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Today is “(Mental) Toughness Thursday!”
By Dr. Jack Singer
Licensed Sport Psychologist
Professional Sales Team Speaker/Trainer
This is part 4 of a 5 part series.
This is the fourth day of my week long Game Plan for Sales Success. The week began by exercises aimed at developing group cohesion, and was followed on Triumphant Tales Tuesday by case studies of sales successes that colleagues in your team can share with each other. Wednesday was the day that sales managers introduced specifics about a new sales push, new products, services, sales strategies etc. Workshop Wednesday was more of a didactic format, so that attendees could be exposed to your power-point, video programs, handouts, etc., teaching them all they need to know about these products and services.
We now have arrived at Thursday, which has the goal of troubleshooting problems sales, disappointments, missed opportunities, etc. This is where mental toughness comes in. Elite athletes gain knowledge from setbacks and bounce back quickly. So, (mental) Toughness Thursday is all about training your team to deal with disappointments, mishaps in sales and missed opportunities.
Like athletes, many sales professionals look at missed opportunities and setbacks as “failures,” which now erodes their self-confidence. And obviously, loss of self-confidence feeds on itself and undermines performance. So, you need to teach them to quickly defuse the self-flagellation that could result from perceived “failures.” The best way to do that is by pro-actively putting this skill into the training package during the Toughness Thursday.
Using mental toughness in the face of disappointment is one of the most important ingredients for maintaining focus and overcoming the fear of continual failure. Once the sales professional runs into adversity, it is easy to become distracted from the goal, focusing instead on his perceived failure and the fear of repeating the failure.
Sales Performance= Sales Skill + Knowledge + Motivation Minus Distractions.
This simple formula tells it all. The more the distractions, the less the sales performance, regardless of skill, knowledge and motivation. And, the number one distraction is the negative self-talk that follows setbacks in performance.
Four training tips to help your sales team overcome negative distractions.
#1) Stop negative self-talk immediately. Self-limiting, negative and pessimistic internal dialogue (self-talk) always inhibit success. Examples are sentences that begin with: “What if …,” “I hope I don’t . . .” “I should have said . . .” “The client won’t like me if . . .” “I always have problems with . . .” “I probably won’t be able to close this sale,” and “I can’t believe how stupid I was to miss that . . .” Negative, messages that pass through your mind immediately lead to muscle tightening, rapid breathing, and perspiring. These physiological responses are perceived as “stress,” and stress inhibits great performance.
Wear a loose fitting rubber band on your wrist and when negative thoughts go through your mind, snap the rubber band hard enough to stop the thought. If a rubber band isn’t convenient, tighten a fist as a reminder to stop thinking that way.
Once you succeed in stopping the thought, take a few slow, deep breaths, relax, and change your thoughts to ones that are positive and optimistic. For example, when you catch yourself beginning a thought with “What if…,” change it immediately to “No big deal. I’ll learn from this and move on.” Always tell yourself to move on to the next opportunity and never linger on the negative situation that already passed.
Once you have taught your team these tips, pair them up and role play negative thinking scenarios and practice healthy responses. Share examples with the rest of the team.
#2) Give yourself positive affirmations, continuously. Regardless of what happened that you are not happy about, look to the next opportunity right now. Fill your thinking with positive affirmations about yourself, such as… “I am a very successful sales professional. In my career, I have bounced back from many disappointments and achieved success. I don’t have to be perfect to be successful, and I don’t have to get every sale to be successful.”
A great plan is to have each member of your team write down 10 positive affirmations and say each one 10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening. Make sure they write down the affirmations, not just think about them.
# 3) Visualize sales success before you approach potential customers. Visualize yourself preparing for your next sales call and feeling confident as you enter the room. Visualize the sights and sounds around you as you begin. Picture the customer smiling and nodding in agreement as you show him/her how your product or service is perfect for their needs.
#4) Use the power of goal setting. You are 11 times more likely to reach a goal when you write it down, as opposed to simply thinking about it. Write down short and long-term sales-related goals that are specific and action-oriented. Ensure the goals are realistic.
Next, visualize yourself feeling wonderful once you achieve that goal. Imagine it as if you’ve already achieved the goal. It’s important to then list ways in which you could (or did in the past) sabotage yourself from accomplishing the goal, and how you’ll avoid that behavior.
Training your team to recognize negative distractions resulting from sales disappointments and how to overcome those distractions will give them the mental toughness necessary to be continually successful.
Stay tuned for the next installment: Finale Friday.
About the Author:
Dr. Jack Singer is a professional speaker, trainer and psychologist. He has been speaking for and training Fortune 1000 companies, associations, CEO’s and elite athletes for 34 years. Among the association conventions which Dr. Jack has keynoted are those which serve financial planners.
Dr. Jack is a frequent guest on CNN, MSNBC, FOX SPORTS and countless radio talk shows across the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of “The Teacher’s Ultimate Stress Mastery Guide,” and several series of hypnotic audio programs, some specifically for athletes and some for anyone wanting to raise their self-confidence and esteem. To learn more about Dr. Singer’s speaking and consulting services, please visit DrJackSinger.com and FunSpeaker.com or call him in the U.S. at (800) 497-9880.