Mindset Over Materials: The Secret Weapon of Sustainable Sales Success


Long-term sales success has less to do with skills or knowledgethan you might think. Nor are stunning brochures or excellentproducts guaranteed to make one iota of impact over time. Unlesscertain critical elements already exist in the salesperson,providing training and tools in hopes of improving performancedoes nothing more than giving a PGA golfer's best driver to anamateur. The club itself can't make someone a pro.

Yet a pro can take a cheap driver and make a better shot than anamateur with the best and biggest Big Bertha has to offer.Likewise, you probably know one or two standouts who haveexcelled without classic sales training, without flashy supportmaterials for their products, and even without a superiorproduct to represent.

Then what makes the difference? If it's not remarkable closingability, appealing brochures, outstanding product knowledge, orrelentless objection handling... if it's not talent orbrainpower or tools that create sustained success, what is it?

In more than twenty years studying the top performers in manyfields, I've discovered the mysterious X-factor is mindset: agroup of attitudes, understandings, beliefs, and resultingbehaviors. Whether you're talking about golf or sales or anyother pursuit, the same principle applies. Ultimately, themindset creates top performance, excellent production numbers,and prosperity for both the salesperson and the company he orshe represents.

Creating a mindset of sustained success requires you to focus onthree key areas:
# The beliefs you have about yourself;
# The attitudes you have about your customers, product, andindustry;
# The ownership you take of your own success.The Inner Game of Sales
You have to see yourself as successful in the inner game inorder to be successful in the outer game. When you give that"command" to the unconscious mind -- when you imagine howyou'll feel, look and sound when you are producing at the levelyou desire -- the mind thinks it's already occurred and callsfor an encore performance in the real world.

The first step to changing your own "mental programming" is torecognize it. Think about it. Think about why you don't do whatyou know intellectually you should. Then start thinking aboutwhat's behind it. What do you have to believe about yourself,your world, your product, your industry, to cause this behaviorto occur?

Some common underlying beliefs that regulate salespeople'sperformance are

    * "I need more training and skills before I can succeed."
    * "I'm not worthy of earning more than..."
    * "I am not good at cold calling."
    * "I'm not able to talk to (or get to) the decision makers atthe top."

Once the underlying belief is uncovered, a new belief must bechosen. The new belief can be the opposite or an "antidote" tothe old one, such as "I have unlimited life knowledge andexperience." New beliefs must then be "installed."Specifically, the new belief must be supported by both evidenceand habit.

Start by answering a simple question: What will I have to see,hear, and feel to cement this belief? Then begin vividlyvisualizing these results at least twice a day. (Note: the mindis most open to suggestion first thing in the morning just afterwaking and the last thing at night before sleep.) Many peoplethink that results build belief, and in some cases this is true,but it's more often the inverse. Remember the chain:thought/word-image-emotion-action-result. You must be able tosee yourself already in possession of the outcome of the newbelief.

Champions in any field create an unbending belief in themselves,program themselves to continually find evidence to support itstruth, then consistently and vividly see themselves inpossession of the desired goal. William James, the father ofmodern psychology, said, "Your belief creates the fact."

Now Forget Sales, and Focus on YourCustomers
Once you've visualized yourself achieving your goals and removedany psychological obstacles, it's time to put those goals asideand focus on the customer. Again, this all happens in your mind,but it has a profound impact on the way you affect your outerworld.

Today's customers and clients require a new attitude, one thatoffers something rather than asks for something. In a high-techsociety, high touch is highly valuable. The new-schoolsalesperson focuses on giving instead of getting, on serviceinstead of sales. Always a man ahead of his time, Henry Fordcaptured this mindset eloquently: "Wealth will never beachieved when sought after directly; it only comes as aby-product of providing useful service."

This level of service takes some guts. Sometimes you have totell people what they don't want to hear. Sometimes, you evenhave to say, "Maybe I'm not the best for you... I'd like tosend you to someone who will be." Service means that you're nolonger willing to do whatever it takes for the sale. Now you'lldo whatever it takes for the customer -- because it's thecustomer who makes or breaks your business, not an isolatedtransaction.

Old Hat, New Head: Take Ownership of YourSuccess
Have you heard these ideas before? Are you utilizing them as youshould? If not, why not? Likewise, are there other, obviousprinciples of business success you've overlooked?

Sales success grows out of a fundamental mindset, based on someideas that may be "old hat" but require a "new head" to fityou. I operate from the premise that you know what you need todo, and you have what you need to create a six- or seven-figureincome. Most salespeople have heard all the "magic bullet"ideas and pitches. But until you begin to think in new ways, youwill never apply these time-tested principles. The distinctionbetween short-term flashes in the pan and sustained success issimply doing what may seem obvious to you right now. We mightsay, "If the hat fits, wear it."

James Arthur Ray of James Ray International is an expert inteaching individuals how to achieve Harmonic Wealth? inall areas of their life by focusing on what they want, opposedto what they don't want. He has been speaking to individuals aswell as Fortune 500 companies for over 20 years and is theauthor of four books and an inventor of numerous learningsystems. His studies of highly successful people prove that theycontinually achieve results by taking control of their thoughtsand actions to create and shape their own reality.

The Power to Win seminar (http://www.ThePowerToWin.com)will explain in detail how success is state of mind and how theprinciples of quantum physics (as seen in the movie What theBleep) can be applied to proven success-building techniques.James will also cover why people who are successful in onearea of their life tend to be successful in all areas. For more information,visit http://www.ThePowerToWin.com.