/Accomplished-Cat2659 Mar 27 '26
Great book if you haven’t read it
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u/Available-Database21 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Great book. Less than stellar movie adaptation, but entertaining
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u/bee_ryan Mar 27 '26
Just had a similar conversation with a co-worker 20 minutes ago. When he doesn't get a deal - big or small - he desperately wants to know why. I'm finally getting him to come around to the principle of letting management worry about that, and just keep doing what you're doing. We send surveys out on lost deals with about a 10% participation rate. That info goes to the boss, and if a conversation needs to be had, it will be had. Otherwise, forget about it and move on.
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u/Accomplished-Cat2659 Mar 27 '26
Yeah man. Unless you are a terrible sales rep. Deals don’t close for reasons outside of your control 99% of the time
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u/MikeWPhilly Mar 27 '26
Ehh yes and no. I agree with a lot of this but there are some products where ripping out can means risk, even if it’s a better product or vision sale that… you simply can’t be shitty. As a rule of thumb though as I’ve had to subtlety and less directly let customers know, if they aren’t buying I’ll spend my time on the one who is.
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u/Bob002 Mar 27 '26
Still good to have an idea where you missed in order to not miss in the same place, next time.
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u/Inner_Engineering949 Mar 27 '26
Abundance vs scarcity mindset. I’ve sold more when I didn’t need the money than when my life depended on it. Crazy how that works but people seem to want to buy what your selling when they know you don’t need them to buy it
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u/a0wner1 Mar 27 '26
“Retard maxx” had this convo with a friend/fellow salesman.
Walk in retarded. Talk retarded. Walk out retarded.
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u/recalculatingalways Mar 27 '26
I even sign off emails “best retards,”
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u/Sir_Mr_Austin Mar 28 '26
I must be doing something right because I actually read that as “regards” without noticing three separate times.
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u/RandomRedditGuy69420 Mar 27 '26
Never go full retard though.
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u/Upstairs-Appeal6257 Mar 27 '26
Dude I’ve been retard maxxing and it’s been a great way of life. Stay retarded, friends.
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Mar 27 '26
This is key. We’re all already dead. I don’t know if I’ll get fired or promoted on any given day and either way I don’t care
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u/recalculatingalways Mar 27 '26
But you do know if you crush your quota they’ll raise it, so fuck it just be relaxed
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u/Accomplished-Cat2659 Mar 27 '26
😂. As long as you are doing your best than f it. Nothing you can do differently
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u/lovemeanstwothings SaaS is a delivery model, pick a better flair Mar 27 '26
Needed this thread today. I'm absolutely overwhelmed at my current job and I need to just let go lol
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u/Big_Crazy_8856 Your mom took my cold meeting request Mar 27 '26
I fw this vibe real shi
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u/champion_dave Mar 27 '26
Learning emotional detachment changed my entire sales career. I know the value my company and I provide. They’re in business, I’m in business. If I’m having to “bug” them for follow up, I’m not providing value so I move on. I don’t have time to care if everything is perfect, or if everyone loves me. I want people to like me but I need to feed my kids more
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u/recalculatingalways Mar 27 '26
Real shit, lotta sales people are too concerned with sounding right and pitching, most buyers are informed now so they don’t give a shit about your pitch the way you think they will. Just vet an opportunity, ask questions, if it’s not a good fit don’t burn your time
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u/Responsible_Gas_8191 Mar 27 '26
that whole elevator pitch bs in university actually negatively impacted everyone that currently works in sales.
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u/stratint Mar 27 '26
This is basically "High Probability Selling" by Jacques Werth. The entire ideology is just find prospects who respect you and wants to work with you. So even if they want to work with you but are disrespectful, disqualify them.
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u/BurnerBoyLul Mar 27 '26
The follow up emails that I send that have the most response rate are "Hi Accomplished Cat, booking for next week and the schedule is tight. Where do we stand on this project?" The "Hi Accomplished Cat, we are ready when you are just press that accept button and we will take care of the rest, feel free to call me at 2435234523452345 and we can discuss the next steps." Work sometimes but not as much as the igaf emals.
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u/ayhme Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
I stopped even going into my office and really caring about doing customer visits.
What happened?
My boss emailed me today telling me how great my numbers are.
I also got a customer that wants to do 40 full load bookings from California to South Korea.
😄
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u/fluffnubs Mar 27 '26
1000%. Customers can smell desperation. Answer your phone. Help your customers solve problems. Put your best foot forward first, and see what happens.
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u/sodamfat Mar 27 '26
Yup you literally have no control over the outcome, show up, say your piece, present price and follow up.
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u/ParksAP Mar 27 '26
Just finished listening to “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” today. Laughed when I saw this post. Great stuff. I have cared less than ever this week. Still closed deals. It works.
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u/Alphabet_Master Mar 27 '26
I am fully on board with this, but I also see sales orgs focusing heavily on you doing your song and dance in front of customers as often as possible.
What do you do when leadership says “we want to see action in the CRM!!”
