One of the keys to successful selling is to stay in the game long enough to give yourself a chance at winning the business.
Another way of saying this is to stay alive. Not in the life-or-death sense, but in the keep-trying-until-you-succeed sense. When a baseball player has two strikes and begins to foul back pitches, earning additional pitches and opportunities for hits, commentators often say “he’s still alive.” Or, more dramatically: “he lives to see another pitch.”
That’s what we need to do in the sales profession too:
We need to stay alive long enough to give ourselves another chance to win the sale.
If we fold it up…if we stop trying…we have no chance.
So, we need to keep swinging. Keep trying. Keep staying in the game.
This can apply on a micro level, with individual sales, and on a macro scale when it comes to hitting your annual goals, or even to your view of your own success or failure as a salesperson.
With individual sales, staying alive means staying in front of the prospect. It means continuing to try. If you are rejected, try again. Try a different way. But for goodness sake, as long as there is still a chance, keep trying. If you stop trying you are volunteering away any chance for success. You’re giving up.
On a more macro level, staying alive means to continue working your pipeline. To continue making proactive calls. To continue staying present.
From an even higher macro level, you may feel like nothing is working. You may feel like this slump feels like it will never end.
Even then, (even now?), keep swinging.
Stay in the game.
Stay alive.
Because if you stop swinging, this temporary slump instantly becomes permanent.
To discuss a 2021 sales keynote for your sales organization — or for your association — please reply to this email or call me directly at 847-459-6322.
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