Another successful group of participants completed their Integrity Selling program this month and I was, once again, reminded that while skills matter hugely in sales, the single biggest contributor to success is Mindset.
Sales success is more an issue of who you are and what you believe is possible than what you know.
Not only can mindset, motivation, and drive be developed and nurtured, but they must be if we want to improve sales performance and unleash the full potential of our people. This has always been the case, but against the backdrop of today’s complex selling environment, it’s never been more urgent.
There are several key areas related to mindset that salespeople and their leaders should be focusing on as part of an overall sales performance, development and coaching strategy:
Self-Motivation Starts with Purpose: It may seem obvious or basic, but to be successful in sales, you need to convince people — and the first person you need to convince is yourself. The ‘why’ is your purpose; it’s what motivates you to go out and do the things you need to do, day in and day out, to achieve your goals. Salespeople who aren’t clear on why they’re selling find it difficult to stay in the game when things get tough, and things do get tough in sales. Those emotional factors will heavily influence a person’s commitment, resilience and, ultimately, their performance.
The Sales Conversations About Internal Beliefs: Every salesperson has hundreds of conversations with themselves daily that reflect what they believe about themselves and the world around them. This inner monologue is another facet of the emotional factors that impact decision-making, prioritisation, and sales performance, and it’s constantly reinforcing beliefs that will affect a person’s attitudes, behaviours, and engagement.
A Successful Sales Mindset is All About Alignment: Just as salespeople need to get clear on their purpose, they also need to tune in more closely to what their self-talk is telling them. Developing a more positive, productive mindset in any of these five areas is a step forward; the ideal scenario is getting them all in sync.
We developed the Sales Congruence Model to help salespeople listen to and recognise how their internal beliefs affect their overall performance and then take steps, through skills and mindset, to pull their beliefs into alignment.
That’s why, in this month’s graduation of Integrity Selling, many talked about the measurable sales results they achieved. But, smiles widened and emotions were amplified when people talked about the fact that they feel more confident now, have stronger self-belief and are much more motivated to grow their business.
You can be successful in sales without being someone you’re not.
