Mental strength is a key ingredient in sales, it all starts in the mind, thoughts really do become things.
A strong, confident positive & focussed mind is a sure-fire way to success in sales. You need to control negative thoughts and encourage positive ones. Don’t indulge in a negative thought, challenge it and counter it with a positive thought: ‘I can’t’ really should be ‘I can’, in fact it should be ‘I can and I will’.
A negative thought can only hurt you. Don’t worry about things you’re not in control of, if you can’t affect the outcome and it’s out of your control, then why worry about it? What will be will be. You’ll often find you needn’t have worried anyway, so why did you put yourself through all that misery. In the end the only person you can rely on in sales, is yourself. So, make sure YOU are in the best condition to help yourself succeed. If you’re mentally strong and have a heart filled with ambition and drive, you’ll succeed in sales if you adopt the correct sales fundamentals.
However, you can learn all the sales fundamentals you like, but if you’re not mentally strong enough to overcome the hurdles and challenges of sales you’ll fall at the first hurdle often.
In my book SOS BUSINESS SALES I discuss mental strength in more detail, focussing on your emotional health & well-being.
Your mind & heart
You are in control of your emotions and you can use them effectively as and when required. They are your personal internal resources and you can utilise the benefits from them whenever you want.
Life will have its ups and downs and a few bumps in the road should be expected and anticipated along the way. It’s your mind and your heart that will support you, guide you and reward you if you choose to control them. You are the boss of your internal settings, you control everything.
One of my favourite songs is ‘One moment in time’ by Whitney Houston. The writers, Albert Hammond and John Bettis wrote this song for the 1988 Olympics. Please let me persuade you to listen to this song whilst reading the lyrics, it’s very powerful. There is a line in the song that says: “To taste the sweet I face the pain”, a beautiful line. These words are so true in sales and in life. If you work hard, practice and dig deep emotionally, when tough times present themselves (and they will), you’ll be ready, you’ve anticipated it and you’ll be in a much better position to overcome your challenges.
Of course, I too have ups and downs, hit bumps in the road and from time to time life gets in the way. It’s during these times I also have to dig deep, refocus and pick myself back up. I don’t indulge in negative emotions, I fight them and choose to overcome them. I was expecting and anticipating a bump in the road so was prepared, ready and able to use my mind and my heart to pick me back up, dust myself down and send me back on my way. I knew to ‘taste the sweet’ I would need to ‘face the pain’.
You must understand and appreciate that your thoughts are controlled by you, your mood is determined by you, your hopes, dreams, wants and expectations for the day ahead are all yours to create, decide and fulfil.
Daily life will challenge your mind and heart constantly, it will try and give and take throughout the day.
Daily life will also give you plenty of opportunities to smile, laugh, feel empowered, feel grateful and feel successful.
You must open your eyes, mind and heart and take advantage of these important moments throughout each day. Open your senses, and you’ll realise that you yourself are creating and shaping daily life because of your wants and needs for these moments to happen. It’s the law of attraction working at its best.
However, daily life will also try and affect your mood, shake your confidence and test your resolve. Don’t worry, life hasn’t got an agenda against you, the universe wants you to do well. These blips, hurdles or bumps in the road are life’s way of keeping you in check, keeping you focussed and keeping you on point. If your mind and your heart are singing as one, if your eyes are keenly and firmly focussed on the prize and if you are expecting the unexpected, you’ll win and keep winning because you’ll adapt, adjust, pick yourself up when required and keep moving forwards.
In summary: The emotional side of sales is so important. Your mind & heart are important things to understand, they have personal settings that need programming and constant nurturing.
