---
title: "How to Excel in Sales: A Career Development Guide for New Salespeople"
description: "This article debunks the common sales myth that frequent customer rejection is normal, arguing instead that it stems from inefficient, value-less selling methods. It advocates for a customer-centric approach, precise targeting, and creating strong allure, using the 'one center, two basic points' framework and the principle of making customers chase you."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2014-07-19"
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# How to Excel in Sales: A Career Development Guide for New Salespeople

> This article debunks the common sales myth that frequent customer rejection is normal, arguing instead that it stems from inefficient, value-less selling methods. It advocates for a customer-centric approach, precise targeting, and creating strong allure, using the 'one center, two basic points' framework and the principle of making customers chase you.

**Warm Tip: Click the blue text above “FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting” to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management.**

**The #1 Lie in the Sales World**

To make high-quality career choices, you need to think independently, not blindly follow the majority. If you follow the crowd's mindset, you'll likely get average results. In sales, average results mean barely scraping by. It's a field with huge income disparities.

Independent thinking means questioning common beliefs. For example, "For sales, customer rejection is normal. You keep trying after each rejection, and eventually you'll succeed." This is the biggest scam in sales. This "hit-the-wall-again" style of selling is highly inefficient because it's essentially mechanical harassment without real value creation. As the saying goes, "a general's success is built on thousands of bones"—only the company owners and a few salespeople benefit, at the cost of many sales careers and countless potential customers' time.

I once talked to a boss who used cold calls to develop clients. He said most of the salespeople he hired were burned out within a few months and left the industry forever.

Despite almost every company's job ads claiming "good training and development opportunities," most companies don't care about your growth, only your performance.

This sales approach, lacking value creation and going against customer psychology, naturally leads to frequent rejections. Frequent rejections can cause salespeople to doubt themselves, seriously questioning if they lack sales talent. For example, I saw this question on Zhihu: "I've been fired from two industrial companies as a salesperson. Should I continue in sales?" The person graduated last June, worked at a company with 15 million registered capital, saw no results, had poor relations with the boss, and was fired in March for poor performance. They moved to another industry, but were fired again after four months. Despite trying to learn sales skills and being diligent, they felt they had low EQ and kept failing, losing confidence in everything.

"Failing repeatedly, now lacking confidence in everything" seems like the salesperson's problem, but it's largely due to traditional sales methods that harass rather than create value. **But bosses and success coaches will never tell you the root cause is the system; they'll just say you didn't work hard enough.**

People might tell you to have "courage to face frequent rejections," but that's often not courage—it's stupidity. You're repeating inefficient methods. True courage is daring to question seemingly authoritative, common beliefs and finding the root cause, then pursuing efficient methods.

**One Center, Two Basic Points**

Sales is complex. Salespeople easily get bogged down in various tasks without grasping the overall picture.

Even governing a country requires an overall framework. As a salesperson, you also need a big principle.

**One Center: Customer Success as the Center**

Two Basic Points: Precisely Target Prospects, Create Strong Allure

One Center: Customer Success as the Center: In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Liu Bei appointed Guan Yu to guard Jingzhou, a crucial territory. Zhuge Liang was worried and had a conversation with Guan Yu:

Zhuge Liang held the seal and said, "This responsibility rests on you." Guan Yu replied, "A man who takes on such a heavy task will die before giving up." Zhuge Liang was displeased to hear the word "death" but couldn't take it back. He asked, "If Cao Cao comes with troops, what will you do?" Guan Yu said, "I'll resist with force." Zhuge Liang asked, "If Cao Cao and Sun Quan attack together, what then?" Guan Yu said, "I'll divide my forces to resist." Zhuge Liang said, "If so, Jingzhou is in danger. I have eight words for you to remember to protect Jingzhou." Guan Yu asked, "What eight words?" Zhuge Liang said, "Resist Cao Cao in the north, ally with Sun Quan in the east." Guan Yu said, "I'll engrave your words in my heart."

Within Wu, there were two factions: one advocating force to retake Jingzhou, the other maintaining the alliance with Liu Bei. Sun Quan was undecided. To test the alliance, he sent a envoy to propose a marriage between his son and Guan Yu's daughter, but Guan Yu insulted the envoy. So Sun Quan, following Lü Meng and Lu Xun's advice, decided to take Jingzhou despite breaking the alliance.

