Mind Set for The Long Haul

Sales people have the reputation of over inflated ego, zealous confidence and unwarranted bravado. When the average person hears the words ‘Sale Person’ they imagine someone loud, aggressive who is rudely determined to take their money. Getting from this preconceive notion to an empathic sale is no small task.

Reputations are most often what they are for good reason. As a person who works with a team of sales people, I can tell you that we are prone to develop rather large egos, and wear them proudly in front of others. Why?

Our egos are often a self defense system to help us deal with the continuous rejection and failure of our jobs. Even the best sales person is likely to hear “NO” more then they hear yes, and the ‘NOs’ are always louder. So we can compensate by focusing loudly and often obsessively on how good we are, taunting others with the success we have had and conversing in ‘one-upmanship’ conversations. This becomes our façade’, our outer shell to our colleagues and clients.

The mind-set of the true professional sales person isn’t about flaunting ego, it is about setting goals, working hard, and appreciating others. Developing a strong inner self dynamic that reinforces our self esteem and builds our character from the inside out is critical if we want to survive in sales for the long haul. While an outer ego will work for a while, eventually we will find ourselves running on empty, dissatisfied and quitting – if not sales entirely, our current job.

There are a few things that we can do to build our mind-set from the inside out.
1. Learn -Commit to learning every day. To combat an ego of know-it-all-ism, spend time regularly learning more about sales. There is always something new to learn, and exciting people to teach us. Learning helps keep us humble. Allow yourself to say, “I didn’t know that.”
2. Educate -Help someone else. Surely there is someone in your team, company or industry that needs your help. Make some time to have coffee regularly with someone new to sales and help them learn how you have had some success.
3. Exercise – there is nothing like being physical to remind us of our limitations and motivate us to improve. Regular exercise, even just a brisk walk for 30 minutes four times a week, will do wonders for your inner mind-set. Exercise reduces stress, creates health and feeds the brain.
4. Read – The power of reading is becoming a lost art. I suggest actually reading from a book. Take your mind and energy away form electronics, phones, schedules, and emails and sit with one of those old fashion paper and cover things called a book and read. You will be amazed at the affect it will have on you.
5. Nothing – when is the last time you spent time doing nothing. I’m not suggesting becoming a sloth, but 15-20 minutes of time to relax, unwind and let you mind and body let go is a powerful tool. Put a note pad next to you so if some ideas jumps in and demands your attention you can jot it down and tend to it later, then relax.

Our mind-set is simply what we set our mind to do. If we set our mind and goals to become a balanced, mature person who is successful in sales, we can remove and leave behind that protective shell of boisterous ego.