Pick Up The Phone and Sell

CHAPTER 8IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO OUTSELL YOUR MINDSET

In every profession or pursuit, our mindset determines our outcomes.

That is, our behavior follows our thinking.

Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.”

This is a wonderful and powerful quote that I use frequently in my speeches and writing. It elegantly expresses what I believe is the key to human achievement: our beliefs are the top drivers of our actions – and action is the only thing that leads to success.

Another way to think about this is that it's impossible to outperform your mindset.

You will only achieve what you think you can achieve.

And we work in a profession that brings more rejection and failure than any other.

Nobody fails more than salespeople – not even baseball players, who fail approximately 75% of the time, on average. In sales, a success rate of just 10–20% makes us world-class.

Which means that even the best of us will get rejected all … day … long.

This is why our mindset is so important.

Sales success is about thinking the right way so we can do the right and difficult things our work requires.

SPORTS AS A PARALLEL

The annals of professional athletics are littered with supremely talented players whose mindsets and beliefs did not measure up to their world-class athletic abilities.

Many college players drafted in the first round in every sport – football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc. – end up having a minimal impact on their teams. They are ...