Sales knows no age or rank

There's a misconception that you need gray hair to be successful. Or no hair at all. That you need years of experience before clients take you seriously.

This is not true, because there is no age associated with sales.

I know young consultants of 30 who outperform colleagues with 20 years of experience. Not through experience, but through willpower, belief in their own story, and above all, a genuine willingness to understand the client.

Self-confidence is intriguing to prospects! If you translate your willpower and listening skills into action and effective questions, clients will want you.

On the other hand, I see experienced seniors who think they know everything. "I have a large network," I hear. My question: "Does the network know you? And do they want to do business with you?" A few coffees don't automatically lead to an invoice.

In short, age or rank means nothing, willpower means everything.

A great example for me is the 30-year-old founder and CEO of a fintech scale-up. When I started mentoring him, he had every reason not to be able to sell: no time, no sales experience, technical background, unknown company, difficult-to-explain solution. A true hidden gem.

But Daan took it seriously. Everything immediately translated into action: focusing on the right prospects, why approach them now, how to get them to the table, and how to let them close on their own.

His approach: do (wrong), learn, refine, do better, refine further. And even until last Christmas Eve, we were sparring about a mega-deal.

Two years later: he's landed two top clients. Key prospects have heard about him and now want to talk to him. "The rest is history."

Sales experience helps. But it remains a hands-on science and therefore timeless.