Embrace The Suck

The expression, “embrace the suck”, will be quite familiar to those who have completed one form of combat training school or another. It speaks to the lifestyle of those who compete for high-performance qualifications and elite team positions every day while enduring endless mental, physical and spiritual suffering to break through to that next level of not giving up.

Not giving up is what makes or breaks you as a salesperson, especially in your first phase of growth where it’s you and only you forcing yourself out bed each day, grabbing your backpack full of sales tools and going out to find that next deal.

No deal, no meal.

And, in the beginning - while you’re perfecting your craft and learning how to feed yourself - be prepared for days, weeks and even months where you’re living on handouts. Those handouts could be in the form of a base salary, a draw against future commissions, or some menial stipend to keep you on the phones. Understand though that such charity is just that - charity. There’s always a threshold of gain - where at some point your patron is going to cut bait and look elsewhere.

Even seasoned salespeople will experience market turns that shake their confidence. It’s just the nature of the beast where supply and demand shifts and ebbs totally out of your control. This is why you need to find a niche where supply is small and demand is high so that even in slower economic times there is always someone with a big enough problem to seek you out and pay whatever price you’re asking.

And, as your career evolves and you’re able to leverage people, technology and marketing then you can begin engineering systems to produce more than what you can on your own.

That is when your selling engine is “running on all cyclinders” and residual income begins to grow to where you can reinvest in both your business and your lifestyle.

All that said, there is one danger that afflicts all salespeople regardless of experience and mastery - living beyond your means. When you borrow money or get behind on your taxes you are using tomorrows earnings to pay for today’s expenses. Eventually you will find yourself working for your creditors and can easily find yourself HAVING to sell day after day without rest when you should be hanging with family at the cottage or just enjoying the fruits of all of those years of discipline and effort.

My friends - the profession of selling is as good as being a doctor or priest in this life because you help to relieve people’s pain and suffering - and sometimes it’s a silent suffering for wanting something better and more rewarding in life than what they have now. And there’s always something more to learn, to know and to grow towards.

Get out there. Sell more. Be the best you doing it!

Peace and blessings,