It’s Time for a Sales Evolution

What does it say that the second least trusted profession in America is sales?

That’s right—sales professionals fall just behind politicians when it comes to public trust. That should be alarming—especially for a profession designed to support change through the exchange of value.

It’s time for a paradigm shift in how we see sales.
Sales is not about pressure, persuasion, or pushing people toward a close.
It’s about supporting transformation.

The True Role of Sales: Supporting Change

At its highest expression, a sales professional is an Agent of Change—a guide through the terrain of uncertainty.

Clients don’t just need products.
They need clarity.
They need support.
They need someone who understands how decisions are made and how change really happens.

That requires more than a slick script or funnel logic.
It demands a shift in consciousness—a return to service, trust, and co-creation.

Sales Professionals as Change Agents

Often, a sales professional is the only person a client speaks to when facing a major decision.

Change is hard.
When there's a cost attached to that change—financial, emotional, or relational—it gets harder.

Supporting someone through that moment requires a departure from funnel-based sales ideology, where the customer is dragged through a one-size-fits-all process.

The old model—where persuasion, manipulation, and pressure lead a customer to buy—is dying.

The future belongs to those who guide clients toward self-led decisions, offering the right tools, frameworks, and questions to help them cross the threshold into change.

53% of Customer Loyalty Is Tied to the Sales Experience

In their book The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath reveal that over half of customer loyalty can be traced back to the sales experience.

Think about that.

If your sales process isn’t aligned with your customer’s current stage, you’re losing not just revenue—you’re eroding trust and damaging your brand identity.

Customers don’t need to be pushed.
They need to be met where they are—and invited forward.

Some People Aren’t Ready for a Solution… Yet

One of the key principles I teach is called Conscious Qualifying—a model based on how the mind is made up, how decisions unfold, and how change actually happens.

Borrowing from decades of clinical psychology and behavioral science, we learn that:

Nearly 1 in 5 buyers are in the Contemplation Stage.
At this stage, they’re not looking for solutions.
They’re still trying to name the problem.

They are problem-focused, not solution-focused.
They don’t need a pitch—they need a conversation.

They need someone who can create bridge moments—safe, guided interactions that help them cross from confusion to clarity.

That’s what Agents of Change do.

What Happens When You Get This Wrong?

We’ve all experienced it:

• You reach out for help with a problem…

• And are met with a pushy, script-driven, or commission-focused sales rep.

• Someone trained to close, not connect.

What does it feel like?
Frustrating.

What does it do to your brand perception?
It shifts from trusted advisor to manipulator.

Misalignment at the sales stage is a branding nightmare.

The Solution: Meet the Customer Where They Actually Are

A true Agent of Change:

• Understands the client’s narrative stage

• Meets them with empathy and insight

• Co-creates a pathway toward transformation

When this is done well, it builds trust, creates brand equity, and inspires loyalty.

The Age of Customer Experience

Today, the customer is more empowered than ever before.
They have more choices, more data, and more awareness of when they’re being sold to vs. supported.

According to research, 81% of marketers say they will compete primarily on customer experience.

Brands that don’t evolve their sales culture to match their CX messaging are creating friction between promise and delivery.

It’s time for the sales process to rise to the level of the brand’s story.

As Donald Miller’s StoryBrand framework puts it:

The customer is the hero. Your product is the guide.

The Real Nature of Influence

There are two parts to influence:

First, influence is powerful.
Second, influence is subtle.

“You wouldn’t let someone push you off course.
But you might let someone nudge you—
and not even realize it.”
— Jim Rohn

Real influence is not about pressure.
It’s about understanding where the customer is, what they’re aiming for, and offering solutions that get them there with more clarity, more agency, and more alignment.

Sales as a Sacred Profession

The old model of persuasion is dying.
The new model is emerging—one rooted in relationship, truth, and meaning.

This is more than sales.
It’s soul work.

It’s time we reclaim the sacred nature of this profession and elevate it into what it was always meant to be:

A process of guiding people through the fire of transformation—
and helping them make decisions that change their lives.