Marketing Profs

Whether you are salesperson of the year or a rookie, you have probably experienced those low points: the loss of a hard-fought competitive battle or a constant stream of customer "No's."

In such challenging circumstances, some salespeople, despite considerable talent and potential, find it difficult to pick themselves up and jump back in the game. They seem to lack the elusive quality of motivation—the ability to soar above these temporary obstacles and keep moving forward.

They lose momentum, avoid making calls, and take refuge in the safe havens of their offices or automobiles.

On the other hand, there are salespeople whose motivation and resilience enable them to make every customer call as enthusiastically as if it were the first. These individuals' desire to succeed allows them to leverage even "ordinary" skills and abilities to achieve extraordinary results.

For the majority of us who, perhaps, fall somewhere in the middle, there is an opportunity to increase "motivational intelligence" by keeping in mind five simple principles.

1. Motivation is completely and entirely an inside job

No one, no matter how inspirational, has the power to motivate others. Motivation—the movement to action—is a decision that can be made only by the individual. Many things can cause a lack of motivation, but the most common are fear and lack of confidence. The solution—courageous action! Consistently summoning the courage to move forward in the face of fear is unquestionably the most important difference between highly motivated achievers and those who give up too easily when confronted by a challenging situation.

2. Motivation requires a meaningful "motive"

For many Olympic athletes, a medal is their clear, meaningful motive. For some, however, the opportunity just to participate in the games is enough to keep them dedicated to years of disciplined, rigorous training.

What is meaningful varies with individuals and their circumstances. This personal sense of "why" we act often gets confused with the "what" we need to do, which, for salespeople, is often defined in terms of external goals such as making a quota or closing a particular sale.