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No matter if you've had a great month, closed a big deal, or made it to the winner's circle at President's club, winning makes you more vulnerable to losing.
A Winning Message for Sales Winners
Last week, I delivered a keynote at a large company's President’s club event. It was fun! Great hotel. Tropical destination. People were upbeat and happy because they were celebrating success. And frankly, I love hanging out with ultra-high performers. It’s so energizing to be with winners.
The challenge though was figuring out exactly what I was going to say to them.
Think about it. These sales professionals are the best of the best. Cream of the crop. The Bee’s Knees in the words of their VP of Sales. They’ve proven that they know what to do. They already are motivated. The last thing I wanted to do was bore them to tears or cause them to feel that I was talking down to them.
So I spent several weeks nervously working on my keynote speech for this group of winners. I went around and around in circles unable to nail down the perfect message until it hit me that these sales professionals were in a very vulnerable position for the very fact that they were winners.
Welcome to the Sales Graveyard
The sales graveyard is full of former President’s Club winners who:
Came home with a trophy and were fired because they quit selling.
Were one hit wonders—winning once and never getting back into the club again.
Came back with so much promise and potential only to drift along in mediocrity because they stopped doing the things that got them to the podium in the first place.
Too often when we win, we see it as an opportunity to take our foot off of the accelerator and coast for a while. It happens to President’s club winners and everyday sales reps.
Have a good month, take a break from prospecting. Close a big deal. Start taking shortcuts. Win the big trip, celebrate a little too long.
Some winners spend a little too much time reading their own press clippings. After working hard and doing all of the right things, they no longer believe that the rules of physics apply to them.
Rather than going back home and honoring the basics and fundamentals of selling that brought them to the dance in the first place, they become undisciplined—delusional that they possess some sales superpower that guarantees their success.
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You Cannot Be Delusional and Successful at the Same Time
We’ve all been there in big and little ways. It happened to me just yesterday.
While playing golf I hit a screaming drive—one of my longest ever—right down the middle of the fairway to within 50 yards of the hole. On that drive, I’d done everything right. I slowed down, followed my routine, focused myself on the fundamentals, and executed. It was an incredible feeling. I celebrated with a big fist pump and high fives all around.
Confident, I walked right up to my second shot—a short pitch into the green—tasting a birdie and then…I chunked it. For those of you who play golf you know exactly how this feels. It’s awful.
But what was the difference between the first shot—the winner —and the second shot—the loser?
It was me!
Instead of running through my routine and being disciplined and intentional with my approach to that crucial shot, I became lazy. Rather focusing my mind on the basics and fundamentals, I believed that after that beautiful drive, the basics no longer applied to me.
Trust me on this, gravity is a bitch. I walked away with a sad double-bogey proving once again that you cannot be delusional and successful at the same time.
You Cannot Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought
You become what you think. When you tell yourself that you have a magic success wand, you’ll start to believe it and act like it. You become delusional.
Studies indicate that we talk to ourselves at the rate of up to 300 words a minute. That little voice inside your head jabbers away 24/7. Self-talk, what you say to yourself internally, manifests itself in your outward attitude and actions.
Pay attention to what you are saying to yourself. When your self-talk turns lazy, when it tells you that it's ok to rest, take your eye off of the ball, take a short cut, or skip the fundamentals—stop and change it.
Replace lazy, undisciplined self-talk with the words of a disciplined winner, because if you want to keep winning, you cannot afford the luxury of a lazy thought.
In Sales, Boring Works
Warren Buffett said that, “only when the tide goes out do we get to see who has been swimming naked.” This is his way of saying that people who drift away from or believe that the basics and fundamentals no longer apply to them will eventually be exposed.
It’s fascinating how often humans quit doing the very things that are working for them—especially President’s club winners. You were disciplined for a while but as soon as you saw some success, you abandoned what got you there.
It’s natural to go looking for easy buttons because the basics are boring. But do not get drawn in by this siren song. Put your swimming suit on because, in sales, boring works.
Success in Sales is Rented
There is a saying that when you are in second place you are competing with the person in front of you. But when you are in first place, you are competing with yourself.
What you must never forget is that success in sales is rented, and the rent is due every day, every month, every quarter.
You don’t have the luxury of resting on your laurels after a big win, because that person in second place is going to blow right past you while you are sitting on the side of the road basking in your own glory.
How you respond to winning is just as important as how you respond to losing. When you view winning as an opportunity to take your foot off of the accelerator, you will go back to losing.
But when you shift your mindset to view winning as a reason to get even better you will become more disciplined and determined. You’ll see winning as validation that you need to double down on the activities, disciplines, and behaviors that got you there in the first place. You will stay in front of the pack and produce even bigger results.
How to Make Winning Predictable
In any endeavor, especially in sales, when the right actions are repeated consistently, winning becomes predictable. The key words here are consistent and repeated. This is the real secret to getting back on the podium next year, closing your next big deal, or sinking that elusive birdie putt.
Never forget, when it’s time to go home, when you are tired, worn out, and your mind starts telling you that it's ok to quit, change your self-talk and will yourself to make one more call, because that is what winners do.
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