Photo credit-salescoachescorner.com
Before I connect today’s topic to sales professionals, read these snapshots of four famous individuals from various walks of life that experienced success as a result of being extremely disciplined.
+ First is the most successful international golfer of all time; South African Gary Player. He is the only golfer to win the British Open in three different decades and the oldest player to make the cut at The Masters, in 1998 at age 63.
At a tournament one day a man approached Player and commented that he would give anything if he could hit a ball like him. Usually a very polite person, Player glared at the man and responded:
“No, you wouldn’t. You’d give anything to hit a golf ball like me if it were easy. To be able to hit golf balls like I hit them you’ve got to get up at five o’clock in the morning, go to the course and hit one thousand golf balls. Your hands will bleed, so you’ll have to walk to the clubhouse, wash the blood off, slap on a bandage, and go out and hit another thousand golf balls. That’s what it takes to hit a golf ball like me.” That’s discipline in action!
+ Another athlete who continually lived an extremely disciplined professional NFL career during the 1980’s was Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary. He was on the 1986 Super Bowl team and was a ten-time All-Pro and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Singletary was as disciplined a student of the game as any who ever played. In his biography he wrote that in watching game films he often watched single plays fifty to sixty times, to learn every tendency of the opposing team’s offense. His legendary success is proof of his remarkably disciplined life.
+ In high school literature class, most of us learned that Ernest Hemingway was an unhinged alcoholic. Although true, when it came to writing he was extremely disciplined. For instance, after spending 1½ years writing A Farewell to Arms, he rewrote the conclusion to this novel seventeen times to make sure it was exactly right.
+ And finally, statesman Winston Churchill is revered as the foremost speaker of the 20th century, but he was not a “natural.” He had a distracting lisp which made it difficult to be spontaneous in public speaking. To overcome this, he practiced endlessly in front of mirrors, before speaking to audiences. He was an extremely disciplined hard-working man.
Now shift gears and think for a minute about what you should be doing to become disciplined enough as a professional salesperson to attain and maintain the levels of success achieved by people like those above.
1–Role Play – Training is not training unless the participants do it. Otherwise, it’s just education. I understand that role play is the most hated activity salespeople are asked to do, but PRACTICE MAKES BETTER! During my online sales coaching sessions, I utilize lots of role play, and it’s comical how often participants will come up with the strangest excuses to need to miss those sessions. Heck, I even had a sales guy email to inform me that he would be “out of the country” on role play day. Reminds me of Jonah in the Bible after God told him to go preach to people in Nineveh. He jumped on a ship and went the opposite direction because he disliked those folks so much.
2–Peronal Surveillance – Simply push ‘record’ on the iPhone in your shirt pocket and document what you say and how you say it during a presentation. Afterward listen to the recording and hear for yourself the areas that need to be worked on and improved. It’s like an electronic sales manager. But for many this simple strategy is too painful, so they won’t do it.
Photo credit-corporatecommunicationexperts.com
3–Public Speaking – You don’t have to be a Winston Churchill but put yourself out there and give a short talk to a networking group, volunteer to be on a panel of several other SME’s answering questions. Lead a Bible Study or Small Group or get up in front of your HOA. Those types of activities build confidence and conviction.
4–Mentors/Accountability Partners – Find one of these and listen closely to their suggestions and recommendations, convinced that what they say to you is for your benefit and personal improvement. Use those relationships to get better, not bitter.
5–Student of Your Business – Similar to how Mike Singletary watched game films over and over, soak up like a sponge everything you can about your industry, your company, your marketplace, your products and services, and your competitive advantages. As Rush Limbaugh used to say on the radio, “This is a school of lifelong learning, where nobody graduates.”
I’ll stop here but it should be evident how important discipline is for everybody who wants to be the best in their chosen field. It’s not easy but it’s worth it.
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Hey Doug, just wanted to let you know how much you’ve helped me and our company with your sales training and insights over the last several years. I appreciate everything I’ve learned and continue to learn! It’s helping our other salespeople too and is helping me help them. Once the sales understanding and process really clicks on every level, it’s amazing seeing the opportunities available for selling large amounts of all our services each month. David Paine, Dothan, AL.
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