Guan Yu was attacking Cao's forces when Lü Meng launched a surprise attack, catching him between two enemies, leading to his death. Shu lost Jingzhou, eventually causing Liu Bei to attack Wu and be defeated at the Battle of Xiaoting, losing strategic advantage and leading to Liu Bei's death at Baidicheng.

In sales, think of yourself as Shu and the customer as Wu. **Only by allying with customers can you compete; treating customers as adversaries accelerates your downfall.**

Once in a QQ group, someone shared this case:

"I met a parent who wanted her child to get a 5.0 IELTS score by June. The child had poor foundations and pronunciation. I arranged a study plan. The child now wants to learn driving, and the mother wants to finish that before English classes. I've been following up with calls and materials, but this deal is hanging. Please analyze why and how to follow up."

Then there was a flurry of advice, like: "Arrange a meeting with both parent and child; don't be passive. If cost is an issue, mention post-holiday price increases or a popular teacher. Create urgency." "You could say you found a great teacher, package it, and invite them for a plan. Have a teacher cooperate." "If you don't push, you'll lose anyway. Better to push hard."

It looks lively, but if you look closely, the salespeople aren't focused on solving the customer's problem but on "how to get money out of them."

**Customers aren't stupid; they'll naturally resist your selfish intentions. So both sides waste energy fighting each other, ignoring what's truly important.**

One of my teachers ran a high-end English training institute in Hong Kong, focusing on one-on-one oral coaching for executives. Within a year, they became the market leader with the highest fees.

A key to her success was deeper insight into customer problems (oral English) and targeted solutions: She found that most Hong Kongers' pronunciation issues centered on 5-7 sounds. Fixing these key sounds broke through the whole oral barrier.

So they first assessed target clients, identified key problem sounds, designed targeted coaching, and continuously evaluated and adjusted. Thus, for busy executives, training was shortest and most effective. Clients paid higher prices for shorter time and better results, creating a virtuous cycle.

In contrast, looking at the IELTS case, I'm sure the training institution and salesperson lacked deep insight into the customer's problem, so they couldn't dispel the customer's doubt: "How can I learn IELTS well? Why can I learn it here?" This doubt made follow-up difficult.

During China's reform and opening, the Communist Party proposed the basic line of "economic construction as the center." Why? Because society was wasting energy on political struggles. "Economic construction as the center" ensured resources went to the most important things.

Similarly, "customer success as the center" ensures you invest your energy where it counts. If you're making cold calls all day, stop—how does that relate to "helping customers succeed"? If your energy is on "how to force the customer to order," sorry, you're off track.

Also, "customer success as the center" ensures you build alliances with customers, not adversaries. Then everyone's energy focuses on one goal: solving the customer's problems.

If you tell a customer, "Pay today," they won't be interested. But if you say, "Let's find the key sounds hindering your oral English," they might happily follow you.

Mediocre salespeople try to defeat customers; top salespeople know that allying with customers is the source of power.

**Basic Point 1: Precisely Target Prospects**

Back in the Boxer Rebellion, they had guns and numerical advantage when attacking foreign legations. It was noisy, but the foreigners weren't scared because the Boxers were shooting into the air!

In the internet age, precisely targeting customers is easier. But salespeople's level is still stuck in the Boxer era: any company list looks like customers. If someone asks two product questions, they think it's a sales opportunity.

I often ask salespeople: "List the characteristics of your ideal target customer." Typical answers are like "people who need to buy wealth management products." That's like a girl asking for a good guy, and when I ask what she wants, she says, "No requirements, just a feeling" or "Nothing, you decide." That's useless. If your criteria are vague, you can't filter opportunities, wasting time on ineffective targets. Even conditions like "annual income 300k, property over 3 million in the city, works at a top 10 global company" make it easier for others to help.

I know an HR friend, female, who wanted to solve her personal life. Her initial criteria: smart, interesting, passionate about society, high income. She asked where to find such people. I asked, "What would such single people do? How to judge if someone is passionate about society?" She thought and said, "They'd do things valuable to society." I said, "Specifically?" She said, "Like volunteering." That's a direction. Then: "What kind of volunteering would a high-IQ person do? Visit the elderly?" She said, "Probably not. Something that uses their brains?" I asked, "What critical issues need change in society?" She said, "Politics, education, environment... Politics can't be discussed openly. So maybe education or environment, especially education." I said, "Check out high-quality educational volunteer groups in Shanghai." One day she excitedly called: "I found several targets. Some married friends also introduced nice people." Find the right people, and you're halfway there.

