One of my favorite first assignments when working with a new client is deceptively simple: allow someone the opportunity to sell you something. On the surface, it sounds easy enough. We encounter salespeople constantly in our daily lives, yet most of us are expertly trained to avoid them. We ignore, deflect, or say “no” before they’ve finished their first sentence. In effect, we treat salespeople like professional pariahs. We avoid eye contact, speed up our pace, or prepare our polite escape before the pitch even begins. To be fair, I understand the resistance. Time is precious, and some interactions can feel uncomfortable or intrusive. But if you work in sales—or any customer-facing role—you may be approaching this experience entirely the wrong way. Allowing someone the opportunity to sell you something does not mean buying anything or leading them on. It simply means doing the one thing we all ask for as salespeople: listening.
So why do I make this a required exercise? There are two clear reasons. First, some of the best sales training I’ve ever received came from observing real salespeople in real situations and reflecting afterward. You start asking questions like, “What did she do that worked really well?” or “That approach felt awkward—do I ever come across that way?” You begin coaching in your own head. If you were their sales manager, what feedback would you give? Over time, this reflection develops a strong internal coach—one that sharpens your awareness and polishes your technique in ways formal training rarely can. The second reason is more philosophical. As salespeople, we want to be treated with dignity and respect. We want people to give us a chance, hear us out, and consider what we offer. Yet we often deny that same courtesy to others in our profession. It’s not unlike a server who goes out to eat and treats the waitstaff poorly. If we want the world to meet us with respect, we should extend it to our sales counterparts. If you decide to try this—and I strongly recommend it—here are five things to pay attention to during the experience.
- Notice how quickly you form judgments – Pay attention to your initial reactions. Awareness of bias helps you manage it in your own sales conversations.
- Observe how questions are used – Good salespeople ask thoughtful questions. Poor ones talk too much. Which category do you fall into?
- Pay attention to tone and pacing – How does their energy make you feel? Engagement often has more to do with delivery than content.
- Reflect on what built—or broke—trust – Trust is fragile. Identify the moments that strengthened or weakened it during the interaction.
- Practice the courtesy you want returned – Listening costs little, but it builds empathy and professional respect that carries into your own work.
