Black Sales Journal

Many years ago (not that I am sensitive about my age) when I was playing college basketball, I was exposed to a coach named Gene Smithson.  At that time he was the assistant coach at Illinois State University.  He then went on to coach Wichita State University.

His mantra was  “MTXE” or “Mental Toughness Extra Effort”.  What the heck was he trying to do with this term “MTXE?”  It was his effort to bring resolve and a take-no-prisoners attitude to his players at both schools.  It is amazing how something sticks with you, but this one stuck with me. Mental toughness is not just important in athletics, it is extremely important in sales.

You should recognize that attitude could make the difference between winning and losing, or even walking away from an  occupations.

A Definition of Mental Toughness

According to a qualitative study by three individuals from Australia, Jones, Hanton, and Connaughton (2002) entitled Discovering Mental Toughness: A Qualitative Study of Mental Toughness in Elite Athletes, mental toughness is:

“…having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to:  1.) Generally, cope better than your opponents with many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sports places on a performer; and 2.) Specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, and in control under pressure.”

They went on to publish what they identified as attributes of mental toughness.  I will include a few here:

• Self-belief
• An Unshakeable focus
• High Levels of Desire and Determination
• An Overall Consistency of Effort and Technique

There is no doubt that these translate to the sales arena as well.Meta

Mental Toughness in Sales

Whether it is B2B or B2P, there is much to break you down in the world of sales.  Competition is tough, pricing is difficult, and the economy affects how people and companies spend their money.  Now, throw into the mix that the 3Ps (Perceptions, Preference, and Perceptions) sometimes play a role.

Facing adversity and winning is what all good sales professionals seek.  As a matter of fact, many do it all of the time.  Those who have strong self-belief, unshakeable focus, and consistency of effort while maintaining professional technique and high levels of desire and determination are who we interpret as winners. Sales professionals who win consistently are usually examples of mental toughness.

When you are mentally tough, nothing stops you from doing your routine; nothing stops you from your 10 or 20 calls per day.  It is what you do, and if they all result in a “no” answer, you realize that there will be more yes answers tomorrow.

Mental toughness in sales is attainable, and when coupled with Extra Effort it creates a significance force.  When coupled with a good sales plan and solid preparation you have a star.

Extra Effort

What is Extra Effort is in the avocation of professional sales and how does this apply to you?  It is essentially doing over and above what is necessary so that success is assured, and doing it better than most other sales professionals.

In prospecting it is making the additional five prospecting calls per day, with the recognition that the next call could be the “pay dirt” that moves the day from the normal success of scoring on 1 for 10 calls to the very successful 2-3 appointments. There is no area that extra effort will have the more impact than the process of sourcing prospects.

In customer service, it is the extra effort of treating each customer as if they are the only customer.  Giving this level of customer service is more time consuming and requires consistent awareness and forethought.

In prospecting it is treating each relationship as your focal point.  This can be a game changer in the long run.  It builds confidence and relationships.  There is no doubt that it takes extra effort to make this happen.

In your sales career it is getting the credentials that will make you a product or industry expert, giving you some degree of preference over other professionals that populate your industry.

Are You Mentally Tough?

Mental toughness is exemplified by many of the attributes that were illustrated in the beginning of this post.   As we apply it to what you do everyday, if you do not have these attributes, you can get them.  There is nothing magical about these attributes, they are what happens when you are mentally prepared, and realistic.

If sales is an occupation for you, you probably are outgoing, and probably not fragile.  You have personality and you are willing to have some income at risk.  You can accept coaching and have an ability to form strong relationships.  You need to be able to accept the rejection and disappointment that comes with the turf.

Now you need to build your mental toughness.  If you can recognize that much of the ‘rejection’ that comes during the sales process is not personal.  It just may seem hard to believe this when it is happening to you.  Mental toughness will get you there.  Frankly, you know you are good at what you do, and you know that you, and your company, have something to offer.  Be undeterred and keep calling more and more potential customers.  They do not know you or your qualifications.  They are not aware of your ability to provide solutions and solid customer service.

Your toughness focuses on the fact that you will have many rejections during prospecting, and some customers will leave you because of pricing, economics, and other varied reasons.  If you are calling potential customers as frequently as you can, you will not feel the pain of a few calls going bad.  It is a numbers game as was discussed in Black Sales Journal 2/28, How Many Prospects Do You Really Need?

We will talk more about mental toughness and extra effort in a future post.  Realize that you probably have it but do not recognize it.  Be the professional!

We welcome your comments. Reach me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.

The date which we celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday is upon us.   Dr.  King talked of character, and I discuss a professional’s sales character  in this post.  Character is important, and it is what you will be judged by in your professional career.  It is the basis of a meaningful relationships.