But in reality, even with precise positioning, you still need to continuously filter during the sales process to avoid wasting time on invalid leads. I saw a salesperson's dilemma: "After following a client for a long time, they chose someone else." This can be largely avoided.

The hardest part is judging customer motivation. Strong motivation is the first factor for closing.

How to judge motivation? It's like a woman wondering "How to know if he values me?" The key is not what they say but what they're willing to pay:

* Are they willing to spend money on you?
* Are they willing to spend time on you?
* Are they willing to invest other resources, like introductions?
* Are they willing to take risks for you?

If your boyfriend won't spend money or time on you, you're probably not important to him.

When I first started client work, a distributor wanted to join a project and asked for support. I thought it was fine, but a senior account manager said, "No, if we give it free, they won't value it. They need to buy the system and assign their best 2-3 people to work with us. That way we know if they're serious, and their investment ensures they'll follow through." In "Water Margin," Lin Chong had to kill a passerby as a "pledge of allegiance" to join the bandits. Sales isn't that extreme, but the principle is the same.

What salespeople dread most isn't rejection but ambiguity. Rejection means you either change your approach or move on. But if the customer keeps saying "we're considering," listens to you, seems friendly, even says "your product has a good chance, but..." what do you do? Often salespeople lose judgment, give concessions for that "good chance," and end up with nothing or a deal with no profit.

Remember: The price customers are willing to pay is key to judging their seriousness. Don't be fooled by words.

When I did job-hunting training, people asked for career advice. These questions are complex, so I usually didn't answer, just recommended resources. In rare cases, if I thought they might become clients, I offered 30-60 minutes of free phone consultation with conditions:

1) I'll record the session.
2) After, I'll give you transcription tools; you'll transcribe the recording. This usually takes 5 times the consultation length.
3) You agree I can publish the recording and transcript for marketing.

So if they want personalized free service, they must work and share their case. If someone is just thinking casually, they'll stop. That saves my time.

By the way, if they agree, it advances the sales opportunity, and the recording and transcript are great marketing content. I can send them to prospects. This greatly increases the value of that time. As a salesperson, time is precious; use it well.

**Basic Point 2: Create Strong Allure**

Marx said, "For 200% profit, capital will risk the death penalty."

From this perspective, the #1 reason for lost sales is insufficient allure, making customers feel it's not worth acting.

How to evaluate the allure you create? Here's a simple formula:

Allure = Perceived Value ÷ (Cost + Risk)

Is a $2 lottery ticket with a $5 million prize alluring? Despite high value and low cost, the risk of failure is nearly 100%, so it's not alluring to most.

Several sales managers told me they use free seminars to develop clients, but now customers don't want to attend. That's reasonable; the main message is "free seminar," but customers don't see value, so no allure.

Mediocre salespeople only lower price (reduce cost), but top performers greatly increase perceived value.

In the following content, we'll discuss "creating strong allure" further.

**Overcoming Problems vs. Eliminating Problems**

Salespeople often admire "perseverance," "persistence despite rejections," and "convincing customers at critical moments." That's a tough-guy image. But if you model that, you might miss a higher level.

King Wen of Wei asked the famous doctor Bian Que: "Your three brothers are all skilled in medicine. Who is the best?" Bian Que said, "My eldest brother is best, my second brother next, and I am the worst." The king asked, "Then why are you the most famous?" Bian Que said, "My eldest brother treats illness before it manifests. Since people don't know he can prevent disease, his fame doesn't spread beyond our family. My second brother treats illness at its onset, so his fame is only local. I treat illness when it's severe. People see me doing surgeries, so they think I'm brilliant, and my fame spreads nationwide."

Top performers often don't leave a dramatic impression because they eliminate problems before they arise.

In sales, most dramatic scenes involve "customer rejection." So people love stories of "persisting despite rejections" and "turning around unfavorable situations."

If you want to be top, the key isn't "overcoming customer resistance" but "eliminating resistance before it appears."

**What to Do When the Customer Says "Let Me Think It Over"**

A friend sells marketing products to small businesses. He was puzzled: He often had good conversations, customers were enthusiastic, but closing rates were low. So I accompanied him on visits.

Indeed, he diagnosed problems well, customers nodded and asked questions. But after he introduced the price, the customer said, "Let me think it over," and looked thoughtful.

At that point, my friend said, "Don't worry, this product is fine." I sighed internally. Then he added, "If you decide today, I can give you a discount." I thought, "It's over..." Then the customer ended his thoughtful expression and said, "I'll think about it and call you." Though it was "think," it was different from before. The first was genuine consideration; the second was an excuse.

