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Long-term sales success has less to do with skills or knowledge than you might
think. Nor are stunning brochures or excellent products guaranteed to make one
iota of impact over time. Unless certain critical elements already exist in the
salesperson, providing training and tools in hopes of improving performance does
nothing more than giving a PGA golfer's best driver to an amateur. The club
itself can't make someone a pro.
Yet a pro can take a cheap driver and make a better shot than an amateur with
the best and biggest Big Bertha has to offer. Likewise, you probably know one or
two standouts who have excelled without classic sales training, without flashy
support materials for their products, and even without a superior product to
represent.
Then what makes the difference? If it's not remarkable closing ability,
outstanding product knowledge, or relentless objection handling . . . if it's
not talent or brainpower or tools that create sustained success, what is it?
In more than twenty years studying the top performers in many fields, I've
discovered the mysterious X-factor is a mindset: A group of attitudes,
understandings, beliefs, and resulting behaviors create high achievement over
the long haul. Whether you're talking about golf or sales or any other pursuit,
the same principle applies. Ultimately, the mindset creates top
performance, excellent production numbers, and prosperity for both the
salesperson and the company he or she represents.
Creating a mindset of sustained success requires you to focus on three key
areas:
1)
the beliefs you have about yourself
2)
the attitudes you have about your customers, product, and industry
3)
the ownership you take of your own success.
Adopt Positive Beliefs About Yourself
Positive thinking has been on the lips (if
not the minds) of people in sales for many years now. But in adopting positive
beliefs about yourself, you go far, far beyond the Stuart Smalley mantra of
"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it! People like me."
Let's look seriously at the subject of
beliefs. What are they? Beliefs are nothing more than habitual thought.
Thoughts, and the words we use to express them to ourselves and others, have
corresponding images in the mind. These images have corresponding emotions, the
emotions have corresponding actions, and actions have corresponding results. So
the path to any result is thought/word-emotion-action-result. If you want to
improve the results you are getting, you must interrupt the habit of thought and
create a new one. You must walk a new path.
Although I'm not a doctor, when a friend of mine with cancer was looking for
ways not only to beat the disease, but also to feel better during the process, I
did have one piece of advice for him. He had to begin to imagine himself whole,
complete, and well. He needed to actually spend time seeing himself in his
mind's eye in robust condition. He needed to create a new habit of thought, one
that focused on the new result he desired.
"You have to stop thinking, I don't want to have cancer," I
told him. "Instead, you have to start thinking, I am healthy and
whole."
Otherwise, the mind fixes itself on the negative. If I say, "Don't
think about ice cream," what happens? Your brain holds onto the idea of ice
cream like a dog with a bone. You can't not think about ice cream. So,
instead of thinking about being rid of cancer, my friend had to visualize
himself as completely healthy.
"Let your mind latch onto the positive," I counseled.
Does it work? Just ask the gymnasts who are taught to work through injuries with
visualization. Instead of practicing with a badly sprained ankle, for example,
they lay on the floor and imagine themselves doing their regular warm-up,
work-out, and cool-down every day. Many gymnasts report that when they come back
from an injury, they do as well if not better as long as they've been
visualizing during their time off.
Please know that I don't believe we can always think our way out of injury or
illness. Nor do I believe we always think our way into health problems. But
there's no denying the power of the mind to help us heal and its equal power to
hinder us in our healing if we're misdirected. The mere thought or utterance of
the word cancer must create a corresponding image of disease, setting off
a dangerous cycle. Likewise, my friend's visions of wholeness created a
completely different picture. I'm delighted to report that, with this mental
boost and other health-affirming practices, my friend's cancer went into full
remission. He continues to receive clean bills of health.
The Inner Game of Sales
You have to see yourself as successful in the inner game in order to
be successful in the outer game. When you give that "command" to the
subconscious mind when you imagine how you'll feel, look and sound when you are
producing at the level you desire the mind thinks it's already occurred and
calls for an encore performance in the real world.
Dr. Morris Massey wrote about how our mind sets us up for success and failure.
It's as if we've "programmed" our inner selves to produce certain
results in our outer world. Wouldn't it be great if it was literally lines of
code that could be rewritten to create exactly what we want? In a way, we can
"reprogram" ourselves, but we have to decipher the hidden codes buried
in our subconscious. Massey tells us that our core programming our most
fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world we live in locks in by puberty
and acts as a secret governor from then on.