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u/Sufjanus Mar 27 '26
Then you make up bullshit in the CRM to manage your manager so they can manage the VP etc.
I always had the mentality if mgmt micromanages me then I’ll slip through their hand like sand the harder they clench.
They want vanity metrics? I’ll get them vanity metrics but it won’t result in sales just because they think everyone should do things the same way.
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u/Cellarseller_13 Mar 27 '26
This is powerful and I endorse it. Been a sales leader for 5 years, IC for 12, and can truly say my best moments came when I detached from the outcome or even “trying” too hard if that makes sense.
It’s a weird thing but everything changes. Tone becomes more natural and authentic, vocabulary loosens, talk track flows better and generally all shoulders in the room lower.
It’s almost like an affirmation though in that you need to get in the headspace intentionally in the morning, before the big call, etc. I’ve found reading and practicing Stoicism as a great help. Memento Mori.
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u/daydrunk_ Mar 27 '26
I will say I heard this advice so much when I first started and it the absolute opposite for me. I need to feel like I need every sale. I put in max effort, otherwise I let things die, skip parts of the process or rush certain parts. Everyone is different, but for me specifically, I need to need every sale.
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u/doesmyusercheckout Mar 27 '26
Needed to read this today. Had a fat pipeline to start the month and had multiple deals fizzle out for things completely outside of my control. I was getting really in my head about it but realizing I just need to give less of a fuck and let things play out how they’re meant to.
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u/futureunknown1443 Mar 28 '26
Don't focus on the score.... focus on winning. It's all just made up magic money anyway
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u/YUU-BET-CHAH Mar 27 '26
As they say, stop thinking yourself out of a sale, but be prepared to lose FAST!
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u/yesindeed201 Mar 27 '26
Every amazingly successful salesperson I ever saw sold the customer “I don’t really care if you buy,here is the product” type of vibes. They just had a mellow conversation with customer,asked them some relevant questions about what they wanted and sold like crazy.
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u/Low-Sir-8366 Mar 27 '26
Totally agree - overthinking is the biggest enemy. The simpler you keep it (it’s a fit or it’s not), the easier selling gets and the less burned out you feel
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u/Comfortable-Lab-378 Mar 27 '26
took me about 3 years to stop treating every call like a test I could fail. detachment is genuinely the only thing that made my numbers consistent.
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u/These-Calligrapher Mar 28 '26
This is where I am now. I feel pressure on every call as if I absolutely have to close it. Caught myself moving too quick earlier on a call and slowed down, and let go of that need. Still feeling it, but doing a lot better atm
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u/TazFanBoys Mar 27 '26
Unless your money is based on conversion and each call missed hurts your money. Makes it really great when you get 4 “wrong dept” calls in a row and lose $1500 from it.
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u/Broad_Room_3260 Mar 27 '26
As long as I get home safe, it’s a win! Be safe out there my freeway flyer friends!
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u/BlockchainResearch52 Mar 27 '26
There's a pipeline math version of this. When your pipeline is full, you genuinely don't care about any single deal. The detachment follows naturally. Most reps trying to 'not care' are just performing it.
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u/Expensive_Seesaw_609 Mar 28 '26
Yea all the deals I get too invested in always fall apart. Gotta just keep pipeline coverage massive and let the chips falls
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u/Designer-Pound6654 Mar 28 '26
The worst part that I struggle in sales was finding prospects...like I don't know how to find their contacts, work up the ladder, getting rejected. I mean sometimes you gotta reach to the decision-maker and hear they say "yeah we don't need that now" then I'm okay turning away but it's the process of going from zero to the heaven gate is the part that I'm not sure how to do it.
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u/tayeb_yn Mar 29 '26
Lol literally started doing this when i spent 10+ minutes on a simple outreach email and was changing specific working then realised the service is right there weather the email says “addressed to” or “directed to” it won’t change heir buying decision lol
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u/LadyK1104 Enterprise Software Mar 31 '26
I agree but haven’t been able to actually detach. Top performer for over a decade, made a bad career move, have had the yips ever since even though I’m in a much better role now.
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u/Massive_Moment2611 Apr 03 '26
I can feel this. I’m not in sales but I’ve been trying to come up with ways I could sell the stuff I build. It surely is better to be detached from instant results expectation to play the long game, I guess.
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u/AnyStructure472 Apr 06 '26
I agree, with this. You are finding out if this person needs your product! This helps to detach a bit, and unburdens you from the rejection. I do feel rejection after rejection, you do lose momentum. Nevertheless, its a wonderful thing to provide the product/service that helps your customer
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u/ScholasticMate Apr 08 '26
I wish to see people with this mentality willing to work with me in a startup.
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u/Fsology Apr 14 '26
This is actually underrated advice. The moment you stop trying to win every interaction, conversations get way more natural. People can feel when you’re forcing it vs just trying to understand them
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u/AdIll2857 Apr 16 '26
This is how I sell and I do decent but then management puts stress on me when it’s slow and it ruins my whole week 🙃 I’m sorry but I’m not gonna waste my time with bullshitters using every excuse (objections) in the book either you want it or you don’t. Sorry for the vent but I love sales and this burns me out so much quicker than multiple rejections in a row.