**Persuasion is poison in sales.**

For significant purchases, customers naturally need time to consider. If you "persuade" at that moment, you reveal your eagerness.

Of course, from the sales perspective, the customer's thoughts might wander and lead to losing the deal. So you need to influence them. But your angle shouldn't be "persuading" but creating an environment where they persuade themselves.

How?

**Persuasion is Toxic**

In traditional sales thinking, persuading customers is basic. So many salespeople ask, "How do I persuade a customer who won't buy?" But "persuading" usually does more harm than good.

First: If you're set on persuading, you become self-centered and ignore the other's thoughts.

Second: Customers sense your eagerness and become wary: "If you're so eager, was what you said before true?" This reduces trust.

Third: Sometimes customers think you're too good to be true, so they doubt. If you keep praising, you increase suspicion.

Fourth: Humans have a psychology: "The more you want, the less I give." If you're eager to close, they'll wait and see what more you offer. You lose the upper hand.

Fifth: Persuasion efforts can lower perceived value.

Perceived value is subjective. Even if the final benefit is the same, how customers feel about obtaining it affects their judgment. The easier to get, the lower the value; the harder, the higher. What I want myself is high value; what's pushed on me is low.

Gu Long said in "The Legendary Twins": "Most men's flaw is that even a sow, if two men fight over her, becomes beautiful all over. But if one man gives up, the other suddenly realizes, 'She's just a sow.'"

**Eliminating Customer Resistance: The Reverse Screening Principle**

When facing major decisions, customers hesitate and need to think—that's normal. But the longer it drags, the more likely problems. At this point, instead of persuading, use reverse psychology.

The Reverse Screening Principle is to retreat to advance: warn customers of potential obstacles, risks, and suitable groups, advising them not to buy.

In the earlier case, when the customer is considering, you set an obstacle. For example: "Mr. Wang, this marketing software is effective, but there's a prerequisite: timely product supply. If customer volume triples and supply can't keep up, negative feedback will waste your money. You need to consider if you can handle that." After I told my friend this, he called excitedly: "Today I used your trick. The boss waved his hand and said, 'Don't worry, we can handle it,' and signed immediately. Where did you learn this? I'll be careful dealing with you."

The Reverse Screening strategy is powerful because:

**First: Not selling eliminates the root of customer resistance.**

On the surface, we're advising "don't buy." So the resistance triggered by "persuading to buy" isn't activated.

**Second: It triggers reactance.**

We have a tendency to do what we're told not to do. In Li Ming's case, it might trigger: "You underestimate our supply capability."

**Third: It increases perceived value.**

Because no one is persuading them to buy; it's "I want it myself," so value is higher.

**Fourth: It reduces the risk of choice.**

By pointing out potential obstacles and risks (like supply issues), you actually reduce the customer's risk and worry.

**Fifth: It increases trust in the salesperson.**

Customers feel you're selective, not selling to everyone indiscriminately.

**Benchmark Against World-Class Performers**

As the saying goes, "Play chess with masters, show off skills before experts."

Benchmarking against top performers isn't just about learning better methods; it's about establishing a clear, intuitive understanding of what top quality looks like.

If you only benchmark against people you know, in sales you might think it's about "getting along with customers and being talkative." But who are the top salespeople in this era, and what have they achieved?

In our time, Steve Jobs is probably the most famous top salesperson—though he never had a sales title. He didn't push products; Apple store staff mainly serve, not sell. But he inspired strong desire, creating waves of customers "queuing to buy" in an era of oversupply.

Jobs achieved in the mass phone market what only luxury brands usually do: making customers chase him, not the other way around. Creating strong allure is key to stimulating purchases.

Did Jobs mingle with customers? On the contrary, he seemed aloof and distant. He didn't fawn over customers; he gave the impression, "We design for people with taste; buy it or not."

But Apple's marketing achieved "eliminating problems, not solving them": eliminating the #1 sales challenge—customer resistance—entirely.

Can you imagine benchmarking against Jobs and aiming for "making customers chase you"?

Your first reaction might be, "That's impossible; he's top." If you don't set high goals, you'll likely stay on the mediocre path without breakthrough.

**Do Things 10x or 100x Better**

Guy Kawasaki, venture capitalist and former Apple marketer, said: "Don't settle for 10% or 20% improvements; do things 10x or 100x better."

