New York Yankees infielder Derek Jeter said it well. He was talking about pro baseball but he just as easily could have been speaking as a salesperson. He pointed out: Youre playing a game where you fail more than you succeed. Youve got to try to keep it as simple as possible. Psychologically, I think its fair to say, most people are ill-equipped to fail more than they succeed. Imagine working for the postal service and every few days the addresses or street names on your route are changed on you, without notice. Or mailboxes that were always accessible are glued shut, and try as you might, you just cant pry them open to deposit your items. Frequently, selling feels like this. It is one of the few occupations where people resist your efforts as much as they can, where some, like receptionists and secretaries, feel it is a duty to prevent you from doing your job, somewhat like a pitchers job is to prevent a hitter from reaching base. As you know, a batter who collects hits one third of the time is generally considered all-star caliber, and a team that can barely manage to win more than half of its 162 regular season games can win its division and be promoted to post-season play. (Remember the 2005 San Diego Padres?) How many nos do you have to withstand before hearing a yes? One of my clients, a firm that sells government guaranteed investments, had a salesman who went from January to early November without a single order. Then he closed a deal that earned him a ONE-MILLION DOLLAR COMMISSION. That made his year, as you might imagine, but how many times did he fail before he succeeded? The kind of staggered reinforcement schedule you encounter in selling isnt for everybody and I believe it daunts most people, making them steer clear of this profession. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to be realistic and patient, appreciating that slumps and occasional winning streaks are just part of the game. And as Jeter says, weve got to try to keep the overall process, especially persevering through the highs and lows, as simple as possible. |
