Trust Your Gut: The Truth Always Sells Better Than Pressure

The fear of making a decision runs deep in our psychology—whether you're contemplating a $20,000 HVAC system or taking your first step toward sobriety. As someone who's walked both paths, I've discovered that sales objections and recovery hesitations share remarkable similarities.

When customers say "I need to think about it" or "I should check with my spouse first," they're often masking deeper fears. Just like someone struggling with addiction who wonders "Where will the fun go if I get sober?" or "What if I can't stick with it?" The underlying message is the same: change is terrifying. Most fascinatingly, refusing to make a decision is itself a decision—specifically, a choice to stay exactly where you are.

The key insight I've gained from both worlds is that pushing people never works. Whether you're selling HVAC systems or supporting someone's recovery journey, authenticity and honest communication create trust, while pressure tactics destroy it. People have an uncanny ability to sense when you're being incongruent or manipulative. That's why taking a genuine interest in their concerns, practicing active listening, and offering solutions rather than sales pitches creates better outcomes for everyone involved.

Your success, whether in business or in supporting others through life transitions, depends on understanding that people make decisions for their reasons, not yours. By validating concerns without judgment, asking thoughtful questions, and creating space for autonomous decision-making, you help others navigate change in a way that respects their journey. This approach not only leads to better business outcomes but also more meaningful human connections.

Have you noticed this pattern in your own life? How might approaching difficult conversations with more curiosity and less pressure change your relationships—both professional and personal? I'd love to hear your experiences.

https://coreyberrier.gumroad.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Sales and Recovery Parallels
• 7:00 Fear of Change and Decision-Making
• 11:16 Solutions Not Sales: Authentic Approaches
• 16:11 The Truth About Scarcity and Urgency
• 21:11 Active Listening and Genuine Connection
• 25:31 Closing Thoughts and Final Advice

Transcript

Corey Berrier: 1:27

Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast. I'm your host, corey Berrier, and today, folks, we've got a slight mixture of what we're going to be talking about today. So first, welcome back. I'm glad you're here, glad you're joining us this week. So we're going to talk about something. We're going to talk a little bit about sales conversations and we're connected with something a little deeper recovery, which is something I really enjoy talking about, and because objections in sales, they're not that much different from the ones that we face in life. So here's how we're going to tie it together, or that's how we're going to tie it together.

Corey Berrier: 2:13

Rather, let's start with the sales side. We deal with a lot of customer objections. We deal with people saying I don't want to make a rush decision, I don't want to make a decision today, I need to talk to my spouse, I need to check with my husband, my wife, I need to think about it, I need to sleep on it. All these things are very similar to the decisions in life, right, we're scared to make a decision, and so we put up a smoke screen, if you will, and basically these objections show up in our sales, in our sales life, just like they show up as uncertainty when we're talking about, like we'll face facing, when we're talking about the road to recovery Right, if you've ever been, if you've ever been in, had an addiction or have been had to overcome an addiction, the fear of making a decision to stop that thing is terrifying.

Corey Berrier: 3:30

But it's also terrifying to think that you've got to live with this addiction day in and day out. And so much like making a decision to as a customer, much like making a decision to buy something as large as what we sell $15,000 or $20,000,. It's a hard decision to make because you think I still got some time left on this unit. And if I make the decision now, what if something else happens? What if something else happens and I need that money for something else? It's much like in recovery, where you know what happens when I take this drug or this alcohol out of my life. Where does the fear, where does the fun go? Where does my good times go? Now, of course, you're putting on the shelf the bad times, the times that you wound up in jail or wound up throwing up on a sidewalk, or wound up losing your wallet and everything in it, or your phone, or whatever the case may be. You only think about the good times, whereas it's the opposite from a customer standpoint, because they're thinking about the what ifs if the bad times come in. And so really they're both fears of making a bad decision or making a different decision.

Corey Berrier: 4:59

Because, look, most people don't like change, most people, especially in recovery. I'll speak for myself. I don't love change. I'll speak for myself. I don't love change because change means I've got to do something. Uncomfortable, I've got to be. I have to force myself to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Nobody likes being uncomfortable, unless you've been, like myself, uncomfortable enough that you realize on the other side of that uncomfortable feeling, there's something better.

Corey Berrier: 5:46

And it's uncomfortable making a decision to spend $20,000 on your HVAC system because of the fear of what that money may be, that maybe you'll need that money down the road. And so lots of people hang on to that fear because they just don't want to make a decision. And guess what, when you don't make a decision, that is a decision. Let me repeat that, when you choose to not make a decision, that is a decision. That decision is to stay right where you are, whether it is in recovery, or whether it's your customer buying or not buying. It's a decision. And so the way you can overcome that in the sales side of things is I completely respect that Most people feel the same way.