Another psychologist, Maxwell Maltz, wrote about such mental mechanisms in Psycho-Cybernetics
(Wilshire Book Co., 1981). He compared the subconscious mind (including
those beliefs we've had since puberty) to a thermostat that equalizes the
temperature to a set point whenever it gets too hot or cold.
Every day, I see this operate in a business context. You've probably seen it,
too. Do you know any salespeople who come in at about the same numbers every
year? And who, every once in a while, have a phenomenal first three quarters so
that by about September, they are on track to create the best year ever? And who
decide to coast into the new year instead, so they wind up making the same as
last year?
People who are mysteriously drawn to a particular income or production figure
are suffering from Maltz's thermostat. Outside their conscious awareness, they
believe they are, for example, a $100,000-a-year performer, and if their
production gets too "hot," the thermostat kicks in to cool things off.
The cybernetic mechanism measures the deviation from the set goal and
automatically turns on the cooler to make things more comfortable.
This doesn't apply only to numbers. It can show up in many ways. Is there
anything you know you should do for your own career success, but you don't do it
because, on some level, it takes you out of your comfort zone? The first step to
changing your own programming is to recognize it. Think about it. Think about
why you don't do what you know intellectually you should. Then start thinking
about what's behind it. What do you have to believe about yourself, your world,
your product, your industry, to cause this behavior to occur?
Some common underlying beliefs that regulate salespeople's performance are:
-
"I need more training and skills
before I can succeed."
-
"I'm not worthy of earning more
than . . . "
-
"I don't deserve to be a top
performer."
-
"I am not good at cold
calling."
-
"I'm not able to talk to (or get
to) the decision makers at the top."
-
"I need more experience before I
can be successful."
Once the underlying belief is uncovered, a
new belief must be chosen. The new belief can be the opposite or an
"antidote" to the old one, such as "I have unlimited life
knowledge and experience." New beliefs must then be "installed."
Specifically, the new belief must be supported by both evidence and habit.
Start by answering a simple question: What will I have to see, hear, and
feel to cement this belief? Then begin vividly visualizing these
results at least twice a day. (Note: the mind is most open to suggestion first
thing in the morning just after waking and the last thing at night before
sleep.) Many people think that results build belief, and in some cases this is
true, but it's more often the inverse. Remember the chain:
thought/word-image-emotion-action-result. You must be able to see yourself
already in possession of the outcome of the new belief.
A belief always starts out as an idea, which we gather evidence to
support. Once we have enough evidence, the idea becomes a belief. This is the
process we undergo as children when our earliest beliefs are formed all
unconsciously, of course. As adults, we can take this process and deliberately
adopt beliefs that lead to success.
When I study top sales professionals, I notice they all seem to think in the
same way. You can ask them after the first quarter, "How are you going to
do this year?"
Invariably, they'll respond, "I'll make or exceed my goals." (That's
the belief.)
"But you're way behind. What are you going to do?" you might ask.
They'll say, "I'll catch up!" (And as they work to catch up, they use
each step toward the achievement of the goal as evidence that they were right
all along.)
"How?" I may ask.
"I don't know. I just will" often is their answer. And
nine times out of ten they'll find a way. The results come from their belief.
Champions in any field create an unbending belief in themselves, program
themselves to continually find evidence to support its truth, then consistently
and vividly see themselves in possession of the desired goal. William James, the
father of modern psychology, said, "Your belief creates the fact."
Now Forget Sales, and Focus on Your Customers, Product, and Industry
Once you've visualized yourself achieving your goals and removed any
psychological obstacles, it's time to put those goals aside and focus on the
customer. Again, this all happens in your mind, but it has a profound impact on
the way you affect your outer world.
No doubt you've heard the saying, "People love to buy, but they hate being
sold." In today's market, this has never been more true, and as a result, I
believe you can't be a salesperson of the old school any more. The salesperson's
old mindset was "Gimme": Gimme your business, gimme your money,
gimme my sales goal. This kind of attitude makes other people's skin crawl.
Somehow, humans are equipped with detectors, and when they are confronted with
the Gimme mindset, they naturally respond with the "Lemme" mindset, as
in Lemme outta here.
