When you sit down to make that first sales call of the day, what kind of thoughts are running through your head?
Are you feeling positive and upbeat, ready to be your best, most upbeat self? Or, are you dreading that first call and hearing that first NO of the day?
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, but having a negative attitude about your sales calls is not going to lead to more sales. It’s all about mindset!
If you’re mindset is suffering and every time you pick up the phone, you start this downward spiral in your head, it will come through on your calls. The customer you’re trying to reach will sense your negative attitude, even if you’re trying to disguise it.
Sales calls CAN be tough, especially if you’re receiving an endless stream of NO’s, but there’s something you can do to boost your mindset about making each call. Read on to find out more!
It’s All About Your Mindset
If you’ve been on the phone all day, or meeting with customers in person and have heard nothing but NO, it’s possible your ego may begin to feel a bit bruised (especially if you haven’t learned how to overcome those objections). But, with sales, it is an ABSOLUTE must to dust yourself off and get right back out there.
My guest on Success Unfiltered, Todd Durkin, experienced a pretty crushing NO at a relatively young age.
When it came to making a decision on which college to attend, he really struggled. Several options had things that he wanted in a school, but by waiting too long to make a choice, his favorite school had pulled back their scholarship. This was obviously pretty devastating to Todd. He could have chosen to sit and wallow, but instead he quickly made decision to attend a different school, which ended up leading him to success.
Todd admits to being a pretty optimistic, resilient guy, so when he experiences a failure or a setback, he doesn’t spend too much time feeling sorry for himself. Instead he uses his time to get his mind right.
He acknowledges that things like this happen and moves right onto the next call or proposal. His favorite mantra to use in situations such as these is “Next, next, next.” He uses it as a mindset trick to make sure he’s keeping his mind focused on the positive.
You can’t feel sorry for yourself for too long! It’s important to remember that about 90% of success is between the ears.
We’re pretty much faced with adversity and NO’s on a daily basis, it’s how you react to those NO’s that will help keep your energy up. It’s important that you keep your mind right, that you keep yourself focused, ultimately, on what you want to do and why you want to do it.
This is what helps keep your spirit and your energy up, which in turn is what helps you lead to the success you want to achieve.
Building Up Resilience
There’s no question, being a sales person requires a lot of resilience. It requires you building up the ability to let the NO’s just slide off, as if they don’t matter. It’s even a great practice to look at those NO’s as learning opportunities.
Find out what led the prospect to say NO. Was it the way you presented it, do they not have a need for it, maybe you didn’t show them the true value… Whatever it is, take the time to uncover it, so that you can adjust things in the future.
Another important thing to remember is that you don’t want to tie any of your expectations to the answer that you’re going to receive. You’re obviously going to hear YES or NO, and you can be hopeful with either answer, YES is just a bit more immediate. The NO will teach you something, as well, it’ll just be information you can use in the future.
At one point in Todd’s career he wanted to expand his training facility, but knew that he needed to increase his cash flow. Todd knew that if was able to obtain an apparel sponsor, he would absolutely be able to increase the money coming in, so he contacted Nike and Adidas and both turned him down almost immediately.
Todd could have wallowed in this, letting it bring him down and remove the idea of extending his training facility. But, it was the NO from Nike and Adidas that put a fire in his stomach and led him to say, if they said NO, there’s got to be someone else that’s going to say YES.
While working with Drew Brees, he was able to obtain a spot on the sidelines of the Pro Bowl, where he heard someone introduce himself as working for Under Armour. Todd went over, introduced himself, and ended up working with Under Armour within a year, and he’s now been with them for 10 years.
Todd firmly believes that you should never make up someone’s mind for them, instead go after whatever it is you want. Set your intentions and GO!
If you get told NO, then just let it stoke your fire in finding a way to get a YES!
Use Mantras to Keep You Focused on Your Sales Goals
Using mantras on a daily basis can be an incredible way to get you hyped up and excited to get on the phone with prospects.
Try repeating ten times something like, “I am an effective, powerful presenter and sales person,” immediately before you get on the phone. See how it feels. See how it peps you up and gets you excited about the outcome and then repeat it over and over every time you start to feel like your effectiveness is wavering.
Choose a handful of mantras that you can speak out loud, or write on a daily basis. Use that positivity to fuel every sales call.
Happiness and excitement are contagious, use them to your advantage!
In Conclusion
Stop worrying about the outcome of your call before you even make it. You can’t control it anyway, instead focus on what you CAN control, which is your mindset.
Keep yourself focused on only 3 things, when making sales calls: What do you want to achieve for your client, the quality you can offer your clients and the value you will provide them. THIS is what will lead to success, even if you hear a NO!
Get more from Todd:
- The WOW Book: 52 Ways to Motivate Your Mind, Inspire Your Soul & Create WOW in Your Life!
- The IMPACT! Body Plan: Build New Muscle, Flatten Your Belly & Get Your Mind Right!
Connect with Todd:
