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Become Champion Material
By: Donna L. Cohen
Issue: 2005sep
Given the demands of today’s light-speed business world, sales professionals are increasingly required to come into the ring with more than a whole new set of skills. Winning in sales requires a commitment to linking attitude, behavior and skills to forge an invincible pyramid of success.
If you were a boxer, you might have an awesome right hook. But without conditioning your body and mind for the fight, you’ll never be championship material. Preparing for a fight requires sparring and taking punches, getting the right mindset and persevering through the pain. If you could think like a prize-winning boxer when preparing to make a sale, your attitude would be focused. You’d have a solid game plan for what was likely to happen and still be ready for the unexpected—prepared to excel in any situation.
Here are some tips for finding the right combination of attitude, behavior and skills to help you excel during the next round of sales calls.
‘A’ IS FOR ATTITUDE: FLEX IT
With the conditioning of a prize fighter, you would be able to concentrate your efforts on qualifying a prospect rather than closing him or her. You could focus on adding value to the prospect’s business rather than making the sale. And, you could easily walk away from a non-qualifying prospect because you know that—with the right prospect—your selling skills are invincible. It starts with attitude.
Here’s an example. At one point in my business I had to face the fact that to move to the next level, I needed multimillion-dollar clients. Years before, however, I reported to the president of a $350 million company whose philosophy was “management through intimidation and humiliation.” As a result of my experiences under his leadership, I concluded that all CEOs of multimillion-dollar companies used intimidation and humiliation tactics, so I chose to work only with small companies. I definitely needed an attitude adjustment.
While we may be perfectly comfortable selling at one level and believe we are highly successful, I learned that in reality we are terrified of moving out of our comfort zone because of a misperception about our abilities to sell and achieve at a higher level. Whenever you find fear arising from subconsciously negative perceptions, the trick is to focus instead on your past and present strengths.
Self-doubt is created in that part of the mind that holds negative beliefs we have about ourselves and others. Salespeople are plagued by negative thought patterns such as:
I’m not creative.
I can’t sell at the “C” level (CEO, CFO, etc.).
I’ll be rejected.
I’ll look and sound stupid.
My prices aren’t low enough.
The competition has a better product.
And these are often the tip of the iceberg. Such thoughts arise from a variety of experiences and situations, but whatever the underlying belief, negative thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Fear, self-doubt and worry steal valuable time and energy from your commitment to providing value to our customers. If your subconscious thinks “I can’t call at the C level,” then you can’t. But if you think “I have value,” then you do.
Always sell from a position of strength. You are either a fit or not, and either way is fine. Develop an attitude that you are capable, you know what you’re doing and you have something valuable to offer so whatever non-qualifying prospects may think is irrelevant to your mindset.
When you find yourself in situations where you feel out of control, take the time to find out why. It helps to keep a daily log of your attitudes, tracking and recording your past behaviors and activities. Setting meaningful goals will help you face the future with self-confidence.
‘B’ IS FOR BEHAVIOR: PUMP IT UP
Sometimes simply changing your behavior does the trick. There are times you don’t take action if you perceive only an either/or choice—either I do it this way or I do it that way. It might be helpful to explore a third option. Your attitude becomes more confident when you allow yourself to pick among three options versus limiting yourself to only two.
Take a distributor, for instance, who sells promotional products to a law firm to complement its marketing efforts. This individual believed that attorneys (his main prospects) always wanted to argue about the suggested products, type of decoration or method of distribution. They always found something that wouldn’t work and, consequently, wanted to change elements of the program. Frustrated, he categorized attorneys in one of two ways—either argumentative or not argumentative, and he couldn’t find many of the latter! By changing his attitude about attorneys and then his behavior, he was able to call on these prospects and let them “win” certain arguments. It made them feel good, and they bought his programs. His clients were so pleased with the results his solution provided that he soon was selling by referral only.
WORK ON THOSE ABS
Most importantly, it pays to work on strengthening the interdependence between your attitude, behavior and skills. Assess how much attention you are devoting to each area in your “circle of success.” Make notes in your log about things you’re going out of your way to avoid. As you develop new skills and techniques, you may want to explore new guidelines for your own attitude and behavior. Take stock of your greatest assets and also continuously look at areas for improvement. Write a plan and set a timetable to activate it. Practice and review your progress regularly. Evaluate and modify as necessary. As you change your attitude and behaviors, you will naturally develop new skills and techniques—and become champion material.
Donna L. Cohen is president of Performance Insights, LLC, a sales training and consulting company in Greenwood Village, Colorado. She is the author of the award-winning book on B2B Selling, GO BIG…or Stay Home! Exploding Your Sales Potential and Achieving Your Financial Dreams. For more information, visit www.performanceinsightsllc.com.
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