The Importance of Mindset

I am excited to share with you the first edition of my newsletter which is focused on developing winning mindset to be successful at selling. I will be sharing hints and tips which are relevant to sales leaders, sales managers and salespeople.

This newsletter is for those individuals who have a growth mindset and want to keep getting better. We know from the research completed by our partners, Objective Management Group , that 80 per cent of success in sales is due to mindset. If we don't continually work on our own mindset, then no amount of time invested in improving our skills will be time worth it.

In sales, we often know what to do. For example, if we are a sales leader or a sales manager, we will know that we should be consistently coaching our salespeople. Yet how often does the coaching fall by the wayside. It's often because the sales leader lacks the mindset to undertake the coaching successfully.

So let's unpack why this might be. The sales leader or sales manager might have limiting beliefs about coaching. As individuals we all have limiting beliefs and these beliefs can have a significant impact on our ability both to use and implement a skill. So as a sales manager, we may have a limiting belief about their ability to coach effectively. If this is a limiting belief that you carry as a sales leader or a sales manager, then you are much less likely to want to coach your team.

As humans we are much more likely to take the route of least resistance and do the easy things. The easy things might be to complete tasks such as filling in spreadsheets for the person you report into, getting involved in operational issues. The list goes on. Anything we perceive as more challenging, can cause fear and a reluctance to undertake a more difficult task.

If as sales leaders and sales managers, you have limiting beliefs, then imagine the impact if you are unable to deal with your own limiting beliefs on the performance of your team.

So what are some of the simple steps that you can take to change your mindset. Firstly we must educate ourselves into how to overcome our self-limiting thinking. We can do this by adopting a growth mindset and taking charge of our mindset. If we have a fixed mindset, then we are unlikely to make the changes necessary. Some of the things we can do are:-

• surround yourself with positive people who will empower you and build you up
• when you find something difficult or challenging, block out time to practice that skill. The more you practice, the better you become at something
• challenge yourself to get outside your own comfort zone. The magic happens when you are outside your comfort zone. The only things that grow in a comfort zone are "weeds"
• invest time in listening to podcasts about mindset and read around the topic of mindset
• become a positive radiator of energy

I hope you found this first newsletter beneficial and I look forward to receiving any feedback from the readers.