Quelle est l'importance de la relation à l'argent en ventes

When tourists arrive in a country that is less economically developed than their country of origin, one of the things they find difficult is knowing the true cost of things. For example, I just spent two weeks in Morocco. Naturally, the cost of living is much lower than in London. Morocco is a very safe country. But, and this is part of the game, when tourists arrive, they have to deal with local merchants. Who are, of course, economic agents. And seek to maximise their interactions...

So during my first few days, paying 150 dirhams for lunch, the equivalent of €15, wasn't a big deal. I suspected I was paying more than I should, but I didn't know exactly how much. When I realised that lunch on the street cost me around 20/30 dirhams, my relationship with money adapted to local standards. And when I bought my pain au chocolat for one dirham, I finally understood the local scale...

The same applies in sales. But in reverse. Let me explain.

The influence of childhood.

As we grow up, those around us constantly and subtly influence our relationship with money. Put simply, there are two types of messages that are conveyed during childhood:

1- The first type of message is "You have to be careful with money, there isn't much of it." Typically, in France, parents have ready-made phrases such as "It doesn't say Rothschild on the door." Or "Money doesn't grow on trees." From a behavioural point of view, children observe their parents being careful with spending, etc.

2- The other category is, of course, the direct opposite. The messages are more along the lines of "you have to spend money to make money", "you never see a safe following a hearse", "there's plenty of money out there", etc. And children observe their parents, who have no problem spending money.

This is important to understand because sales professionals have to constantly talk about money. And therefore they bring their acquired money concepts in their day to day job when selling products and services.

This relationship with money can be problematic for professionals involved in selling products and services that will, for example, reach sums of 2x, 3x or tenfold more than the equivalent of their annual salaries.

What should I do?

The subject of money is far too complex to be covered in a short blog post, but there are three important things that can help salespeople better manage conversations that touch on financial matters.

• Understanding and working on the mindset of salespeople. It is possible to identify limiting thoughts or salespeople's relationship with money. To do this, I recommend an OMG assessment, either by contacting me directly or by downloading examples here (in English by default, but also available in French). Once you understand their relationship with money, it is important to work on it through regular coaching.

• Implement regular coaching. All research shows that salespeople who are coached regularly outperform those who are not, both in terms of motivation (+19%) and responsibility (+34%). For more information, download the data on coaching here. When it comes to money, it is important that salespeople are able to distinguish between, for example, the sums discussed with prospects – which are paid by one company to another – and the amounts earned by the salesperson – which are paid to an individual.

• Teach techniques. Even if a salesperson has the right mindset when it comes to money and receives regular coaching, they do not automatically have the right techniques for discussing financial matters. It is therefore also important to teach the right techniques and reinforce them through ongoing coaching.