Jobs' "making customers chase" is 100x better than most companies' "chasing customers."

Why not settle for 10-20% improvements? Such improvements don't differentiate you from competitors or give customers a "qualitative leap." But if you're 10x or 100x better, the gap is so large it can't be ignored.

When you set a "10x goal," you'll find existing methods may be useless. You'll seek disruptive methods and delve into the essence of the problem. In the process, your abilities leap.

For example, if you want customers to chase you, traditional methods like "wining and dining, gifts, and price wars" become ineffective or even counterproductive.

In 2007, I worked on Porsche's top annual project, which was crucial for quality. The heads of Porsche China service and the global project would review our work, determining if we got the next contract.

The client pre-announced a 30-minute presentation slot. My boss asked if 30 minutes was too short and whether to ask for more time. I said, "No, it's too much. We need to win them over in 3 minutes." Why?

I've heard many salespeople say, "The client gave me too little time; I couldn't finish." In fact, clients often give 30 minutes to 2 hours. What do they do? They ask for more time.

If you want to excel, think inversely: achieve your goal in less time. Using the "10x rule," if most salespeople can't impress in 30 minutes, you need to do it in less than 1/10 of that time. 30 minutes / 10 = 3 minutes. So: **In a sales presentation, you must impress in 3 minutes.**

Apply the same to other areas, like telemarketing. Most salespeople can't impress in 3 minutes. 3 minutes is 180 seconds; 1/10 is 18 seconds. Craft your pitch to that standard.

Dealing with clients is often painful. I've heard many sales presentations that were agonizing. Most presenters talk about their company and product, leaving clients confused, often too polite to stop them.

Imagine a salesperson who, in under 3 minutes, clearly identifies the client's key problem and solution. Wouldn't the client feel like they've found a savior?

I'm reading "No Easy Day," about Navy SEAL Team Six's raid on bin Laden. They're the elite of the elite, doing the hardest missions, training to super-strict standards. Real missions are dangerous with fleeting opportunities; if you don't hit the target, you might lose forever. High standards ensure survival.

Sales isn't life-threatening like SEAL missions, but you face similar issues. If you expect 30 minutes, you might use it all and then some. But who knows? Maybe the big boss leaves after 7 minutes for a call. Plans often change.

The shorter the time to impress, the more opportunities you get.

A website editor told me, "Your articles are like bestsellers; the titles are instantly appealing." That's because I set a standard of impressing the target in 1 second online. If your title doesn't grab readers in 1 second, you've lost them forever.

When you demand "10x or 100x better," you force yourself to grasp the key from complex phenomena. If you have only 1 second, you must use a 15-character title to impress. You must think: What's truly important to them? Not a pile of unfocused stuff.

**Make Customers Chase You**

Making customers chase you is 100x better than chasing them, right? It's the clearest sign you've grasped their key needs and created strong allure.

Recently, I attended a social dinner. Most participants were strangers. Initially, we chatted in small groups. But as time passed, the situation changed. The small groups merged, and everyone quieted down, listening to one person.

Her name was Sophia, a former salesperson at a leading telecom equipment maker.

I noticed people leaning forward toward Sophia, indicating strong interest. In communication, leaning forward shows interest; leaning back shows lack of need. In sales conversations, salespeople often lean forward unconsciously, while customers lean back. That's a bad sign for salespeople; you need them more than they need you.

Not only interest, but people started asking questions, asking for her business card, and arranging to consult her later. "Impressive!" I thought.

Sophia controlled the conversation at a stranger dinner, established authority, and stimulated people's needs.

The topic she used was astrology.

Note: The attendees weren't high school girls; they were from top tech, finance, and consulting firms like Microsoft, Google, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey—rational, high-IQ people. Most initially dismissed astrology, including me. When the host introduced her as an astrology expert, I thought it was superstitious.

But as the conversation progressed, we became engaged. She used astrology to discuss personality types, relationships, interspersed with gossip and insightful stories. For example, differences between Scorpio Bill Gates and Virgo Warren Buffett; why Capricorn Mao and Pisces Zhou made good partners; how Li Yapeng pursued Wang Fei and why.

Naturally, people began asking, "Are Libra and Cancer compatible?" "What's Gemini like?" and consulting on personal matters.

Her expertise was top-notch, even for a professional astrologer. But it wasn't just astrology; she used it to help people analyze their concerns.