Corey Berrier: 6:40

Just out of curiosity, is there something about the timing making it feel rushed, or is it about needing more information to feel confident in the decision? Maybe I can help slow things down and walk you through anything that's unclear. Now, what is that? Response to it validates the fear. It uses a discovery question to uncover the real concern and it offers clarity without pressure. So you're not pushing the customer, you're guiding them to unpack why they feel rushed. Is it a financial concern? Is it a lack of trust? Is it a fear of making the wrong choice? And it's very similar to recovery.

Corey Berrier: 7:36

In recovery, whether it's, like I said, whether it's from addiction, whether it's from alcohol, whether it's from drugs, trauma or just trying to rebuild a better life. The word rushed is can be code for I'm afraid, I'm afraid to change, I'm afraid to commit, I'm afraid I'll mess up again. Does this sound familiar? Because we use these same things to make decisions in our everyday life. I'll use a great example, right, am I? I'll use a great example. Um, it's just like a homeowner staring at a $20,000 replacement.

Corey Berrier: 8:23

Someone in recovery may hesitate to take the first step, not because they don't want help, because they don't trust themselves to stick with it. And again, most of us don't fear change itself. We fear the consequences of that change. So whether it's committing to a new system or walking into that first recovery meeting, the underlying question is the same what if I make the wrong choice? It's exactly the same thing, right? This is exactly what someone newly getting sober is thinking. It's also someone who is thinking about getting sober is thinking. It's also what your customer is thinking about getting sober is thinking. It's also what your customer is thinking. So the way we do this in recovery if someone comes in and it's a waste of time to try to go sell that individual like a customer the fact that they are going to have a better life in recovery. We don't sell recovery, just like we don't sell HVAC systems. We offer solutions in both situations.

Corey Berrier: 10:24

If I pressure that newcomer into making a next meeting or committing to a sponsor or making sure he joins a home group dude like he's, his brain is completely swollen. He's scared to death. He doesn't know if he's in the right place. He's in a place with a bunch of strangers offering phone numbers, smiling, laughing they probably think they're laughing at him and that's just honestly not going to be the truth. And so you've got to understand instead of pushing for a decision whether it be in recovery or whether it be in sales, sales you want to have an open mind, you want to have an open heart.

Corey Berrier: 11:29

What do you feel like is missing now that's keeping you from deciding in the sales standpoint? And also, it works with a friend who's struggling with recovery. What's keeping you in this cycle of drinking and drugging? What is keeping you from moving forward with the decision today? Today. And there's a way that you can, the way. There's a way you can relate to people without being salesy or feeling like you're pushing someone into a decision, whether that be in recovery or whether that be in sales. And so here's the same dynamic of objection.

Corey Berrier: 12:27

Right, I'm not sure I'm ready to stop now, or I'm not sure now is the right season to do this translation for recovery. Maybe I'll start the system later. Get the key there. Maybe I don't buy, give me a yes or a no, maybe waste my time, but the real meaning is I'm scared to make a decision. I'm scared to sign the ticket and pay you $20,000 today. Now that could be scared because I haven't talked to my wife. It could be scared because I don't know if I have tax payments coming up. It could be scared because I haven't told my wife I have a gambling problem. It could be scared the list could go on and on about why they're not ready to make a decision, whether it be to get sober or to buy that unit. So you wouldn't pressure someone into getting sober. So why would you pressure someone into trying to buy what you're selling? It's attraction, not promotion.

Corey Berrier: 13:58

If you're trying to push this item, or if you're trying to push whatever you're selling let's use HVAC as an example, since that's what the industry I'm in. If I'm trying to push you to buy this certain system, it feels salesy system. It feels salesy, even if my intention is to make sure that your family is safe. If I push you, you are going to back down. You're going to feel like I'm putting you in a corner. And it's exactly the same thing in recovery. If I try to push you to get sober and you're not ready, you're going to run the other way, and the damage of that in both scenarios is is the outcome is not going to be good for you as the salesperson, or the person trying to get the person sober, and it's not going to be good for the person trying to get sober or the customer, because the outcome is going to be they're not going to make a decision because they feel like they're being pushed.

Corey Berrier: 15:07

I don't know about you, but I don't like being pushed. I don't like being pushed to make a decision. I don't like to be sold into making a decision. I want to feel like I'm in control of making my own decisions. Lots of times, rather, I rely on my higher power, god, to help me make decisions, because sometimes, if I don't know what decision to make, that means I need to rely on something bigger than me to help. And you can't express that. You can express it the way I just explained it to you, to somebody in recovery and in a sales situation. You've got to explain why the benefits of them moving forward today, but not in a way that makes them feel like they're being backed in a corner.

