Don't give up!

To be good at Sales Techniques you need to be able to apply them consistently. That inevitably means that you have to foster the ability to be persistent. There is no point in being full of energy and frenetic activity if that means everything dies away at the first sign of resistance. How much grit do you think you have? How much grit do you need to succeed? Do you have enough perseverance?

In 2007 psychologist Angela Duckworth and her colleagues, defined Grit as "perseverance and passion for long-term goals". In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology they observed that individuals high in grit were able to maintain their determination and motivation over long periods despite experiencing failures and adversity. According to the study grit is a better predictor of success than IQ.

Perseverance is more important than intelligence in reaching successful outcomes. This is perhaps not a surprise. However, it does mean we have to take Perseverance very seriously.

There are many stories of Perseverance making the difference between winning and losing. When all seems dark and lost, if you have this trait, you can still win. It is not over until it is over.

Perhaps the most striking example was at the beginning of World War Two. In May 1940, only weeks after the war had started, all was apparently lost; the British army was almost completely destroyed and as Churchill said “the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" was hemmed against the Channel at the mercy of their enemy. But Churchill refused to accept defeat. Against all the odds he marshalled the resources and determination to not only survive but eventually, with hard-won allies, to defeat Hitler. As he said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Hopefully, we will never be called upon to take on such a huge role, but sometimes your business life might look desperate. It is precisely then that you need Perseverance. You need to follow the Japanese proverb “Fall down seven times, stand up eight”.

Tiger Woods is arguably one of the most successful sports people in history, holding several golfing records. He was heralded world number one in 1997. But he suffered marital problems and then back injuries. Between August 2015 and January 2018, he competed in just one tournament, and as a result he dropped off the list of the world's top 1,000 golfers. From working hard to be number one, to not even figuring. In April 2019 he won the Masters, his first major in 11 years. He could have given up with no disgrace decades previously. His place in sporting history was assured. He did not give up and instead he reached number 5 ranking in the world. It is not in his makeup to give up. Physical pain and family adversity would not defeat him.

As businesspeople we must have the same quality of perseverance. Nothing will stop you. Not if it is important enough.

You might have to “burn your bridges” to ensure you persevere. David Sandler referred to burning the bridges of Reliance Hope, and Comfort. If you rely on what has happened in the past, a big client for example, you will find it hard to continue when the client inevitably stops giving you business. If you hope that the new prospect will give you what you need you can be fairly sure the revenue will not appear. If you are not prepared to do things differently, relying on what feels natural and comfortable instead, you will not find it easy to make things happen. If, however, you burn your bridges it will give you clarity and a determination to do what is required. That often means using less of the resource Vitality and an increase in Perseverance, working smarter instead of harder.

Thomas Edison is quoted as saying “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” We at Sandler understand just how close failure is to winning. The very first Sandler Rule is “You have to learn to fail to win”.

Learning to fail is key to learning and using techniques. According to Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson “failure is not always bad. In organizational life it is sometimes bad, sometimes inevitable, and sometimes even good.” Fail fast, fail frequently, learn from those failures and move on.

It is hard to admit failure. We want to believe everything will work out for the best, we want to downplay our role in any failure (but we are happy to blame other people), we do not want to be the reason for a project to be compromised. As a result, tragedies can happen. The intense need not to accept failure as an option has led to air crashes, accidents in space, and hospital tragedies. Your business decisions might not carry the same level of mortal danger, but blindness to failure can mean business disaster. Perseverance should not mean doing the same thing repeatedly just because that was the original plan. Perseverance means not giving up learning how to improve.

In a 2019 study reported in Psychological Science, researchers Ayelet Fishbach and Lauren Eskreis-Winkler found that people appear to learn less from their failures than from their triumphs. Interestingly, however, the same study suggested we learn as much from other people’s failures as from those other people’s successes. What does this mean for business? We should learn from our efforts whether they are good outcomes or not and learn from other’s efforts too.

Practical Exercises
Journal Success. Sandler trainers often exhort their students to keep journals. If you want to build Perseverance, there is no better exercise than to keep record of all the times you pushed through adversity and won. When you need a boost to your determination, refer to that record. You can do it and you have the evidence to prove it.
Rewrite Reality. When all looks too much to handle, make two columns. In the left column list of the things that appear to be going wrong. Now in the right-hand column confront all of those things and write down a positive assertion against each one to counter it. Once finished, review what you have written. Which column is closer to the truth? Usually it is the right-hand column. We are often too quick to listen to our negative voices.

Plan for the Worst. For those problems that could overwhelm you, make a plan. Assume the worst will happen. What would you do from there? What could you do now to mitigate the worst outcome? What things could you do to minimise the problem?

Permit small steps. Give yourself permission to give everything to solving your problems for a specific period of time. Then review where you have got to at that point. You may well find you can give yourself a new permitted time to solve more of the problem. Perseverance does not mean you have to keep going forever; it means you give yourself the best chance to keep going and sometimes that is done in small steps.

Invest in “No Guts No Gain”. Sandler has a course dedicated to helping strengthen your resolve and ability to deal with the pressures of business life.
Support networks. It is impossible to Persevere for long on your own. Look for your support network. Preferably do not look for all your support from those who are relying on you as that puts too much pressure on them and you. Find business groups that will give you advice and encouragement. If you are a Sandler client, that could include your Sales Mastery group.

Find a mentor. A good mentor is invaluable. If you are lucky your mentor might even be prepared to give up time and offer expertise at no charge. This is because mentors often want to “give back” and they also often gain as much, if not more, than the mentee. Mentors are not affected by your success or temporary lack of success and so can give you an objective view and can inspire courage to keep going. Think who you admire in business who knows you well enough to take a call from you. Ask them if they would be happy to be your mentor. You will be surprised who you find will be prepared to do so. They probably already have a mentee like you.

Find a mentee. This needs some courage and confidence. Can you mentor someone else? Do you have the business and life experience to help a fellow businessperson with their challenges? If you think you might, you will learn so much from your own experiences and see a whole new perspective from your mentee. It will mean investing time and real concern for somebody else’s business, but it will pay dividends for your own Perseverance levels. Make it known in your business circles that you are looking for a mentee; good quality businesspeople are quick to take up such a valuable offer.

Conclusion
If it is important enough and you have “grit” you will push through mental and physical barriers. The exercises highlight that you might need support from others, but investing in yourself to reinforce your Perseverance is important if you wish to ensure you have the energy to do the right things at the right time.