On Sales: Pillars of Professionalism
While luck, fate, or even a random tip from a Ouija board can sometimes play a role in success, there are three key factors that consistently drive achievement: Focus, Effort, and Attitude. Unlike chance, these are entirely within our control, giving us the power to shape our own success. Let's break them down.
• Focus
Life as a salesperson can be chaotic. Between appointments, traffic delays, endless phone calls, and unexpected issues demanding attention, staying focused is a challenge—but a crucial one.
Plan your week and your day with intention. Keep that plan visible and stick to it as much as possible. Reacting to every distraction may feel productive, but if your key tasks remain unfinished by day’s end, what have you really achieved?
• Effort
Successful people go the extra mile—doing the things that others are unwilling to do. Push yourself to make that extra call when you're tired or invest additional time seeking new business leads. Sales is hard work, and success often comes down to working harder than your competitors.
Ever wonder why Lamborghini doesn’t advertise on TV? Because those who can afford one aren’t spending their time sitting around watching commercials.
• Attitude
Your attitude shapes your outcomes more than you may realize. While we can't control everything that happens to us, our response to those events can define our success.
As Charles Swindoll wrote in his poem Attitude, "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." Maintaining a positive mindset and taking ownership of your attitude is key to moving forward, even in challenging circumstances.
Outrun the Competition, Not the Bear
I often share a story that illustrates these three principles:
Imagine you’re standing in a forest clearing with a competing salesperson, both of you venting about frustrating issues at work—misplaced orders, difficult customers, and competitors offering baffling deals. Suddenly, a grizzly bear emerges from the trees, roaring loudly.
Your competitor panics, trembling in fear. Meanwhile, you calmly tighten your shoelaces.
"You can't outrun a bear," your competitor stammers.
"I don't have to outrun the bear," you reply with a grin. "I just have to outrun you."
And the same goes for all of us. Don’t focus on things you can’t control, like a co-worker’s quality of work or crazy deals offered by your competitors. Instead, adjust your attitude, focus every day on the tasks at hand, and make an effort to run harder than your competition. That’s how you beat your competitor!
