The Mind and The Body of a Salesman
The Mind and The Body of a Salesman
The two most important attributes of a salesman are his mind and his body! Vince Lombardi once said, and it is my favorite quote of his, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all". In the grind of day to day selling you are going to hear NO all day. It just beats you down in a big way. When you are so tired of hearing it, tired of putting in long hours and real tired of getting nowhere, you will get fatigued. For those of you who have been there, you know what I mean. I personally have been there! When you get fatigued, you just stop and you don't want to do it anymore. In simple terms it makes cowards out of us. We just give up!
In my opinion it is the job of a salesmen to keep his/her body and mind in tip top shape. This is pretty basic but I will say it. You have to work out. And you have to work out the right way. Martin Gibala is a scientist that takes credit on the proper way to work out. He says that short intervals of high-intensity interval training exercise is the best. This means you don't have to work out hours on end to stay in shape. Just put in 45 minutes a day. You really need to do this five days a week. To read the entire article click here. It is very interesting!
I don't know about you but if I don't work out in the morning then I just don't work out that day. I'm just too tired to do it at the end of the day. Now that I am older, that mantra of working out early has served me well. When I go to the gym (early) I see older people trying to reverse the clock because they never really worked out in their life much. Hey, it's better than nothing but it might just be a day late and a dollar short. Do yourself a favor and start working out five days a week and stick to it for six weeks. After that, measure how you feel and how you look. Measure you sales and attitude as well. Is it worth it? You bet! Then go for six months. This is a "cut and measure" technique that will break things down to something you can manage. Look for results!
Get Back up and Keep Going!
Now let's get to the head part of this. When you hear "no" a lot, it can kind of get to you. No one likes to be rejected. After a while you actually might get a complex. NO BODY LIKES ME! Sometimes your deals are sold, and then they fall through. That is really a killer! I once heard Barbara Corcoran say something about the best sales people take "no" and keep on going. They get smacked down and they ALWAYS get back up and keep going. It is kinda like life! EVERYBODY gets knocked down and you have to get back up and keep going. I don't mean a subtle knock down I mean a major knock down. It's a little tough to get up sometimes!
I have always done two things to help me: Read and Listen. I would read positive sales and marketing books to help and improve. You must always improve! If you haven't read much, start with the classic "Think and Grow Rich". This is a true classic. A MUST read. Timeless! Another great book that is more modern day is "The Only Sales Guide You Will Ever Need" by Anthony Lannarino. Anthony is a best selling author, speaker and blogger. His blog is called The Sales Blog. Read the book and read Anthony's blog. It is good stuff! Some of these guys on the Internet selling courses and books are just so-so. Be careful. I actually wince a bit when I watch some of the videos I see on line. Anthony is the real deal.
Listen Your Way to a Sale
If you aren't listening to Audible then I'm not sure how committed you might be. You know what they say about sales people--You are as good as your last sale! Audible is $14.95 a month and you get an audio book each month that you can download on your computer, tablet or phone. There are always deals to buy more credits so you can listen to more books. This is a must do. If you are on the road you just have to listen to be effective. You will be constantly filling your head with positive things instead of second guessing yourself. Oh yes and you will spare yourself from listening to time wasting music or the lousy NEWS!
Always improve, always strive to be better and stay positive in a very negative world! Rock on!!