When Challenged, What Do You Do?

For those who know me, and if you have been following the podcast for a while, you will recognise that I am a mad, albeit, long suffering supporter and member of the Melbourne Football Club. Achieving the ultimate of an AFL Premiership in season 2021 was something I actually thought I would never live to see, after watching the team play for decades with very limited success. Sitting in my lounge room in late September watching the Dees break a 57 year Premiership drought was as exhilarating as it was frustrating, given we were in COVID lockdown in Melbourne and the AFL Grand Final was played in Perth.

Fast forward just over 5 months, and to sit in the MCG on Wednesday night amongst 58,000 football fans for Round 1 was sensational. And the game against the Western Bulldogs certainly lived up to expectations. Just like in the Grand Final in 2021, Melbourne was challenged, and challenged hard. And again, the team found a way to maintain their composure, reset and find a way to get the result.

I couldn't help but consider the parallels between the game and the game of sales and sales leadership. As sales leaders, we are constantly challenged. We are faced with obstacles and situations, often when we least expect it. Our sales teams are faced with objections and customer challenges on a regular basis, and we often have to be the calming force to lead the team through these challenges, in order to arrive at a positive outcome. Which begs the question - 'When challenged, what do you do?'.

This is the topic for today's episode of The Exceptional Sales Leader Podcast. In this episode, I explore how many leaders actually 'react' to the challenge through unresourceful means, such as panicking, externalising blame, reacting without thinking, and in extreme cases, avoiding the challenge altogether.

Exceptional leaders do something completely different. They are measured, calm in their approach, and very rarely, if ever panic. And funnily enough, they are able to lead their teams through the challenges and learn from the experience. Would love to hear your thoughts on how you respond to challenges. Please drop a note in the comments.

Listen to the episode here - When Challenged, What Do You Do?

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