Getting bloodied...

I met with a client of mine recently for 1-to-1 sales coaching.  He's new to his company and hasn't actually sold a product like ours before.  He does have 4 years of experience selling other technology products. 

He mentioned he's not getting much coaching from his manager.  He's been told to just go after a deal or two to get acclimated with the product and his firm's process.  It reminded me of what my first sales manager told me 42 years ago. 

"Gary", Joe Breslin said, "Just go out there and get bloodied." That was it.  If I accomplished this first assignment, then he would invest time to coach me; to teach me; to help me understand what "a day in my sales life" was supposed to look like. 

You see, I was an “out-of-profile” hire back then; my manager and others weren’t sure I could do the job.  They only hired me because of my persistence.  Since the job was draw vs. commission, they had no downside.  If I washed out it cost them very little.  

I on the other hand, had a lot at stake.  My wife was a full time Mom for our 3-year-old son.  Three mouths to feed plus a mortgage – I was motivated! 

Joe Breslin simply told me to go get bloodied first; he didn’t want to waste his time if I was going to fail.  I was determined to prove them all wrong.  I succeeded. 

Now 42 years later my client is telling me his manager has sent him out to get bloodied.  I could relate LoL! 

That was then; this is now.  Do you believe younger salespeople accept “tough love” management direction these days (even if it remains excellent advice)?  Do today’s managers even believe in “tough love”?  Like “helicopter parents” how many times do sales managers step in to close a deal; to “rescue” their sales rep? 

In his book Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun © Wess Roberts offers this: 

Huns learn less from success than they do from failure.               

Even if they have the skill and the willingness, the problem for sales managers is there is no guarantee that his or her salespeople are willing to get bloodied anymore.  I believe we should let the sales rep learn from failure, nonetheless. 

Figuring things out for ourselves can establish a strong foundation to build a sales career on.  Honing our mental toughness serves us well throughout our career; throughout our entire life: 

I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed, and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying.  

Tom Hopkins 

I believe in today’s real world, a sales professional is either winning business or getting bloodied.  The sales manager has their own challenge in that moment of choice.  What’s more important – the deal or the sales rep learning how to overcome adversity? 

The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and to watch someone else doing it wrong, without commentary.  

T.H. White 

Happily, I believe this rep who put time on my calendar is capable, eager, and tough enough to get bloodied.  It is my great pleasure to work with sales professionals who possess these qualities.  

The strong will ultimately survive.  It’s the nature of the business.  It’s the nature of life. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.