We get told no every day—from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed. It may come in different forms. It may come out of nowhere. We probably don’t even recognize how many times we get told no or tell ourselves no. We do it so regularly that it becomes normal.
I’m in sales. I not only sell, but I help people sell. There is a lot of “Suck it up” that goes into that! Not only getting past it, but helping others get past it. Let me count the ways:
- There is never enough time.
- Your prospect says, “Not right now. Can you get back to me?”
- You don’t have anyone to call.
- You’ve been calling the same people over and over.
- You’re holding onto that false sense of hope that someone might do business with you.
- You compare yourself to others.
- You’re not hitting your goals.
- Your prospect says, “Call me back in six months.”
- You’re not present in the moment, always thinking about more.
- You’re not reaching your potential.
- You have dreams but aren’t accomplishing them.
- You’re calling people, and they aren’t interested.
- You’ don’t have enough money.
- You don’t want to practice.
- Your prospect says, “I need to think about it. “
- You go on useless appointments.
- You have call reluctance.
- You shut it off at the end of the day. I’ll start tomorrow.
These are just a few things salespeople go through each and every day. What exactly does it mean to suck it up and drive on?
As a salesperson, we got into this profession for a reason. Not because we had to, but when it’s all said and done, because we chose to. We chose to get beat up, shot down, put down, argued with, get told no, have a thick skin.
We did it for so many reasons.
Maybe we are driven by guilt? We are in student loan debt, credit card debt, house debt, car debt. We may get home at night and our kids or family want us to be home on time or not take those calls. We are driven by doing more because all that is depending on us.
Some of us are driven by money. We just want to make as much darn money as humanly possible. That’s only going to get us so far. Eventually we have to find a new reason.
We may be driven to fill a void. This is our way to win. We want to win that sale, that appointment. We want to get that person to say yes and ride that high.
Then there’s where most of us fall under—what most of us are driven by:
We are driven by dreams. Things we want to have. Things we want to achieve. Places we want to go. Things we want to do. We want to provide for our family, kids, spouse, or those around us. Things we want to accomplish. We want to do all those things we never got to do.
This is exactly why we need to embrace the suck. We are in the number-one profession in the world in that we can make an unlimited amount of money if we do what we are supposed to. If we see past our excuses, take action, work at it, hire a coach and be a student of the game. We need to realize we will never be perfect and, you know what? that’s okay.
You may miss a goal. You may miss a deadline. You may miss that big sale. Suck it up and drive on. The best part about sales is we always get to start over. Whether it’s the next day, month, or year. We get to do it again; it resets. Go out and do the things you need to do to hit those goals.
The only person standing in your way is you. Suck it up and love it! It’s worth every second. You will be better at what you do, inside and outside of work. Life happens. Embrace it.