Top 3 Ways a Sales Person Can Stay Motivated

A career in sales can be full of extremes. In a constantly changing industry like security, it can be an emotional rollercoaster. There aren’t many other careers that offer the same extremes of rejection and victory. The great ones learn to motivate themselves throughout the day – they have to.

I’ve had the unique opportunity to spend my days in the field, in conference rooms, at dinners, and over cocktails with successful sales professionals who use different techniques to keep themselves positive. Along the way I’ve learned many techniques that keep a sales person motivated throughout the highs and lows. Below are my top three strategies for a security sales person staying motivated.

1. Own a motivational slogan — just one.

I’ve have used the words “Keep pushing forward” in my self-talk at least 100,000 times. Every single time it makes a positive impact … every single time. It empowers me more each year because I have more evidence that success is around the corner if I just “keep pushing forward”. It doesn’t matter what just happened today, tomorrow I just need to keep pushing forward and I’ll be fine. I’m in control of that.

2. Use Audible.com to listen to motivational books.

Actually, it doesn’t matter what you use — I just happen to like Audible.com. What matters is the content, not the medium.
Many of the books I listen to don’t have empirical evidence or data, but they’re full of positive messages. Sometimes they can be a little hokey, but I find that doesn’t really matter. The end result is that I feel positive after listening to a chapter or two while walking through an airport or driving to an appointment.

3. Call on one current customer every morning.

Sometimes you need to be reminded about a win. Whether you’re in a slump or not, you need to be reminded on a regular basis about wins. You need to make a friendly call or visit that isn’t going to deliver rejection. Imagine starting out your day dropping in to see a client simply to bring them some coffee and ask how it’s going. BTW, you’ll be shocked how much business you end up getting by simply making this one friendly call a day.

If you like any of these ideas, take action now. Not this afternoon or tomorrow — now. Create your slogan in the next 30 minutes, sign up for audible.com immediately, and develop your list of customers from which you’ll make your daily calls over lunch. I promise that the time you invest will be paid back exponentially in the next few months because your mood will be in your control, not an outcome of your sales results.

Chris Peterson is principal and consultant at Vector Firm. He can be reached at cpeterson@vectorfirm.com​. For more information, visit his website at http://www.vectorfirm.com.

Chris will present a free SIA webcast, How a Security Integrator Can Win a Committee Decision, on Nov. 8. Register here​!

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association (SIA).