My first job out of college was managing sales for a big telecom company. No sales experience, no management background—just some river guiding and competitive athletics. Someone took a chance on me anyway.
Early on, I shadowed a top manager whose team crushed quotas. One evening, I asked him about his star rep, a guy on track for president’s club. Turns out, this rep used to gripe constantly as a newbie, whining about “bad leads” in our inbound sales center. You got what you got—big-money “new connects” or petty billing disputes. Reps lived for the former, dreaded the latter.
This guy would get so fed up, he’d set his phone to “busy” to dodge calls. One day, mid-rant about his lousy luck, his manager let him vent, then hit him with this: “You’re right—you can’t pick your calls. But you can pick up that phone. The more you do, the better your shot at quota. Sit there sulking, and you’ll miss it every time.”
Message received. The rep flipped his attitude, stayed available, and—surprise—his call volume spiked, landing him more sales. Funny how that works. Sales happens to be a contact sport. :)
It’s simple: know what you can control and own it. You can’t rig the game, but you can damn well play it. Hesitating on a sales call, a tough workout, whatever? Look yourself in the eye—phone camera works—and ask if you’re grabbing what’s yours. Results don’t come from the hand you’re dealt; they come from how you swing it. Attitude. Action. That’s the difference.
Opmerkingen