Today's customers and clients require a new attitude, one that offers
something rather than asks for something. In a high-tech society, high touch is
highly valuable. The new-school salesperson focuses on giving instead of
getting, on service instead of sales. Always a man ahead of his time, Henry Ford
captured this mindset eloquently: "Wealth will never be achieved when
sought after directly; it only comes as a by-product of providing useful
service."
This level of service takes some guts. Sometimes you have to tell people what
they don't want to hear. Sometimes, you even have to say, "Maybe I'm not
the best for you . . . I'd like to send you to someone who will be."
Service means that you're no longer willing to do whatever it takes for the
sale. Now you'll do whatever it takes for the customer because it's the customer
who makes or breaks your business, not an isolated transaction.
I recently read that you have a one in fourteen chance of doing business with
someone new. You have a one in four chance of doing business with someone you've
served before. You have a one in two chance of doing additional business with
someone you're already serving. Think about this for a moment. This means that
the existing, satisfied customer is your greatest source of business. Yet most
people are still doing a lot of cold marketing work. Instead, ask, Who have I
worked with before, why did I lose them, and how can I get them back? Who am I
working with now? How can I serve them so well that they'll be interested in
additional services I can provide? Or refer me to their friends and colleagues?
Can you achieve this level of service to your customers with a product you
don't believe in? I don't think so. Your desire to serve is neutralized by a
poor product. Instead, you must have an unbending conviction that what you are
offering is of tremendous value and assistance. This attitude toward the product
goes hand in hand with the desire to serve the client. If you don't represent
such a product, you must help your company get it. If your company can't get it,
you must find a new company or resign yourself to mediocre results.
What about your industry? Must you have confidence in your industry to succeed?
Yes, just as with a poor product, lack of enthusiasm for your industry
neutralizes the desire to serve the client.
Just two days ago, I was talking to an investment advisor who told me that his
results are dependent upon the market. Now that's a limiting belief! His returns
may depend on the market; that's a fact of life. But his results with clients?
Nonsense.
I asked, "Do you know anyone who succeeds regardless of the market?"
Of course he said yes, so I asked him to tell me about these people. As he did,
he began to realize that his results were not dependent on the market.
What a liberating distinction! He ended our conversation by telling me, "My
industry is great, and it is what I do within it that determines my
success." He got it. Remember, the product and industry are secondary;
without the right beliefs about your own success, none of this matters.
Old Hat, New Head: Take Ownership of Your
Success
Have you heard these ideas before? Are you
utilizing them as you should? If not, why not? Likewise, are there other,
obvious principles of business success you've overlooked? How about basic
accountability for your words and actions, taking responsibility when you mess
up then finding new and better ways of doing things in the future? How is your
self management? Are you spending your peak hours during the day on what
actually helps you achieve your goals?
The bottom line is that sales success grows out of a fundamental mindset, based
on some ideas that may be "old hat," but that require a "new
head" to fit you. If we're looking for a label to capture the essence of
the attitudes, understandings, and beliefs you need to make the hat fit, we can
call this the Entrepreneurial Mindset(tm). Regardless of whether you work for
yourself or for someone else, begin to think of yourself as an entrepreneur, as
the owner of your own success.
Consider the implications . . .
- As
an entrepreneur, would you have to first and foremost believe in your
ability to achieve?
- Would
you have to be passionate about what you and the product have to offer?
- Would
you be willing to settle for mediocrity? Or would you strive for excellence?
- Who
would you consider responsible for every result you produce?
- Would
you be more interested in identifying problems or in proposing solutions?
- Would
it benefit you to be more rigid or more flexible?
- Would
you value comfort or creativity?
- Would
it serve you to wait and see what happens, or to be proactive and
growth-driven?
- Would
you amble through the day mildly interested in the people and happenings
around you, or would you exert enthusiasm in all that you do?
The answers to these questions seem obvious.
I operate from the premise that you know what you need to do, and you have what
you need to create a six- or seven-figure income. Most salespeople have heard
all the "magic bullet" ideas and pitches. But until you begin to think
in new ways, you will never apply these time-tested principles. The distinction
between short-term flashes in the pan and sustained success is simply doing what
may seem obvious to you right now. As they say, if the hat fits, wear it.
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