Your Personal Purchasing Preferences Are Not a Sales Methodology.

Saw this gem this morning.

And at first glance it SOUNDS like a healthy promotion of being integral and taking accountability as a sales pro.

It's not.

First of all. You have to consider the source. This came straight out of a sales trainer's mouth. How convenient that he just HAPPENS to sell the sales training he says you're a hypocrite for not buying. Cheeky.

Moving on.

This argument is of the lowest quality. It's a logical fallacy. It's what's called "non sequitur." Which in plain English refers to a statement, conclusion, or response that does not logically follow from the previous statement or question.

"I wouldn't buy this, therefore you shouldn't sell it."

That conclusion doesn't follow from that premise.

If this was ACTUALLY true, nearly every salesperson on the planet would be automatically DISQUALIFIED.

The "congruence" argument says if YOU wouldn't buy it, you have no business selling it. Cool... so YOUR preferences are the standard for everyone else's purchasing decisions now?

Whether or not you would buy something has absolutely ZERO bearing on whether it's right for the prospect. Zero. Mutually exclusive.

Their situation is not your situation. Their goals are not your goals. Their resources are not your resources. Their timing is not your timing.

"But Zach... if you wouldn't buy it, how can you sell it in good conscience?"

Put your shirt back on and listen. I'll tell you.

Because selling has nothing to do with ME. Never did.

Does a surgeon need to operate on himself to know the procedure works? No. That's absurd. He doesn't need to have been a patient to care about or understand outcomes and what's best for someone else. He needs to be competent. Honest. And actually invested in the patient themselves.

Same principle.

GOOD selling is about discerning whether something is right for THEM. Not running every prospect through the filter of "well I would personally spend this money so you should too."

"But if you really believe in it, why WOULDN'T you buy it?"

Because BELIEVING in something and being the RIGHT buyer for it are two COMPLETELY different things.

I can believe a $50k mastermind delivers massive value for a founder doing $2M/year. That doesn't mean I need to buy it myself to know that. I'm not doing $2M/year. It's not FOR me. But I can absolutely identify who it IS for and sell it with full conviction.

The qualification to sell isn't whether YOU'D buy it. It's whether you understand the outcome and care enough to be honest about who it's actually for.

THAT'S the distinction the "congruence" gooroos don't want you to see. Because the second you see it, their argument folds like a piece of paper.

And while we're being frank with each other. Do you know what their pitch ACTUALLY sounds like?

"I invested in myself, so you should invest in yourself. And once you do... you can tell the next person to invest in themselves."

Ring around the rosey. In my world I call that a sneaky lil' network marketing downline in disguise. A pyramid scheme.

We've moved from selling a SOLUTION, to selling the sale. Which is the classic bad version of MLM.

The "congruence" crowd deliberately collapses believing in your product and buying it yourself into one thing because it gives them emotional AMMUNITION. It turns what's SUPPOSED to be a simple purchasing decision into a test of one's character.

And THAT'S where the manipulation shows up, intentional or not.

REAL "congruence?" Caring more about the person in front of you than the commission behind them (Philippians 2:3-4). Telling someone "this isn't for you right now" when it's true... even when your pipeline is dry.

THAT'S integrity.

Your personal purchasing preferences are not a sales methodology. Gaslighting people is not congruence.

To the gooroos with a platform. We see you. Do better.