Suffering and perspective is an important part of sales and life.
A friend of mine and a really good consultant recently asked me what it would take to be successful in sales.
It takes a healthy amount of suffering and a good perspective to be successful in complex B2B sales
Right, wrong, or indifferent; in our business the people that find/create the work are the ones that are typically compensated the most. The people that mind that work, or the ones grinding the work out hour by billable hour work more and usually make less money.
The question was partially my own personal interview to see if it was wort our time to even talk about it. Most people won’t sign up for any type of suffering unless they have their mind set on doing something. Understanding the concept of suffering is also a sign of self-awareness and empathy, which are characteristics of great sales people.
Suffering…The state or experience of a person that suffers from pain, distress, or hardship.
I’m not going to go deep here. There is a tremendous amount of literature on this subject and the human condition that approach it from a religious, spiritual, philosophical, and scientific perspective. I’d recommend exploring it from all four of those angles at some point in your life.
Any great sales person will be able to talk to you about their biggest failures and losses with the same amount of vigor and detail as their greatest wins. Many of them can tell you stories of epic failures in a way that would make you laugh and cry.
No doubt they suffered during these failures, questioning themselves and their career path. You should already know by now that failure is an inevitable part of B2B sales and your personal growth. If you’re in it to win it 100% of the time the get out of it. Failure is magnified in complex B2B sales as it is usually a game with high stakes.
What truly differentiates great sales people from those that struggle, wash out, or simply never find the Top 10%? It’s their perspective on suffering
“In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.” — Viktor Frankl
Instead of trying to change your emotions just shift your approach to the experiences that trigger them.
Perspective is looking at the these issues from many different angles
You can then think with clarity beyond myopic, narrow-minded, and self-centered points of view. This allows you to see these events in our lives in a more neutral context, while re-framing the negative experience
That is where you typically find growth and and more opportunities.
