How to Win on Every Sales Call

You may be the best sales professional at your entire company and yet only have a 25% close rate. That means you may only be winning 1 out of 4 times...so how is it possible to win on EVERY call?

The first thing we need to know is, what does WINNING mean to you? Words have different meanings to each of us, so we need to understand what it has meant to us over the years. Then we get to decide if that meaning helps us get where we want to go...or not.

Winning could mean many things. It could be getting a signed contract. It could be scheduling a meeting. Maybe just picking up the phone and having a good introduction. Winning can mean many things to us, but we need to create the meaning that empowers us the most. I found that a lot of my mindset early on was that the only time I would win, is when the contract is signed. This is definitely one way to win, but that definition didn't serve me, it didn't fire me up and made it really really hard to truly feel like I was winning. It could be weeks before I actually got a "win" so it made every day suck even though I thought I was make progress. Imagine if a good month is 1-2 closed deals? This could mean all month you feel like a loser, tell yourself you aren't winning and get discouraged. Do you think that will serve you well into the long-term? How is your meaning impacting you now? Is it helping or hurting?

My last post on What is A Growth Mindset discussed how we work across a spectrum from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset as we run into challenges. The challenge is most of us are programmed to think Failure means you can't improve. Science shows that's just not the case. We can grow, learn and develop overtime even as we get older!

Being a Sales Professional means learning at every step along the way. A quick "No" is a great thing, if we choose to see it that way. These situations where you think you "lose" are a great time to lean into a growth mindset when maybe you don't "win" the deal, ask yourself what can you learn? What did you do well on that deal? What would you have done differently knowing what you know now?

We have the ability to add new rules, to define what winning will mean to us. Maybe getting a no, gives you the opportunity to go find the next yes. Maybe no gives you a chance to self-reflect and see what areas you can improve on. Maybe a no-show meeting gives you time to focus on admin work, develop skills or spend time on a prospect that is more likely to buy. Maybe a bad month gives you the opportunity to dig into your skills and assess where you can do better next time.

We can win on every call, if we choose to see it as a learning experience. When we ask ourselves how we can improve, we train our mind to see opportunity for growth everywhere we look. Winning feels great, so why not give ourselves more likelihood to win, make the rules a little easier and set a high bar for yourself to keep pushing the limit. If you can get 1% better every day, at the end of the year you will be WAY beyond 365% improved.

What does Winning mean to you? Do you think that meaning has served you well? Is it time to update that meaning? Share your thoughts!