Having patience in sales can be extremely frustrating. “What do you mean you need more time to think about it?” “You’d like to sleep on it?” Sound familiar? When we want something NOW, it is hard to see any value in being patient. Sometimes motivation and patience seem to be a constant push-pull. Often times people associate “patience” as an excuse for being lazy. Or not taking action. However, sometimes, no matter what, there is only so much you can do. The ideal balance is working your ass off day after day in regards to your short-term, daily goals, while at the same time remaining “patient” for the opportunity to rise in order to accomplish your longer-term goals.
Let’s take a look at the current NBA postseason. More specifically, let’s take a look at the Boston Celtics. For those who haven’t been following, The Celtics have been without their all-star point guard Kyrie Irving this entire postseason. So of course, the “back-up” has been thrown into the starting rotation and expected to take on a larger role. I’ve heard so-called “experts” expect them to be eliminated in the first round. Ended up beating the Bucks in 7. Now on to the Philadelphia 76ers and “the process”. That one only took 5 games… All the while, Terry Rozier, the point guard who has been given the task of replacing Kyrie Irving this postseason, has been performing at an all-time high and really making a name for himself here in Boston, and in the NBA as a whole. When Eric Bledsoe, who had been the opposing point guard facing Rozier throughout the first round of the playoffs, was asked about him, he responded by basically saying he didn’t know who Rozier was… I think it is safe to say he does now. Plus, he now has the privilege to watch him every night from the comfort of his own home. 😊 The “self-proclaimed” rookie of the year (if you truly consider him a rookie) Ben Simmons also felt “Scary Terry’s” wrath in the next round. Now Rozier finds himself leading his team on a quest to dethrone King James in the East. Last time that happened, the Celtics made it to the NBA finals… If you haven’t noticed, the Celtics have been working on a little process of their own, the key difference is that they are making no excuses for not getting it done in the present day, AS WELL as planning for the future. Let’s keep the focus on Rozier though.
Terry Rozier provides a great example of having patience in sales.
Since being drafted in 2015, Rozier has done everything right. He has accepted coaching, accepted some changes in his role, worked to improve his game, learned from those around him, and has now capitalized on an opportunity to not only better himself as a player and professional, but help lead his team. Eric Bledsoe most likely wasn’t the only one who “didn’t know” who Rozier was outside of Boston. Point is, he is now taking advantage of an opportunity to showcase what he is all about, and boy is he making the most out of it.
Scenarios like this are all too common in the modern world. We all want that promotion, or to close that big account, or to have that ocean front property. But things. Take. Time. I have come to find that in most cases, it comes down to attrition. You would be surprised how many opportunities come your way simply by being the one who didn’t give up. In the meantime, honing your skills, embracing the grind, and doing what you need to do. No one said patience is fun. We now live in a society where we don’t have the patience to wait for anything. We stream entire series of television shows in a weekend, or we only shop through “next day delivery” types of online businesses. As a matter of fact, you can tweet a pizza emoji to place your order for Dominos. Can it be frustrating at times? Of course. I have been there, and I have learned. One of my favorite quotes is, “don’t sacrifice what you want most for what you want now.” Stick to your “why”, and the rest will fall into place. Take action on what you want, but don’t let the process derail you from continuing to move forward.
This is the case for both short and long-term goals. Working in sales is certainly no easy task. It is mentally, physically, and often times financially exhausting. The life of a sales rep can typically be summed up in one cliché we hear all too often. What have you done for me lately? There is nothing quite like that feeling after a one-call close. I am not going to bore you with the statistics about the minuscule percentage of prospects who convert to buyers after one call. Or two calls. Or whatever the latest numbers tell us. The point is, everything requires some amount of patience in order to benefit from the payoff. In my opinion, the longer something takes, the sweeter the end result is. Finding yourself getting frustrated after your 5th or 6th follow up call? That’s okay. Because guess what? Your competition gave up after the 2nd and 3rd follow up call. However, the need for your product more often than not hasn’t gone anywhere. Persistence is good. When you “close” a prospect, you are doing them a service. You are providing them a solution to a problem. They are happy, and you are happy. Win-win.
In the sports world, this would be the equivalent of an athlete getting frustrated with going to practice after practice, film study after film study, without seeing any results on the court. You can only play 5 guys at a time. It is what it is. When your time comes and your number gets called, do you want to be the guy who busted his butt in practice and in the film room, or be the guy who half-assed it in practice and snoozed in the film room? Stop focusing on things that are out of your control. Prospect not answering your call? Not much you can do about it. They are away on vacation and can’t reconnect for a week? Too bad. You only made 1 or 2 follow up calls, and sent 1 email looking to “touch base?” That’s on you. The opportunity will come. Be patient with the process (not just you Philly fans either), and make sure you are prepared when your number is called. Take a page out of the Scary Terry playbook and do what you need to do to make sure they know your name!
