THE OBAMA LESSON…President Barack Obama has it figured out. Whether you support his political positions or not, you have to admire the way he approaches the subject of popularity. Look at the results of his last election… 51% of the population liked him… 49% of the population didn’t like him. Almost half of the voters said they don’t like him! He accepts that, he still functions just fine, he simply says NEXT! and does his job. Put your political beliefs aside for a second… just recognize that everyone’s not going to like you. In the Sales Business, it is easy to make a mistake of wanting everyone to think you are amazing. That’s not really very realistic is it?
Comedian Bill Cosby had a great line years ago… “I don’t know the secret to success but I do know that the secret to failure is trying to please everyone!”
Many Salespeople say they believe that but then agonize over the minority who do not do not like them or reject them. How long do you struggle with this issue when it happens in your business? How long does it take you before you are able to say… NEXT? How quickly do you bounce back?
Here is your ACTION STEP… a big part of being a Commissioned Salesperson is dealing with the rejection that “comes with the territory”. Everybody reacts differently to the disappointment and frustration of things not working out the way they had planned. Here’s some guidelines on dealing with the downside of being in the Sales Business:
Dealing with It…Understand That…
1. If you are not prepared to deal with disappointments/losses on a day-to-day basis, if it eats you up and puts you in a funk everytime… you’re in the wrong business.
2. 80% of the time you can learn from the rejection you receive… “What would I do differently next time? How would I change my presentation? What questions did I neglect to ask?"
3. 20% of the time there is nothing to be learned from the rejection you receive… something was going on with your Prospect that had nothing to do with you. You had no control over the outcome. Pull "an Obama". Just smile and say NEXT!
4. “The higher you climb on the ladder of success, the more people will dislike you. Climb high enough and people might dislike you passionately. Let that be okay”… Darren Hardy, Publisher, Success Magazine
5. If you are not as high on the ladder of success as you want to be, maybe it’s because you are spending too much time worrying about everyone liking you. Get over it, give yourself a free pass.
6. Cut yourself some slack. It’s okay to be wrong sometimes. Commissioned Salespeople are notorious for “beating themselves up”. There is nothing to be gained from self-abuse. All it does is get in the way of you moving forward. NO Excuses on this one.
7. What Affirmations are you using? Everyone has hundreds of self-talk statements that go through their minds every day. Make sure you have some powerful conversations with yourself (I am a great Salesperson! I move past adversity every time. My mindset and my attitude are my biggest assets. I eat rejection for lunch!). Tip: say these out loud – much more powerful.
8. Unrelated yet totally related… make sure you are exercising regularly and eating healthy foods and avoiding sugar. By following a healthy regimen you are arming yourself with the strength needed to deal with periodic unpopularity. It’s going to happen anyway so why not be prepared?
If Barack Obama can live with 49% unpopularity don’t you think you can live with 15% or 20%? Remind yourself today that Bill Cosby is right… it’s a short road to failure if all you’re trying to do is satisfy everyone else’s needs. There is certainly some truth to be found in the mantra that says… “the more rejection you get, the more success you will have”. To put things in a more humorous note… maybe one of your goals this year should be to become more unpopular! That way you’re going to get a lot more acceptance, right? It all goes back to working on your mental toughness and accepting the reality that Commissioned Sales is both highly rewarding and comes with a price. Pay that price and you win every time. NEXT! NO Excuses