Could struggling sales teams learn a thing or two from former Commandos?

Learn from two Royal Marines coaching sales teams to deal with stress and fear; taking your staffs resilience and courage to the next level to secure those difficult leads.

As I stood behind the gate, my weapon poised on it just seconds before breaking in, I suddenly become acutely conscious of my body. My heart is racing, I’m sweating profusely, my breathing is short and sharp, my adrenal response is sending my worry into overload, and I begin questioning my ability. Panic is setting in and I sense the unwelcome feelings of doubt and worry.

In the next few seconds my commander will open the gate, expecting me to rush through and take out the approaching insurgents; Taliban fighters only meters from us on the other side of the wall.

“Ready?” He asks.

No, I reply in my head, looking confident yet feeling like a scared child inside.

“3. 2. 1. . .GO!” His command is blunt and emotionless as he swings open the gate to my impending fate.

I burst through, firing my weapon at anything moving. The treeline is so close, only five meters to our front, dense and thick with only the noises of those inside highlighting the presence of our attacking foes. But suddenly the fear has gone, and I am once again back in control, clearing my mind and judgement, allowing me to do my job to the best of my ability.

I’m a highly trained Royal Marines Commando on operational service. Fear is what I must overcome. This is my job, and this is what I must do.

Now in the present day, I experience the same fear but in the boardroom instead of on combat operations. Though I may be many miles from the bloody battlefields of our nation’s warzones, I still feel the adrenal responses similar to what I would in battle, only this time is on the phone to a client, or trying to persuade a chief exec to buy my services. But a courageous and tenacious Commando mindset arms me with the ability to keep going, no matter the challenge, setbacks or objections.

Modern Sales Teams

You are a commando. A commando of sales where you too must also overcome the immense fear and doubt to obtain mission success, as do your team.

Unfortunately now more than ever, sales has become a dirty word to so many. When your team rings a client, people jump to the thought of a cash hungry executive, dressed in a tight pinstripe suit, pestering them to buy your products. Thoughts that lead to unanswered emails or dead phone lines. Granted, your team might well be cash hungry or sport the latest designer suits and who cares, but accept this; no one likes talking too sales teams anymore, and this ruthless customer attitude can have a profound affect on those within your team, and especially the younger least experienced members.

Society has changed dramatically over the last three decades. We now have four generations working side by side under the same roof, each trying to make their mark on this planet. Post war baby boomers, generation X, the millennials, and now the PlayStation mad generation Z’s all competing side by side for the title, status and most importantly the money.

Over the years, social media has decreased social interaction, with more and more people feeling at ease communicating from behind their smartphone or keyboard rather than face to face or on phone calls. Human interaction has dramatically decreased, affecting the way in which we do business, and especially the way in which we drive our sales. Your sales teams are having less and less exposure to dealing with difficulty, failure and negative human responses.

So how do we increase their resilience?

I’m not going to teach you the next strategy or technique to bait and close the next client; you know how to do that, you’re the expert. However, what I would like to bring to your attention to is how sales teams confidence levels are currently heavily depleted within this modern climate. Not hit the targets? Struggling for sales? Money not coming in as fast as you thought? They are the same problems every company faces, but what are you doing differently to stand above the rest?

So how can a Commando mindset help your sales team increase its targets? It is by getting the individuals within your teams to overcome fears, control stress, harness their adrenal responses, and own a determined attitude towards mission success; your sales targets.

The following strategy is not a sequence, but an understanding of rules. At VGS, we have designed a workshop aimed at teaching these five simple principles, extracted from everything we learnt during some of the most stressful moments in combat. If you or your team members can apply these five rules to your companies sales strategy, then I promise you their confidence, courage and resilience will dramatically improve.

1)   Confidence – They know their job and products. They know the strategy and skills required to drive sales. But they might just be missing a key ingredient; confidence. Every dial dead tone, dead email or snappy objection is another tally of defeat. Each one is a setback, another loss on the battlefield of sales. What are you doing to lead back their confidence when they're at their weakest? When they are failing, how do you increase their belief? Be empathetic and know what they are going through, but also be clinical in your approach. Let them know that you are there for them and will guide them through the battle, but they must also own full responsibility for their actions and decisions. Do this, and their confidence will rocket on every sale and still increase when you support them during every fail.

2)   Relentless – What is stopping your team members from ringing back the person who hung up on them yesterday? What is holding them back from continuing a sale, even if it sounds like someone is about to end the call? The answer; nothing. This is their job, and your team should be relentless in pushing for each and every sale. The fear of being hung up on or being told to f**k off, is nothing more than a occupational hazard, not an offensive remark. My role in the Commandos often put me on deaths door, but now in business I never even come close to such impending dangers. Picking up the phone wont kill me. An objection telling me where to go, won't kill me. Nothing can kill them in sales, so what is there to worry about? Get them understanding that there should be little worry in being offended, or hung up on, and that they own immense courage in continuing to press on.

3)   Bold – They’ve got to own courage, and shit loads of it. Don’t let them go to the pencil pushers; get them ringing directly to the very top, or at least near to it. The CEO’s, Execs, Board members and leaders, people who are passionate about the company. Those who only work for the company you are calling, care little about what your team have to say about the next game changing tool you're selling, but those at the top do. Tell your team to be bold in their approach resisting the urge to be average and settle for ok. Get them in front of those who care and see where it leads. What is the worst that will happen? If you and the product are good enough, they will listen to what you have to say then pass you over to someone in their company who can process the sale. If this happens, then you've won the battle.

4)   Well Trained – MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THEIR JOB! And if they don’t, or aren’t 100% sure, get them trained. Make sure they know the basics of what is expected from them, and wilfully guide them with your most current knowledge. For rules 1, 2 and 3 to be most effective, they must know what they are doing. If they don't, then their confidence and belief will deplete and your team will continue to struggle. Like you probably already do, take time out and go over simple methods and tactics, whilst always reinforcing their confidence and belief, before unleashing them on their next mission.

5)  Surround them with excellence – If your team aren’t up to scratch, bring them up to scratch or let them go. Make sure every team member is surrounded by equally talented and driven people. Ensure they support one and other and act like an efficient team. It isn't a competition, it's a mission. Within the marines, we refer to every man within the troop as a 'linkman,' ready to support and communicate with the next person. If one link man doesn't do their role properly during the heat of battle, then the stressful and challenging moments we regularly face dramatically intensify. Don’t create your team from half hearted mismatched sales reps. Fill it with the best and maintain the best, installing the Commando mindset that will push them to the next level.    

If you've enjoyed reading this article, or would like more information on any of our courses, please email [email protected] writing in the subject box; commando sales teams, as we would love to hear from you. Alternatively, enrol your team on our next commando sales teams course, and witness two former Royal Marines transform the courage, resilience and belief within your team, which ultimatley leads to improving your sales.