Yogi Berra is known for wacky sayings & quotes that make you say, huh? He had a lot of them. His best? Hands down has to be, Baseball is 90% mental, & the other half is physical.
What’s so great about that quote? It applies to EVERYTHING! It applies to every sport from baseball to hockey. It applies to every profession from teaching to sales. It simply applies.
Sales leaders & selling professionals know this as well as anyone. In 2017, with products & services being so “technically” proficient, so well made & positioned it’s rarely the “physical thing” that gets you the deal.
Think about it: is your product or service that much better than your competitors? If it is then why is it so hard to sell it? Why don’t you have more market share? Hell, why don’t you have the entire market?
You know why. Because your product or service is not that much better. Are you good? Yes. Is everyone else good? Also yes.
Face it: the crappy companies with the me-too products & services went down the drain in the 2007-2009 mess we had. The companies that survived deserved to survive. They are good! You are competing with worthy companies & they are competing with you. It’s one of the things that makes America great.
So how do you win in this incredibly tight & competitive marketplace? Step one is to believe you can. You have to really internalize & believe in your value & the value or your product or service. My mentor used to say, “The first sale we make is between our own ears.” What he was saying is “Sales is 90% mental, & the other half is physical.” Such a great mindset.
Need some context? Here goes:
- When you are feeling pressure to lower your price because your customer “demands” it, what gives you the gumption to stay firm? The 6 inches between your ears.
- When you are dealing with a lower level (or non-decision maker), what gives you the guts to ask to meet with her manager or boss? Your attitude.
- When you are up against an incumbent that has had the business for 5 plus years what gives you the “permission” to ask your prospect “How did we get here? You have had ABC Company for 5 plus years. Aren’t you satisfied with them?” Your mental makeup.
- When you are about to ask your prospect if they have a budget or target established for this part or project, what gets you through the angst? The 6 inches again.
- When you have passed the same facility 8 times a week for the past 3 years (that you know buys your products). What makes you stop in this time? Your belief that you should.
- When you have been calling on a company for a while, have provided a great solution that you know will work & you are waiting for them to “order it”. What gives you the oomph to ask for the order? Mind-set.
If these examples don’t prove that the sales game is 90% mental, come up with a few hundred more on your own. You don’t have to think long & hard to come up with some. It happens every day. The 6 inches between the ears has broken more salespeople than Yogi Berra has quotes. It will continue to do so until the mental is mastered. Believe you can.
