Contrast and compare
I am a very big collaborator and I think the most successful salespeople are. Just like a professional athlete, successful salespeople are always in training, in practice and open to learning new skills. Just like a professional athlete, sales definitely involve a “performance state”, gearing up to act, rallying energy, visualising on what you are about to do, preparing to take hits and be resilient. If you compare this to most knowledge work jobs, then the performance nature of sales becomes even more clear. People buy from people they like and if you cannot have a conversation with them, it is unlikely to go very far.