To recap the Sales Success Traits we have discussed so far… Openness Curiosity Creativity And, in case you skipped the first three articles in the series, this order of priority is important. I truly don’t think someone can be Creative, unless they are Curious. And they can’t be truly Curious unless they are Open to anything, everything – new ideas, concepts, opinions, experiences, etc. When we talk about selling effectiveness, if a salesperson isn’t Open or Curious, they won’t think about Creative solutions to challenges, because they won’t think that they need to do anything different. They will typically believe they know all they need to know (since they aren’t Open or Curious) and so when they experience a problem, set back, obstacle or challenge – they will think it’s someone’s problem or fault. “It’s not my fault people aren’t opening my emails. Must be the server. I am not going to change my subject line or how I do it. It used to work for. If it doesn’t work, then its some other reason than me.” All these mindsets build on each other, and again – in this order. Now for #4 – the reason you are here and…the BIG ONE. Why would I say this is the BIG ONE? The BIG mindset that everyone focuses on? Because ‘classic’ sales mode is all about this one and prioritizing it over everything and anything else. Sales Success Trait #4: Persistence. Yes, that’s fourth on my list. Not first, like most people in sales would assume. Not based on what salespeople are taught, or what they learn from salespeople in movies and TV shows. The general theme of Boiler Room and Wolf of Wall Street is not Openness and Curiosity. It’s Persistence. Constant, full-on Persistence. That is prioritized and celebrated more than anything else. Again, in ‘classic’ sales mode, it’s about Persistence. In that mode, it’s about getting someone to say yes, no matter what. Sure, there is some Creativity in it, but that is just a tool to be used with Persistence. Think about how Time Share salespeople try to keep someone from leaving, by throwing as many layers of salespeople/managers at the person, hoping to just get them to buy. That’s Persistence. Now, I am not saying that Persistence is bad. On the contrary, it’s very important. It’s critical for success in anything. If you can’t push past a difficulty, barrier, being told no, not getting your way right away – then you won’t follow through with anything in life. Persistence is a HUGE mindset to develop and have in life. As Les Brown says, if get knocked down seven times, get up eight. In life, relationships, the world, and sales – you will get knocked down. Over and over again. The key is to avoid getting knocked down. The key is to not stay down. Get back up, dust yourself off, keep going. In sales, that’s all about persistence through challenges, obstacles, when things aren’t going your way easily. It’s about doing more with the opportunities you have instead of just hoping, wishing, and waiting for the easy opportunities (laydowns). It’s about getting better and being better than your challenges. Of course, the basic example is overcoming obstacles. That is what everyone thinks about when it comes to sales, as a standard ‘requirement’ of people a salesperson. It’s why a lot of people don’t even want to get into sales – they don’t like the thought of having to ‘convince’ someone, overcome objections, and the confrontation that comes with the role, in their minds. But here is the key – objections aren’t a requirement! And when they do come up, they should be simple to overcome because if you have done your job as a sales professional, then it’s just the prospect’s fear kicking in and you have to help them move past it. And there are lots of areas of sales where Persistence is the key to short and long term success. The important part is that, like the other Sales Success Traits, you can develop the mental, mindset muscle of Persistence. You can learn how to push yourself further and further each time. Similar to if you had a goal of climbing a big mountain, you can’t just hike all the way up Day 1. You have to do part of it, turn around, rest, recover, and try and go further next time. You would want to spend time in the gym working on specific muscles. You would train to develop the needed muscles and endurance to make it to the top. It takes Persistence to stick with it, even when you have yet to get to the top. One of my favorite line (I believe from Might Ducks) – Winners never Quit. Quitters never Win. Don’t quit – that’s the key to success. You won’t always win, but you will NEVER win if you constantly quit. Now…it’s very possible I triggered you at the top with putting Persistence fourth on the list…and you have been scrolling through the article looking for when I explain it’s so low on the mindset list. Well, here you go. Like those ‘classic’ salespeople and tactics, and the movies that I referenced, Persistence on it’s own as a tool is gross when not prioritized appropriately. If someone is not Open (about to learning, feedback, new ideas/concepts, strategies) and Curious (about people, their industry, companies, value of the product, about people – yes that’s on here twice) and Creative (to come up with new ideas, strategies, solutions)…and they are just hitting everything in the world with the Hammer of Persistence, then they end up coming across as a Self-Centered, Repellent, Persistent Jerk. When someone thinks that Persistence - and only Persistence – is the key to ‘success’, the experience can feel terrible from the other end. In sales – we have all experienced that. A Persistent-only salesperson doesn’t listen to you, doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t respect or maybe even care what you are actually wanting…they only have their agenda. Best example of this has been times when I have been in the middle east, where there are bazaar type shopping areas or streets, and the vendors are so ‘Persistent’ with their approach – they don’t care what I might want, like, not like – they just see an opportunity that they feel they must capitalize on. Remember – Persistence is important. It is a key to success in anything. But it’s not first on the list.