Self-confidence, drive, motivation, thriving under pressure…….!

All words associated with the sales profession and will be some of the “must haves” when you are recruiting salespeople or leading sales teams..

Do salespeople need to be mentally resilient? Yes, sales is a high pressure role essential to the success of every business and sales people get told “no” more often than “yes”

Is mental resilience a nature or nurture thing? Potentially a bit of both, but mostly nurture. Often the most resilient salespeople have dealt with tough things in their past, equipping them for the pressure of the sales world.

If you are mentally resilient, do you always have it? No, it isn’t a fixed characteristic and the reality of life means that many sales and service professionals face peaks and troughs in their ability to cope with the demands of their role. ​​Challenges and uncertainties often lurk around every corner in sales and resilience isn’t just a quality; it’s a necessity.

Resilience is not just our ability to recover but our capacity to recover, learn, and change from devastating events, or actions of others. Resilience is a muscle that requires support and training, so that it is ready to kick into action when we need that extra boost!

The world of sales is challenging and dynamic. Rejections, objections, and unforeseen obstacles are part of the daily grind. Resilience enables salespeople to bounce back from setbacks, learn from failures, and maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity.

By enhancing your team's ability to persevere through the tough moments and navigate uncertainties, they will be able to build and sustain relationships with clients and adapt to changing market conditions, evolving customer needs, and fierce competition.

As managers, it is important to foster environments where we can role model, teach, talk about, learn and build resilience.

So how can you do that? Here are 5 ways to encourage a resilient team:

• Create a supportive culture by modeling resilience yourself and demonstrate how you handle challenges and failures; and helping others find what works for them
• Promote a growth mindset by setting realistic & meaningful goals, emphasising the process and progress towards the outcome, and celebrating effort and improvement
• Provide training and resources to establish the level of competence and confidence in their skills and abilities. Creating personal development plans to show that success is a journey with failure a key part of that learning and growth process
• Encourage reflection and learning by creating a safe and positive environment where your sales team can share their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or criticism
• Reward resilience and results through both individual and team awards such as personal recognition, public or private acknowledgment, team celebrations, or group incentives.

Sales is a fast-paced environment and building resilience within your team will help them to overcome those individual moments of disappointment and bounce back to “go again”.  It will also foster a long-term, successful career in sales by instilling the determination needed to consistently push boundaries and achieve goals.

By embracing resilience as a core strength, sales professionals and leaders pave the way for sustained success in the ever-evolving business landscape. Remember, setbacks are not roadblocks but stepping stones; opportunities to learn, refine, and emerge stronger.

If you would like further support with enhancing the resilience capacity within your team, ask us about our Mindfulness and Resilience workshop at [email protected]