Part 9: 'It took 20 years, but I finally realized. It wasn't my skills that made me sell.'
This is the 9th part of the story of my sales career.
At the very beginning of this series, I said this:
“Even though I was the top in the country, I couldn't explain for 20 years why I was selling.”why I was selling”
I couldn't even write down my success stories. Do you remember that part?
Today, finally.
I will provide the answer to that.
After quitting my job and stopping to reflect, there is something I finally understood.
1. Yesterday, I met 'the me from 20 years ago' again
Just yesterday, I met a salesperson during a training session.
They were in finance, an amazing person who won a rookie award in their second year and a president's award in their fifth year.
When I asked them, 'How are you selling so well?'—
“Well, honestly, I’m just lucky.” “The people around me are incredibly kind. Thanks to them, I just ended up selling.”
…It was exactly the me from 20 years ago (laughs).
Things you do naturally and succeed at—you can't explain why they go well yourself.
Because you do them as naturally as breathing.
This isn't just about sales. Someone good at design might say, 'I don't know why my art is evaluated well.' A translator might say, 'I don't know why I get chosen. I want to know my strengths.'
From my perspective, I think, 'Your writing talent is amazing,' but they just reply, 'Oh, is it?' and it doesn't really click for them.
Your own talent is—that much of athing you do naturally.
Don't you have something like that too? Something you can't explain well even when asked, 'How can you do that?'
2. Only after hitting zero could I finally 'take stock'
When I was still active in the field, I was so desperate just to keep running that I never had time to think.
But after I quit the company, let go of everything, and started from zero.
For the first time, I was able to look at what I had done from the outside, from a bird's-eye view.from a bird's-eye viewfrom the outside.
I looked at it with a flat, neutral perspective, neither good nor bad. I took stock of things, asking myself, 'What have I actually been doing?' and 'Why was I successful?'
And then—it became clear.
Things that had been shrouded in fog and felt hazy for so long. Things I hadn't understood for 20 years.
I was finally able to put it into words.put it into wordsfinally.
3. I wasn't successful because I was good at sales
I will say this clearly.
I wasn't successful because I was good at sales.
There were plenty of people who were more eloquent than me, better at explaining things than me, or better at listening than me.
So, what was the one thing I didn't lose to others in?
One was that I was exceptionally good at getting close to people. I had the confidence that I could become friends with even the most difficult doctors.
But—the real turning pointwasn't that.
When I really started to become successful was...
Looking back—the moment I decided within myself to 'make as many patients as possible smile'it was that moment.
The moment I decided, 'What am I doing this job for?'
That was when things changed.
4. I saw the 'same scenery' as the doctors
Ever since I decided to 'make patients smile'.
I became able to see the same scenery as the doctors.
The doctors, too, think, 'I want to make my patients smile,' and 'I want to help the person in front of me get better.'
From that same perspective, I became able to think together with them.
It wasn't about 'I want to sell this medicine.' It was about, 'How can I help this patient in front of me get better? What can I do to make that happen?'—I would think about that, facing the same direction as the doctor.
I couldn't help but enjoy that.
And when you are trusted—well, you end up selling.
How is trust born? When I think about it, it is born when you can see the same goal together, isn't it?
…But, this. At the time, I was doing it completely unconsciously. I wasn't doing it consciously. That's why I couldn't explain it.
5. 'Conviction' cannot be written in a manual
Here—the mystery from Part 1 is completely solved.
Why couldn't I write down my success stories?
The answer was simple.
What made me sell was my 'conviction'.
And—conviction cannot be written in a manual.
'I genuinely want to make the patient smile'—can you write this in a success story? You can't, right? Because it's not a technique, there was no way to write it down.
And why was it that even when I taught all my secrets, they weren't stolen from me (this is from Part 5)?
That was for the same reason.
Because the conviction and the passion were mine.
Even if I taught the same words, other people wouldn't be able to feel them with the same passion and the same conviction as I did. That is why—my 'feelings' could not be copied.
And this is a very important point.
Beliefs, passions, and enthusiasm—everyone has them, and they are different for everyone. That is the case.
Which means.
You, who are reading this right now, also have something that is uniquely yours. That is what it means.
6 | It wasn't my skills that made me waver, it was my 'passion'
This was a huge realization for me.
For 20 years, I had been trying to polish my 'sales skills.' Better ways of speaking. Sales pitches that sell more. I thought about it so much.
But—the answer wasn't there.
My greatest weapon wasn't in my techniques. It was in 'what I truly desire.'
Now, interacting with various salespeople, I truly think so.
Everyone has mastered the techniques. Everyone can explain and ask questions to a certain extent.
But, ultimately, what is missing?
It's the foundation.
'What am I doing this for?' 'What are my beliefs?' 'What do I value?'
People who have decided these things. People who have an unwavering core—are the strongest.
I truly believe that from the bottom of my heart.
Your talent lies dormant within your 'taken-for-granted' self
That is why I want to ask you today.
You definitely have talents that you don't even notice because they are too natural to you.
Things you do without any effort. Things people ask you, 'Why are you able to do that?'
—Don't you have things like that?
It can be something incredibly small.
Being told, 'I always find myself wanting to consult you,' is also a talent. 'You're fast at doing detailed work,' or 'Thank you for noticing even that'—all of these are sources of talent.
Please let me know in the comments. What is something you 'do without any effort'?
It took me 20 years to find the answer to this.
But—I don't think you need to spend 20 years on it.
Now, finally, next time.
It is the final episode.
The answer to 'why I became successful' was 'conviction.' It had been there all along, in the ordinary.
But—realizing this conviction brings mean even bigger change.
I have lived my whole life competing with others, aiming to be number one.
But when I realized this 'ordinary talent'—I was able to stop competing.
And then, I arrived at one answer.
That is thetrue conclusionof this long series.
I will share it in the final episode next time. Please follow and stay tuned.
Lastly.
Your 'ordinary talent'—you cannot see it yourself.
After all, I couldn't see mine for 20 years either.
That is why you need someone to find it from the outside.
Let me find your talent for you just once.
Let's find your greatest weapon together, which lies dormant in the things you 'do without any effort.' Once you know that, you won't have to compete with others anymore. It will make things so much easier.
A 60-minute free session, or even 30 minutes is fine. Please feel free to join.
▶️ [60-minute free] Click here to book a dialogue session to unlock your talent
Thank you for reading until the end today as well.
Well then, it's finally tomorrow. See you in the final installment.
