The profession of Sales is a lot like sports. In fact, for a lot of my one-on-one Sales Coaching Clients, we have a mantra we repeat.
“I am an elite athlete; my sport, Sales!”
The reason I promote this elite athlete mindset is that it’s so easy for Sales Professionals to be casual about how they’re training to win opportunities. A lot of them are like me with my daily runs (before I incorporated the 3 strategy habits discussed in this article)-they go through the motions by putting on sales sneakers and tracking at a comfortable pleasant pace instead of pushing daily to potential.
I’ve witnessed the best runners and Sales Pros-the ones who are winning the races are the ones who are practicing these consistent habits because they are not just in it. They want to win it.
They do everything they can, every day to make it happen.
What I have learned personally about running marathons and as a Sales Professional is that we learn a lot about ourselves and our potential when we incorporate the following 3 habit strategies into our sales process.
- Challenge yourself with a time-sensitive stretch goal. Make the no money back investment into the race! Buy the badge and reserve the hotel room. Go to the conference! Make it more difficult to not hit the goal than to actually, achieve what it is you say you want. That’s what no pain, no gain really means.
- Always know who your next pacesetter is. Your pacesetter is the push your potential is hungry for! This is the person that is not miles ahead of you. Be realistic! It’s the pace person you see in front of you that gives you a focus for the effort required to level up to your potential. That’s how you track big goals in business and life.
- Commit to a proven training program and work it consistently; no matter what. This is all the other activities and disciplines required to be race-day ready. It’s not just the daily sales run! The secret sauce to everything is no secret! It’s the right work done consistently over time. Don’t underestimate the value of experience to lead you in the right direction for the training that will make a difference in running your race to your goal finish line. Be open-minded to getting some paid help like taking a course, joining an accountability or Mastermind Group, or hiring a professional coach to help you identify the right activity or sales training system that’s a fit for your personality and physiology.
Isn’t that what running towards your goals is all about? So, what’s your next all-in challenge? Who’s your pacesetter? What training are you committed to for getting the results you know you can achieve?
Cathleen Mancino is a Peak Performance Sales and Leadership Coach who specializes in helping clients make impactful presentations that get clients motivated to make decisions!