Suddenly, I thought: Sophia often deals with government leaders and SOE executives. As atheist Party members, how would they react to astrology? They couldn't nod, right?

She said, "Their faces showed disdain. But afterward, I'd get calls saying, 'Sophia, analyze this for me...'" Think: After a first meeting, potential big clients and leaders proactively call a salesperson for help.

Most salespeople and companies only think about building relationships, giving gifts. Sophia reversed the situation.

Wow, that's brilliant.

Astrology is a super popular topic. If we explore the driving factors, you'll find **three eternal human needs: understanding oneself, understanding one's relationships, and how to get along better with others.** Whether an 18-year-old girl or a 50-year-old official, everyone is curious about these.

Sophia's topic stimulated strong needs, reversing the usual "salesperson begs customer" posture, selling herself while entertaining.

Realizing the power of this strategy, I spent about a year developing this edutaining astrology communication skill. It worked well.

When I adopted this strategy, I found another huge benefit: I could quickly understand people's personalities and backgrounds—hobbies, relationships with bosses, family. Because they see you as a "personality expert," they naturally share information for quality advice (even if free).

After that, at first dinners with potential clients, I often end with, "You should pay for this meal, right?" They usually say, "Of course," and pay happily.

This isn't to save money but to ensure I did one thing right from the start: "Create value for the customer, personally or professionally." The final line checks value creation success: You can only say that if you feel the customer benefited.

**The key to making customers chase you isn't tricks but discovering their key needs and excelling in meeting them.**

**Love and Proposal**

Companies like Apple and Porsche, with strong brands, can quickly establish advantages. But many small companies lack this innate advantage to make customers fall in love at first sight. So they need a more gradual strategy.

The sales process to stimulate customers to chase often has two phases: courtship and proposal. Courtship focuses on enjoying the present; proposal focuses on committing to the future.

If the courtship feels good and memorable, the natural result is the other considering "next steps."

Novices in love often make the mistake of pushing for a serious relationship too early, ignoring the joy of the present.

On a tour bus, I sat behind a couple. I overheard:

He: Who called?
She: My classmate. Can you stop asking?
He: You can ask about my calls too.
She: I'm not interested.
He: Was it male or female?
She: What if it's male or female?
He: There are many bad people online. I'm just looking out for you.
She: Please, don't be so good to me.
He: My income over the years... If we get married...
She: Who wants to marry you?
He: You know, my hukou hasn't been transferred yet.
She: Why?
He: I thought about it; I'll save the quota for you.
She: Please, can you not be so good to me? I can't take it.
She: Can you pretend I don't exist? Don't consider me in your decisions. Buy a house, transfer your hukou.
He: How can I? Being good to you is my duty.
She: Ah, please, stop being good to me. I can't stand it.

I listened to this guy make a series of mistakes, and my professional instinct almost made me jump out to share advice on courting women. Why make things so serious when you could be flirting?

The relationship between companies and customers is similar: Initially, customers are just exploring possibilities, not wanting heavy commitments. You should give them "light and enjoyable" interactions, not a proposal.

If you provide experiences that exceed expectations in a series of interactions, "marriage" is often something they'll consider on their own. When they propose, or when you do at that stage, it's natural.

Why do salespeople rush to propose? Like the guy above, insecurity is a key factor. They fear missing the opportunity.

The root is insufficient "value creation," failing to make the other feel "I must choose you." You need to solve the root problem.

**The Reverse-Chase Sales Process**

We discussed the "love and proposal" concept; now let's look at a real case.

This is my marketing process for a job-hunting training program for college students. There are two products: Excel course and marketing course:

Here, the first 5 steps focus not on direct selling but on helping the target group solve their problems.

Because my target is juniors looking for internships, their challenge is often being rejected in interviews. So my first step is an interview mistake assessment, letting them quickly see their problems. After completing it, they receive a follow-up email tutorial on interviews.

Next is the marketing highlight: the e-book "College Students, Make Employers Chase You." If you look at online interview guides, they often focus on "chasing employers," teaching how to show sincerity and interest. But job hunting is also marketing; the key is reverse thinking—how to stimulate strong interest. So this book's first role is to help them adopt a new mindset. Think about what truly attracts target employers; that's the direction. The book has specific examples on key interview questions: What's your biggest weakness? How to negotiate salary? How to introduce yourself?

The book's quality is high; I've received feedback that it changed their views on job hunting and they recommended it to others—colleagues, friends, even a boyfriend.