Corey Berrier: 16:10

There are certain times when it's genuinely true. I'll give you a great example. We went to a customer's house this past week and the way his unit was positioned outside. We needed a uniquely sized system outside, and so we had to figure out obviously, we measured it, we figured out that most of the normal systems wouldn't work, but we did find one in stock. That was the size that we were looking for. Find one in stock, that was the size that we were looking for. And so in that scenario, it was genuinely true that there was only one of those left in stock, and that was the truth. And the truth is we're not the only people buying from that distributor. The chances of that unit being gone are significantly higher than selling out of a normal size unit.

Corey Berrier: 17:19

And so in that scenario that's how I explained it Like you have a unique size and that unique size, there's only one left in stock. You're more than welcome to wait, but I just got to tell you there literally is one left in stock. You're more than welcome to wait, but I just got to tell you there literally is one left in stock, and that was the truth. And the cost of waiting means that one may be sold and we don't know when the next one's coming in. And that's the truth. We don't know when it's coming in.

Corey Berrier: 17:47

And so, if you look at that scenario, if you're being genuine and people know you can't just tell people there's one more in stock every time because that's not true and it's incongruent with the truth. And when there's incongruency with you, people can pick up on that subconsciously and they know that you're not telling the truth. And I don't know how to explain that, other than it's just an innate part of our human anatomy that we can tell when something's off. Have you ever met somebody that just feels like they're just a little off but you can't really put your finger on it? That's that subconscious, that subconscious radar, if you will, going up in your mind saying something's not. I can't put my finger on it, but something's not right with this guy, so pay attention.

Corey Berrier: 19:03

And so my point here is I think the majority of what today is about is you got to clarify, without putting pressure on that individual, whether it's in recovery or whether it's your customer. The way you can do that is just be genuinely honest, be genuinely curious about that individual. And be genuinely honest Because the truth always wins and you can't tell me that it doesn't. Because the truth always wins and you can't tell me that it doesn't, because that's my experience and I think that most people want to be truthful, sometimes the money gets in the way or the want to pull this person into your sobriety life and help them get sober. You can't get somebody sober. You just can't. It's not your job and you're not that powerful, just like you're not that powerful to force somebody to buy that system.

Corey Berrier: 20:09

Because guess what, when you force people to do things in the sales side, you're going to get a cancellation. You force somebody to do something on the recovery side, they're going to go out and get hired to get drunk tonight, and I don't want that on my conscience. Personally, I don't want to know that I had any part in someone going back out and being miserable, and I don't want any part in a customer feeling like they were pushed into a system that they didn't want. And really look at your motives, look at what are you trying to achieve and you may need to check that and make sure that you're not coming across in a way that someone could perceive some of the things I've talked about today and so listen this is like really go back and re-listen to this, because if you can just do the things that I'm suggesting here in a genuine way, whether it be in recovery, whether it be in sales, it goes a long way.

Corey Berrier: 21:27

Be calm when you're talking to people, whether it be on either side, whether it be in recovery or whether it be on the sales side, because people don't feel threatened when you're just cool, calm and collective and actively listen and that goes for both sides as well. That really goes for anything that you're doing in life. And what I mean by actively listening means listening when someone else is talking, that you're actively listening to what they're saying and not thinking about how you're going to respond. Just let them finish. Your brain's going to process what they're saying. Take a second and then respond no-transcript. And if you miss what they're saying, it makes people feel like you don't give a shit what they're saying. It makes people feel like they're unheard and that all you care about is your outcome and not theirs. And people they buy for their reasons, not yours. People get sober for their reasons, not yours, yours. People get sober for their reasons, not yours.

Corey Berrier: 23:08

So I just would say, if, if you just don't rush people, if you don't close the deal today, guess what there's going to be another one tomorrow. And if you don't convince somebody, or if you don't have somebody show up at a next meeting. It's not your fault, but you just got to know that if you're doing everything that I've said here today in this podcast, you're going to have a better chance of success, and I think that's what we all want. You're going to have a better chance of success, and I think that's what we all want. We all want to be successful in both life and in our jobs, in our businesses. You can't do that if you don't follow some of these things that I said today really all the things that I said today.

Corey Berrier: 24:03

So really pay attention if you're maybe coming across as this individual, lots of times ego comes into play when we're talking to somebody that we're trying to sell a system to, because we think we know more than they do. And guess what? Sometimes we do not know more than they do. A great example is we talked to an electrical engineer yesterday and that guy has researched, done his homework, understands the systems, probably has questions. That's going to be hard for us to answer, but unless you ask good questions and find out how much information they know, you don't know. And the same thing when you're talking to somebody in recovery. It's not about what you want, it's about what they want. So hopefully you got something out of this today. I thought it was a good time to just mingle the two together, because it's two of my favorite things to talk about. Appreciate you listening and we'll see you next week.