Other people start a business of their own with a different ap-
proach. Their reasoning may go something like this: “I have friends
with their own business. They have told me how difficult selling is.
So I will sell high-ticket items. This way, even if I have trouble sell-
ing, I can make a living with just one or two transactions per month.
I will become a real estate agent!” This decision puts you in shaded
area 2, where the price of the item makes the selling emotionally in-
tense and, once again, the learning is more difficult.
Another group of people may decide to avoid their own busi-
ness completely and look for a job instead. Job search places them
in shaded area 3 on the diagram. Here the salesperson and the
product are identical. Personal content is maximized. No wonder
job search is so overwhelming.
None of this is to say that operating in shaded areas 1, 2, or 3 is
bad. However, the emotional intensity of selling in these areas
makes the process unduly difficult to learn. If you are currently en-
gaged in selling activities in categories 1, 2, or 3, it is not necessary
to cease these in order to improve your selling skills.
Mistakes of the New Salesperson 215FIGURE 13.2 Sales Ability by Type