Also, this e-book is the main line for my training courses. Because to attract employers, students need top-notch work skills, since companies hire interns to get work done. When students realize "making employers chase you" is key, they also see the value of my training courses (Excel/marketing).

So naturally, some students read the book and contact me directly. Trust is established, value is perceived, and the rest is simple.

After the e-book, I released a free resume writing course, later on NetEase Cloud Classroom. The final important step, a key issue for students, is career guidance. My main idea is "Choose the job and life you want," encouraging them to pursue their goals. If they want high-quality jobs, my training becomes more important. Finding a mediocre job is easy without effort.

Summarizing the sales process, from interview mistake assessment to career choice guide, my focus is on courtship, not proposal. Of course, I subtly include product marketing. Each step provides direct value to potential customers, so they're willing to follow. If every interaction is about selling without providing value, customers won't play along.

Returning to the earlier point, to make customers want to "marry" you, make the courtship sweet enough, exceeding expectations in every interaction. Purchases, especially significant ones, are serious like marriage. If the early experience is good, they'll look forward to the future.

**Customer Success Path**

The reverse-chase process that stimulates strong interest isn't made up; it's based on deep insight into customer success. To design a high-quality sales process, you first need to find the customer success path.

The following is the customer success path defined for my job-hunting training project:

**Customers don't buy products for the sake of buying; they buy to achieve specific goals.** For example, a typical goal for students is getting an offer from a top company, but they don't know how. The customer success path is the bridge between reality and dreams; you're the guide leading customers to success.

So the above diagram is a plan for target customers: follow these steps, and they'll likely achieve their goals.

Once you find the customer success path, you can divide it into three parts:

The leftmost part is free services, the main line of your sales process. For example, juniors often have problems: resumes ignored, interviews confusing. So step one directly addresses their current pain, helping them understand interview mistakes. Next, solve mindset issues, elevating their perspective: from chasing employers to making employers chase them. Then solve resume issues.

With this design, my sales process is actually the customer's journey to success. That's why customers are willing to follow: it aligns with their core interests. In other words, every interaction creates value for the customer.

But free services can't solve everything; next is the paid product's responsibility. For example, my training courses solve "top-notch work skills."

But selling the product isn't the end. Usually, selling a product doesn't mean the customer achieves their goal. For example, taking my Excel course doesn't immediately get them an offer. They still need to find internships at top companies, which then makes job hunting easier. These subsequent steps are where your value-added services come in. For example, after my Excel course, I might offer a free service: pushing their resume to 50 top companies, because those companies need Excel-savvy interns. This further increases the product's value.

You can make these value-added services gifts to promote sales, bundle them, or offer free after-sales services to strengthen relationships.

Making customers chase you isn't about tricks but genuinely helping customers succeed, integrating this philosophy into daily work.

**The 3-Interaction Principle**

Earlier we discussed that the core of the reverse-chase sales process is a series of free services guiding customers toward their desired success.

When designing free services, you should have at least 3 interactions.

Why? Here are reasons:

First: Except for low-price simple transactions (like buying clothes on Taobao), customers need time to enter a buying state.

Second: Initially, trust is lowest, so customers are unwilling to pay high costs (time is a cost). So you can only do simple, low-cost things. For example, my first step with job-seeking students is a 3-minute interview mistake assessment. It's not comprehensive, but making it comprehensive would require more time commitment, likely reducing conversion. This means you start with almost zero-cost value creation, build trust, then ask for bigger commitments with bigger value, and so on. Because of "customer willingness to invest," you can't get them into a buying state in one interaction.

Third: With multiple interactions, you can evaluate conversion at each step, making optimization easier. If you try to close in one shot, it's hard to know where the problem is.

**Selflessness is the Best Selfishness**

Looking at the job-hunting marketing process, you'll see there's no hard selling; it's step-by-step solving real problems for potential customers. Even if they don't buy, they still benefit.

For example, someone wrote to me that after reading the e-book, they changed their anxious mindset, got a better job, thanked me, and recommended it to colleagues.

This seems selfless, but in fact, selflessness is the best selfishness. It brings more attention and higher conversion rates.

After offering the free interview assessment, even complete strangers had a 30%+ completion rate and joined the email list. If I advertised the training product directly, only about 1% would leave contact info.

And after I completed "College Students, Make Employers Chase You," the consultation-to-sale conversion rate jumped from about 14% to over 50%. Previously, consultations took about an hour; now they're done in under 10 minutes.

Why such a big difference?

