You Don't Have to Love Sales

I'm reading New Sales. Simplified. by Mike Weinberg right now.

Early in the book, he says something simple and direct:

"I love sales."

And my immediate reaction was: Well... I don't.

I never have.

That doesn't mean I don't respect sales. It doesn't mean I'm bad at it. And it definitely doesn't mean I think it's optional.

It just means I've never enjoyed the act of selling.

For a long time, I thought that was something I needed to fix (or hide). Like maybe I wasn't a "real" sales instructor if I didn't love it.

But here's the realization that matters more:

You don't have to love sales to do it well.

And more importantly, you don't have to become someone you're not in order to sell.

The Lie That Pushes People Away From Selling

A lot of sales education quietly sends this message:

"Once you understand sales, you'll love it."

For some people, that's true.

For many others, especially thoughtful, relationship-oriented, non-Type-A people, it's not.

And when loving sales is positioned as the goal, people who don't feel that way assume:

• They're broken
• They're not cut out for business
• Or they're doing it wrong

That's not the problem.

The real problem is confusing enjoyment with competence.

What Actually Matters Instead

You don't need to love sales.

You need:

• A process you can rely on when emotions get in the way
• Language that feels natural coming out of your mouth
• A way to sell that doesn't feel manipulative or performative

Sales doesn't need to feel fun. It needs to feel clear, ethical, and repeatable.

I don't enjoy selling in the same way some people do. But I do enjoy:

• Helping someone think clearly
• Diagnosing a real problem
• Offering something that genuinely helps

That's enough.

Why I'm Owning This Publicly

I'm not here to turn you into someone who "loves sales."

I'm here to help you:

• Stop avoiding it
• Stop fearing it
• Stop believing you have to fake confidence or enthusiasm
• Start growing your business and reaching your dreams

If you already love sales, you probably don't need this.

But if you've always thought, "I know this matters... I just wish it didn't feel so uncomfortable," then you're exactly who should keep reading.

The Takeaway

Sales isn't a personality trait. It's a skill.

You don't have to like it. You just have to learn how to do it in a way that doesn't violate who you are.

That's approachable entrepreneurship.

This article first appeared in my LinkedIn newsletter, Approachable Entrepreneurship.

Want a process you can lean on when you'd rather not be selling?

That's exactly what How to Sell When You Hate to Sell gives you: the N.I.C.E. method, clear and repeatable, built for people who will never love sales but still want to be good at it.

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