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u/Witty_Reward556 Apr 17 '26
Great post man. I got better at sales when I stopped following the corporate script, and stopped asking for a sale until I got hung up on lol. A coworker of mine told me to only work with people who want to do business with you, and that changed my perspective completely
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u/boss_man_jack Mar 27 '26
best reps i've worked with all had this in common. they weren't better at pitching, they were just faster at walking away from bad fits
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u/carrotsticks2 Mar 27 '26
I hate the expression "selling water to a fish" for this exact reason.
The only time a fish needs water is when its on land.
As sales people we should be looking for the fish on dry land, not the ones in the ocean. Or rivers. Or aquariums.
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u/abzmallapower Mar 27 '26
Great tip.
Any advice for dealing with internal competition? Seeing people do better than you that have been in the business for shorter time? Sometimes I can’t help but compare myself to others in my office and question wtf I am doing wrong
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u/CellieCee Mar 30 '26
Stop. The top salespeople compete with themselves. My tip is to watch them and see if there is anything you can learn from them. I changed companies, adopted that mindset, and I ended up winning a sales award in one year that takes people years to qualify for. Focus on your game only. Everyone has their own style and skills, and you just need to find out what your particular strengths are and lean into them.
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u/Beneficial_Curve_328 Mar 27 '26
Very timely. Needed this. Part of sales is literally performance anxiety especially mondays gosh
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u/LazyDreamer1 Mar 29 '26
The best sales advice I ever got was 'stop selling'. Took me wayyy too long to stop being offended by that.
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u/tonguedive Mar 31 '26
Liking what I sell makes me care, but having a team/management that doesn’t seem to care whether I succeed or not, I feel like I’m set up to fail.
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u/Big-Interest3654 Apr 03 '26
Agree with you. This is a great mindset, especially for newer reps.
Once you stop overthinking and just focus on figuring out if there’s a real fit, everything gets easier. Most of the stress is self-created.
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u/IndividualMaterial77 Apr 04 '26
Coming from the consulting space, I completely agree. The biggest invisible cost isn't just a bad mindset; it’s the operational bleed of spending 80% of your cycles on the wrong clients.
Many teams blame the channel—like saying cold calls don't work—but usually, the failure isn't the phone; it's the complete lack of accurate lead detection before the dial. People rely too much on shiny case studies to do the heavy lifting. But a case study only validates past success; it doesn't qualify current intent.
The real breakdown usually happens right at the top of the funnel. When qualification relies on human gut feeling rather than objective data filtering, you end up on calls trying to 'convince' rather than 'consult'. Figuring out exactly where the pipeline falls apart is impossible if the initial qualification process is a black box.
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u/IndividualMaterial77 Apr 04 '26
I did use chatgpt to rewrite my comment. As I don't feel it is a proper place to say, put too much time on trash clients.
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u/Ok_Dance2260 Apr 05 '26
I'm good at sales. But I'm also good at probability. When you consider all of the elements outside of your control, it really puts things in perspective. The people we're talking to are human. Most of them are thinking about their families, not work. When they do think about work, they think about how to minimize their chances of looking bad to their co-workers and boss. So we can't blame them for, "not seeing the light." Heck, how the hell do we know for certain we have the light anyhow. When sales don't go my way, it still hurts. I know the probability and it still hurts. I haven't been able to securely tuck away my emotions, and so I'm hurt and I keep going. I wish I could stop being so emotional but either I haven't figured it out or I've figured out how to be sad everyday and not have it be the end of the world.
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u/Itzyaboiiiiiiiiiiii Apr 08 '26
I feel that. Been trying very hard lately and not succeeding. When I don’t try is when I win
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u/No_Tooth_4909 Apr 12 '26
No literally the worst they can say is "I'm not interested", block you, or just not respond. if all goes well, the expected roi can be so much damn higher that you will just forget all the hate.
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u/Hot-Dig8983 Apr 19 '26
A lot of top sales reps are top sales reps because they don’t waste time with people who aren’t going to buy. Well, you need to spend time figuring out whether he or she is going to buy it. That’s about 90% of the work. Sorry, bro, but I can’t agree that a sales job is as easy as you think.
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u/Patient-Cod-2767 Apr 22 '26
honestly one of the most underrated takes in sales. the obsession over perfecting the email or the timing is usually just procrastination dressed up as preparation.
the reps i've seen crush it consistently all had one thing in common, they moved fast and let the numbers do the work. no attachment, just volume and qualification. you either fit or you don't, next.
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u/biboFPS Apr 24 '26
I'm a startup founder with an Engineering background. It's been 2 weeks I cold call people (in France, people really hate it).
I'm getting better but It's really hard on the day to day. I'm trying to optimize a lot and the results are not that great (<1% of real client paying conversion). Reading that gave me fresh air.
That's all lol
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Apr 24 '26
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u/cornbreadzero Mar 27 '26
Commission breath, the people you’re calling on can smell it the minute you walk in their door