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Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke eloquently regarding the future saying:

“…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King 8/28/1963

This speech delivered by this iconic individual symbolizes that there will be a day when skin color and race are not used as determinants of a ‘man’, but strength of mind, morality, independence, individuality, and other qualitative factors would be the measure used for judgment.

Obviously we are not there yet, or there would be no need for Black Sales Journal.  Progress has been made no doubt, yet there is still significant work to do.

Black Sales professionals have a lot to offer, and I will quickly define what I will call “sales character” which makes a real difference in professionals.  When you examine sales character, you are looking at some qualities that make a real difference in any sales professional.

The Attributes

I would describe these characteristics or attributes as those that greatly contribute to the content of one’s sales character:

• Ethical
• Mentally Tough
• Persistent
• Responsive
• Innovative
• Humility

There are probably more that qualify; yet these are high on the list.

Ethical – Solid ethics are important in everything, but extremely important in sales, where trust and honesty have high relative importance.  I went in depth on this subject in Black Sales Journal 12/1/2011- Are You Ethical?

Mentally Tough– Strength and toughness are qualities that make up the sales persona of any true professional.  It is so important in this ‘lonely’ profession that if you don’t have it, you should consider another professiona.  Rejection, most of which is not personal, abounds, and this requires a business stubbornness that is somewhat unique to this profession.  Visit Black Sales Journal 12/29 Mental Toughness – Asset For the Black Sales Professional for a review of this valuable topic.

Persistent – Persistence is a trait that makes the sales professional special.  Prospecting activities that bear no fruit are an obstacle to many.  The persistent sales professional who makes 24 calls knows that the 25th may result in an appointment, and also knows that the 26th may bear fruit as he knows his or her metrics and success ratio with making appointments.  I worked at a place once that had a monetary Persistency Bonus for those who kept pushing and pushing.

Responsive – You are responsive because you have customers and an employer who depend on you.  Customers have needs and expectations and deserve a sales professional who can make them a priority.  The employer counts on the sales professional for more than just sales, as service and territory coverage are important as well.  A great reference would be BSJ 6/16 Responsiveness – The Objective of the Sales Professional.

Innovative – The ability to come up with solutions that work in real time is what innovation gives.  Sales professionals also suggest changes in product and process that benefit the customers.

Humility – This one is tough for many sales professionals whose confidence level and sense of being the integral cog overshadows all else.  Being able to credit an associate or sales team is a must.  It is difficult for many professionals even though it should not be.  An associate who dances on the desk after a significant sale does not get it!  Spend that time crediting your associates and act like you have been in the end-zone before.

Real Life

Real life gives you things that you can’t even make up.  Truth be told, it can also give you characters could be on the silver screen.

I gave this example in Black Sales Journal, in Are you Ethical? The Question for All (12/1/2011).  This section was entitled “Even When No One Is Looking!”

I was once riding in a company vehicle with a sales rep and the customer to a business lunch in the Chicago area.  We were coming to a toll both and the rep reached into a bag and grabs a coin, which he deposited in the automatic toll basket and we were allowed to proceed.  At that time the toll was 25 cents.  On the way back from the successful lunch, he did the same.  As he did it, I looked at the bag, which must have had 200 or more coins and inquired as to how he got that many quarters.  He indicated that they were not quarters, but after a recent trip to Mexico he had a bag of centavos that were essentially worthless here.

Remember, this is in front of the customer.  Our customer heard him admit to using worthless foreign coins in the toll basket.  If you were the customer, how would you feel about this reps credibility?  What would you think about the organization that you were doing business with as you witnessed him doing it in front of his manager?

We had to terminate the rep (I refuse to call him a sales professional).  Let’s look at it from an employer’s view.  This unethical individual did the following:

• Sullied his image and the organization’s image in front of the customer creating doubt as to our ethics and credibility
• Engaged in a civil wrong which might have carried criminal penalties as well
• Committed expense fraud as he also received reimbursement for fraudulent expenses

I contacted the customer as I introduced the new sales rep.  I apologized for the fact that our representative did what he did, and explained that I had someone who was solid who would take care of him.  The customer said the following to me, “I really wondered about what organization would allow its employee to cheat like that.  I liked [him] but realized that I did not know him well enough to trust him.”  The customer was watching my response as much as he was watching the actions of the rep.

Summary

I know there are other traits and characteristics, yet these are truly important.  I say we all will be judged by the “content of character” as sales professionals at some point.  Our customer’s and our employer’s notice our character.

Be the best!

Your comments are welcome.  Write me at michael.parker@blacksalesjournal.com.