While this isn’t a message dealing with politics, how do you think the presumptive Republican nominee views himself? Do you believe there is a connection between his self perception verses how he performs?  Even when Trump didn’t come out on top in polling it never affected his view of himself.In fact, he was more inclined to adopt the idea that his constituency just didn’t get it.There is a saying that goes: whether a man thinks he can or cannot, he is right.

You also may have heard people say, “it’s all mental”.  Perhaps there is some credence to that phrase.  To share some examples, I have friends who are avid golfers and they would say the game is played mentally as well as physically.

I remember distinctly playing college football and when I would miss an assignment or tackle the coaches yelling “forget about it” and play the next play!!  Somehow the coaches knew that if I allowed a temporary poor performance to affect my self perception then the rest of my game could spiral downward.

The same is applicable in business and sales. Maybe you had a bad deal or interaction. How do you respond?  I’ll contrast the two.
The person with a poor self perception even on a good day is prone to think of his good performance as luck. This person does NOT expect to perform well.

When this person experiences what they perceive to be a bad sales call or loses a deal they are more apt to play the victim. They will allow that one event to define them and it will eventually affect future outcomes.

A person with a great self perception always EXPECTS to perform well; they are likely to look at the “failure” as an simply an event, challenge or even an opportunity to learn and improve. This person does not internalize this event and allow it to adversely impact the rest of the day or week.

Ask yourself, how would I approach a sales call if money or whatever you valued was no object? I would venture to say that there is nothing the prospect could say that would take you off your game.  Your demeanor would most likely be relaxed and if they turned down your product you probably wouldn’t internalize it as a failure.

So, how will you respond to challenges, off days, and adversity? Make the choice to preserve your self perception knowing that the sales game is also played mentally.  Leave your thoughts in the comments.  You can also contact Chaz at jerrydmann@dmanntraining.com