How to Read Between the Lines of a Sales Job...Read More
It’s true that every new relationship starts with doubt.
Doubt about your prospect, doubt if you can meet their needs, doubt if this is a client you should invest your time in.
They, of course, have doubts about you, too. Does your solution solve their problems? Are they getting your best pricing? Is your company going to be there if things go south? Should they be looking at this solution or something else?
So, if you’re struggling to sell your company’s solutions and doubt beyond the normal baseline threshold is starting to impact your performance, ask yourself—should you be selling for a competitor instead?
Can you sell something you don’t believe in?
Sure you can! But the question is, should you?
Probably not.
Here’s why: when people meet, communication occurs at several levels simultaneously.
So, it makes sense to sell solutions you believe in, because this is what will be communicated congruently at all levels to the customer.
But, if you feel like you’re offering an inferior solution every time a competitor comes up in a deal cycle, similarly, it will be communicated to the prospect through your behavior.
You may not notice, but your tone of voice will be neutral and not too convincing.
You’ll ask for commitment once but rarely twice. The customer will ask for a discount, and you’ll almost always immediately comply.
They’ll push you on features and benefits, and you’ll waffle and constantly acquiesce.
And this – is the problem.
You don’t have to be cheerleader-ish and overly enthusiastic about your product’s strengths and weaknesses, but if you consistently feel like the competitor has the better solution for your target clients, it’s worth considering a move.
One rep we know lost more than half of his deals to one specific competitor. If they were under consideration by his prospect, he lost to them. Every single time.
This became bad for his own personal morale. So, he decided it was time to move companies.
Whether the competitor was better or not (at least half the reps on his team were able to beat the competition with regularity), the rep convinced himself they were.
But he’d lost too many deals to this company.
So after he made the move to sell for the competitor, he went from feeling like he was forcing deals that didn’t make sense to a 65% win rate. He not only made more money with the competitor, but his confidence rebounded.
He left every client meeting “knowing” he was offering “the best solution,” which wound up being the product he truly believed in.
He went from navigating sales calls with hesitation to focusing on strategy, stronger relationships with buyers, and consistently outperforming his previous targets.
Sales reps who truly believe in their product sell more, close faster, and negotiate better deals. Buyers can tell when a rep is just going through the motions.
If you’re hesitant on sales calls, struggling to defend your product, or secretly thinking, I wouldn’t buy this either; it will show up in your performance.
Your commission checks will suffer, and your prospects will leave calls with you feeling too neutral to take the next steps. Your deals will stall, and you’ll wonder why you are frequently ‘ghosted.’ And unfortunately, no amount of sales training, magic words, or weekly meetings can fix this kind of broken-belief.
That said, just because another product is “better” doesn’t mean you can’t succeed where you are. The best product doesn’t automatically win. Average companies buy average solutions every day. Plus, buyers buy for their own reasons, and the best product for one customer isn’t the best product for another.
Buying software is about more than technical superiority, it’s about fit, timing, relationships, and execution. If you can frame your offering effectively, meet your buyer’s needs, and close deals, you don’t need the “best” solution.
You just need the right solution for your customer. This is, after all, why salespeople lead prospects through discovery.
Salespeople love debating which product is objectively better, but buyers don’t always see it that way. They care to different degrees about risk, ease of implementation, pricing flexibility, communication, and trust.
Your product might be “better” on paper, but if buyers prefer the competitor because their sales team clearly communicates value, you’ve lost.
You’ll lose the deal if your company has better marketing but poor accessibility—if prospects can never reach anyone.
The takeaway?
Your job isn’t to sell the best product—it’s to sell the product better.
If you can’t convince yourself that you believe in what you are selling – no one else will believe it either. Some reps hesitate because they feel like they’re not the most charismatic or the most polished. But here’s the thing: you don’t have to be the best to be successful.
Let’s look at Walmart.
“Walmart is top-notch.” said no one ever.
But Millions of people shop there every day! Not because it’s sparkling clean, attracts high-end customers, or the product selection is first-rate, but because it meets a need summed up clearly in their famous slogan: “everyday low prices.”
And Walmart meets this need better than anyone else. In fact, Walmart’s current market valuation was pushed above 800B in Q1 of 2025.
The same applies to sales. The most important thing is whether you can solve your customer’s problems in a way that resonates with them and their specific situation. If you can do that, you’ll close deals.
If you’re eyeing a competitor because their product is objectively better, make sure the grass is actually greener.
A stronger product doesn’t guarantee an easier job—sometimes, it just means a higher quota.
So, before you make the leap, evaluate the selling context and do your homework during the interview process.
Without a doubt, your competitor will have flaws.
And although they may not have a swath of product-focused problems, there will be challenges.
But if you have to pick your hard, almost anything is better than not believing in what you’re selling.
If you can only sell when your product is clearly the market leader, you’re not developing true sales skills. The best salespeople succeed because they understand how to navigate buyer psychology, position value, and drive urgency—even with imperfect and flawed products.
In fact, one way to improve your selling skills is to get good at selling a commodity. (Proven copier reps have a reputation for being successful for a reason.)
As a salesperson, this forces you to develop strong sales skills, and to identify differentiators outside of the product to stand out and demonstrate value.
The best product isn’t always the one that wins.
The best salesperson usually does.
If you find yourself constantly struggling to position your solution—if every deal feels like an uphill battle because you know deep down your competitor is the better choice—maybe it’s time to interview with your competitors.
But if the real issue is you’re waiting for the perfect product, you’re missing the bigger picture.
Sales has always been messy, and that will never change.
And it’s easy to get discouraged as a seller because most of the effort you make will never pay off. Emails go unanswered, clients ghost, meetings get canceled, deals fall through at the 11th hour—this is sales.
There will be problems – appearing with great frequency and large variety.
But if you want to make a career out of sales, the one problem you can never outsell is your own belief. Ultimately, to be successful, you must sell something you believe in.
If that means going to a competitor, go.
It might mean shifting your perspective, doubling down where you are, or adjusting your approach. If this is your path, allocate and invest time developing your belief in your product: review case studies, pore over client testimonials, and get to know your client success team.
Believing in what you sell keeps you on track toward your goals. When you’re aligned with your product, win rates improve naturally, and confidence follows. In a world fixated on hacks and overnight success, selling something you truly believe in is one of the fastest ways to go from good to great—no gimmicks required.
