How Stoicism Is Helping My Sales Game
Ryan Warner, Account Executive, Yext
When we focus on trying to change obstacles, rather than accepting them for what they are, we experience a sense of helplessness, which turns into stress, fear, worry, and so on. The good news is that there is a way to alter our perception of obstacles and use them to our advantage. Not feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by obstacles, and looking for the opportunity within the obstacle” are mental martial arts that can be used to your advantage and are rooted in the philosophy known as stoicism.
Here are some principles of stoicism and how I’ve used each to turn obstacles into opportunities within my sales game.
1. “In life our first job is this, to divide and distinguish things into two categories: externals I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them I do control.”
There are some sales-related events that we do not control, such as the mood of our clients, their reaction to a proposal, and the economy. And on the flip side, there are a small handful of items that we do control, such as our attitude, our level of focus on a given task, and our reactions external events.
Focus exclusively and ruthlessly on events within your control, and have perspective when responding to external events to see them for what they really are — opportunities.
2. “The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”
Imagine your top client is using your technology. Just as you are set to present an upsell opportunity that can make or break your year, your technology stops working. What can you do? Freak out, moan, and complain about the potential lost upsell opportunity, and gossip with your friends? Or tackle the issue head-on? Fly to see the client. Stay with them through this malfunction, through this obstacle, and earn their trust to a greater degree than you previously had, which will position you well for another upsell opportunity when the time is right.
The choice for how you respond to an event, and whether or not you see the opportunity within the obstacle, is yours.
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