What do all good salespeople have in common? They are incredibly resilient and have amazing endurance. Great salespeople possess these qualities and many more. Others might say that some of their characteristics are not assets but rather shortcomings. For example, resilience which I consider an asset may be considered by others as stubbornness.
How is resilience an asset? From a purely biological perspective, resilience is one of the primary reasons for why we have been successful as a species. Finding food and surviving harsh conditions requires that the individual be resilient to survive. Furthermore, humankind has been able to spread across the globe and live under rather unpleasant conditions. In other words, we have had to adapt in order to live.
According to the Business Dictionary a salesperson is someone who sells goods and services to other entities. It also states that the success of a salesperson is “usually measured by the amount of sales he or she is able to make during a given period and how good that person is at persuading individuals to make a purchase”.
Moreover, a company that employs a salesperson often compensates the latter in proportion to the amount of goods or services sold. In other words, the more the person sells the better their salary will become. This is what makes sales appealing to many. On the other hand this part is what makes some think sales to be an unattractive position because of the uncertainty. The prospect of not making a sale can be quite frightening.
How is resilience an asset in sales? According to dictionary.com, the origin of the word ‘resilience’ comes from French and means ‘spring back’ or ‘rebound’. For example, when a salesperson receives a negative response from a prospect or a lead he may experience a feeling of rejection. This is natural. However, the salesperson must quickly bounce back from rejection in order to be successful in his work. Some think that this is easier said than done.
As you bounce back from a negative reply you grow and become more confident. With more confidence you learn new methods or strategies that will make you more efficient. I was struggling with negative responses when I started my sales career but by sharing my experience, strength and hope with my peers I was able to bounce back. This demands resilience and courage.
For example, I was selling advertisement in 2009 for a travel guide and had a very negative conversation with a person who disparaged the product I was selling. I left the conversation quite discouraged and I had a hard time bouncing back from this rejection. Sharing my experience with a more experienced salesperson helped me in this process and taught me that I should never take a rejection in sales personally.
Do you have an experience with rejection that you had a hard time bouncing back from?
I have a blog on Stirna Consulting’s website where I share my experience with CRM and how to leverage Microsoft Business Applications to become more efficient in one’s sales efforts.