There's a key factor influencing purchases that we often overlook: customer confidence in the future. We buy because we expect change. For example, students buy courses to get better jobs. But initially, customers are far from their goals, with many obstacles, so they lack confidence in "future success." Thus, your product's value is lower because the expected success probability is low. Like a lottery ticket with a $5 million prize only sells for $2.

When you guide customers a few steps toward success, each step brings them closer. For example, when students can view job hunting from the "make employers chase you" perspective, they've already improved. When they know how to write a resume that grabs HR in 1 second, they're even closer. So my work skills training becomes more valuable because they've already traveled a long way toward "getting an offer from a top company."

Psychologically, when potential customers can't see the possibility of success, they have little emotional expectation for the future. Like seeing "win $5 million" might not excite you; buying a ticket is just for fun. But if during the draw, the first number matches, then the second, then the third—your heart gets more involved.

In our job-hunting marketing, previously they didn't know their interview mistakes; now they can avoid common ones. Then they read my e-book and realize the key isn't expressing interest but creating strong allure and helping customers succeed. Suddenly they have direction. They think, "Job hunting isn't scary; there are methods. My previous approach was wrong. I can do better." Then they learn to write resumes that grab HR's eye in 1 second. They might think, "I could actually get into a top company. Why deal with garbage companies and bad teammates? My problem is lack of work skills." That stirs emotions.

It's like a nerd who likes a goddess but has no contact; he might not feel much. But after a first chat and a successful first date, the feeling of "getting closer" brings more emotional investment.

As we step by step approach our goals, we also increase our investment and confidence in the future. This inner drive is crucial for closing.

Think about when we're most emotionally invested: "When we're one step away."

By the way, salespeople are often affected by this psychology, making poor decisions.

For example, when "the customer has agreed to come, even paid a deposit, just one step away," salespeople get invested, thinking about how to close, even "forcing the deal." That's typical "one step away" anxiety.

But forcing is wrong. The focus should be on increasing the customer's confidence, making them feel "one step away," thus stimulating their action. Don't fall into that trap and ignore customer needs.

For example, in my job-hunting marketing, if potential customers understand interview mistakes and know how to write resumes and interview from the "make employers chase you" angle, then the real obstacle to top companies might be "just one impressive work skill away."

Guiding customers to success also has another effect: Previously, due to low awareness, customers might not correctly value your product. For example, most students think job hunting is about interview skills, so they don't understand the importance of my training. But when they realize the key is "skills that make employers chase you," their perception of value increases. So this sales process also educates customers about your product's value.

Also, because customers get help from you and are guided toward success, they naturally gain confidence that following you will bring more benefits, making closing a natural result.

With such a process, building strong trust is natural. This brings another benefit: customers are willing to share true thoughts. Many salespeople are puzzled why customers don't reveal information. The key is customers feel salespeople only care about commissions, not real help, so they don't want to communicate.

Of course, not all target groups will become customers. But if you truly help them, even if they don't buy, they might recommend you: word-of-mouth is more powerful than self-promotion. People trust friends' recommendations, and often customers know better who needs your product.

Military strategists say that in war, the shortest route isn't always the best because you'll face resistance. An indirect route is more likely to succeed.

Traditional sales is the direct route: salespeople focus on closing, facing strong resistance. The reverse-chase process uses a two-step strategy: first help potential customers succeed, then guide them to choose you. It seems roundabout, but from a customer psychology perspective, it's a better path to closing.

**Summary: How to Excel in Sales**

Sales is complex. To handle complexity, you need clear principles to ensure your energy goes where it matters. Even governing a country has basic policies.

1) Frequent customer rejection isn't normal; it's a product of traditional sales methods.
2) Mediocre salespeople overcome resistance; top salespeople eliminate it.
3) One center: customer success as the center.
4) Two basic points: precisely target customers, create strong allure.
5) The key to judging customer seriousness is the price they're willing to pay.
6) Treating customers as adversaries is a fatal mistake. Mediocre salespeople oppose customers; top salespeople ally with them.
7) Benchmark against world-class performers.
8) Don't settle for 10-20% improvements; do things 10x or 100x better.
9) Set top standards: make customers chase you.
10) Sales is like love: in each interaction, exceed expectations so they look forward to the future.
11) Build your sales process around the customer success path. Make the sales process a journey of helping customers succeed.
12) Selflessness is the best selfishness. Help customers achieve their desired success, and they'll help you achieve yours.

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