Mindful Patience: Commitment, Clarity and Consistency in B2B Selling

What's the rush? If when you're offering B2B services there's an urgency to get the sale, everyone involved experiences that sense of urgency, either consciously or unconsciously. And... there's nearly always some sense of urgency... so what can we do?

In this article we'll explore how utilizing a mindful approach to selling B2B services can best be practiced and deployed, and perhaps the key element of this approach is that it is in fact a practice! Practice doesn't make PERFECT, but rather practice IS perfect... it's the very nature of practice to emphasize an ongoing process, and at every juncture and stage of the process things are where they are, and this is exactly where they need to be in order to get to the next stage in the process.

So, first and foremost, operating in the B2B space relies upon a foundation of trust... trust in the process, trust in the value of what we are offering and the real need those offerings address, and trust in our ability to grow real relationships that can withstand uncertainty of sales over time. Trust finds one of its foundations in, you guessed it, patience.

The title of this article, 'Mindful Patience'... what is that? We all know that patience has an element of suspending or waiting for something to occur. But is that it? What about the qualitative 'way' in which we wait... do we wait with a sense of urgency, a sense of annoyance, a sense of aggressiveness? Or can we wait with a sense of curiosity, a sense of wonder, a sense of excited anticipation, a sense of honoring and perhaps even enjoying the process exactly as it presents itself... even if this frustrates the parts of us that are demanding and inpatient? It takes being mindful to do that... it takes being mindful to notice our discomfort, and rather than push it away, to make peace with it!

When we practice something, we acknowledge that there is a 'long game' element to whatever we are doing... i.e. we're not running a sprint, but rather a marathon. When we practice oral hygiene, healthy eating, or physical fitness, we're being proactive about attending to healthy functioning in those areas. We're being proactive and preventative, rather than reactive and negligent. And... there is no coincidence that practices 'lean' us towards greater health and functioning... that too, is part of the very nature of practice(s).

When relating to the uphill climb of B2B selling, if we don't see it as a long-game practice, we'll be continually frustrated, as most days we will not close a sale... period. That is a truth that we need to address mindfully, as soon as possible, and with a sense of great urgency; and... our response to this truth should be a practical, pragmatic, practice-based response. To be healthy - in fact most if not all practices that aim at greater health - requires an ongoing behavioral practice that is easily repeatable, which is also exactly what is required if we are to 'practice' selling B2B services.

What does being repeatable in this context actually mean? Of course it means things like sales systems, but it also refers to how we go about selling and organizing our sales days. How long will we work each day? On what schedule will we take breaks and how long will they be? How many reach-outs and follow-ups is truly sustainable over time? On what cadence will we practice all of our practices? How will we generally organize our efforts? Will our cycles repeat daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, or otherwise? All of these and other things can be organized into a pattern of practice in which we can then function with a sense of greater ease! When designed well - meaning designed with ourselves fully in mind - our sales practices will release us to better connect and convey to the value of our offerings. This foundation for selling is what is needed to support the closing of sales.

Practicing mindful patience and selling might seem daunting at first... how can we go about these efforts to ensure we don't burn out?! At Mindful Life, Mindful Work, Inc. we've found that getting really clear, being unflinchingly consistent, and immovably committed are the foundations upon which a mindful and sustainable selling practice finds its legs. When we are consistent, clear, and committed, prospects can trust us in a way that creates a healthy foundation for our relating to each other professionally, and ultimately financially.

These three - consistency, clarity, commitment - act together to convey value to our prospects, but they also act to release us into being fully present to ourselves and others. When we are consistent we feel competent and confident, and as a result, acting with the highest integrity becomes a natural expression of our feeling secure in our messaging and services. It is our commitment that sustains us during our journey, which will include inevitable periods or gaps in sales, some perhaps lasting from a moment to years. During these gaps, doubts and uncertainty will certainly attempt to derail our efforts and resolve.

When we choose a professional 'practice' that is truly sustainable and that we believe in to the core, we find personal and professional benefits that go far beyond those considered traditional. We might even find a joy in doing what we love, even when to others it might appear that we're just doing the same mundane professional activities in which others find themselves engaged! When we are aligned with and practicing our own personal 'north star', the details of the day support that alignment rather than being a distraction from it; when a sunflower's 'face' follows the arc of the sun throughout the day, each leaf on the stalk naturally supports the turning of its face. Thus it is essential to align yourself with what you truly love and want to 'follow'.

When we are patient, consistent, clear, and committed, we then function with a resolve that is indestructible. In short, we find a resilience that celebrates in the challenges of the tasks at hand... just like a marathon runner who has chosen to do what many of us might think impossible. Instead, we make 'the impossible' obsolete by removing success and failure, by practicing. Just like water wearing away stone over time and every time, we practice our B2B selling practice in a manner that 'wears away' the barriers to sales because we are aligned, committed, and consistent.

And it works, over time and every time... if we're willing to practice.

Please share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below.

For those wanting to grow mindful and mindfulness cultures in organizations, a new mastermind, think tank group is currently forming, beginning in June of 2022. This curated group is limited to 30 professionals, some of whom are internal to companies and some external, all with the common goal of growing how companies utilize and leverage mindfulness-informed thinking, practices, and services. Group Details Here

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Jonathan Reynolds is founder and CEO of Mindful Life, Mindful Work, Inc., a San Francisco based leadership development company providing services that address the intersection of self-awareness and team performance. Since 1997, Jonathan has trained extensively in the discipline of mindfulness, and his work with leaders emphasizes simple and practical ways to improve performance, efficiency, and workplace cultures by integrating mindfulness sensibilities.

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