Win the Battle here first. Then, go take scalps.
Salespeople ought to be damn proud of their profession.
I’ll say it again: salespeople ought to be damn proud of their profession.
Sales is the lifeblood of the organization. Without sales, nothing else happens. The rest of the departments, despite the protestations of their importance to the contrary, all come crumbling down without sales revenue coming in. Sales props everyone else up. And when sales are down, everyone else is down, too.
Yes, you are that important when you’re in sales. Yes, you are that necessary to the lifeblood of the firm. Yes, people count on you for their own success. They may not tell you this, but it is nonetheless true. They just don’t think about it this way. Sales is everything. Sales cure all.
Since they won’t tell you, I’ll tell you. You are really important to the life of the organization. Your efforts breathe life into the organization. What you do day in and day out in the field allows others to have a job. Like an entrepreneur, you are a job creator. Your efforts enable others to make a living. That’s how important this is.
That’s why, in sales, we are not here to jack around. We are not here to play it safe. We are not here to go half-assed. People rely on us. Families rely on us. Other departments rely on us. Yes, it is a big responsibility. Can you handle that? Yes, there is great power here. Can you handle that? Yes, it is going to be hard. Can you handle that?
But it is also going to be fun. You better be having a lot of fun when you’re out selling. Because if you’re not, you won’t be any fun to be around and far fewer people will buy from you.
You need to be the most fun, positive, elated, spirited, happy and outgoing person you meet today. No one can beat you at this. No one should beat you at this. You ought to be impeccably positive. You should always win the Be Positive & Optimistic competition. It shouldn’t even be close.
In order to sell exceptionally, you must first be exceptional. You must exude exceptional. You must think exceptional morning, noon, and night. You must live it. You must breathe it. You must own it.
Exceptional Selling starts with a daily dedication to the way you think: the way you think about yourself; the way you think about your profession; the manner in which you handle yourself; the way in which you carry yourself; and the manner in which you interact with others both inside the organization and in the field. This is a discipline. And like Jocko Willink reminds us, this discipline will set you free because Discipline = Freedom.
The battle must be won in the mind first. Then, we go and take scalps.
