The difference between knowing what it takes to be successful and being successful is the execution that leads to consistently achieving your goals. And though I consistently achieved in the Army, after I left the Army, I didn’t achieve my goal until my third year in sales.
I was what the Army called a “fast tracker,” meaning I was significantly ahead of the rest of the Soldiers in the Army who entered basic training at the same time I did. I had been in the Army for only a year when I returned to Ft. Benning for Ranger school with a slew of other “Batt. Boys” (Privates from the 75th Ranger Regiment), though the rest of the class was composed of officers and NCOs.
By year seven, I was picked up for E-7 (Sergeant First Class) by the Department of the Army at my first look. By year nine, I had all the chest candy a fella could want - Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Master Parachutist wings with a mustard stain, Pathfinder badge, Ranger tab, and a 2nd Ranger Battalion combat scroll. All of this meant that I could walk into any room of Soldiers and hold my own without saying a word. My uniform reflected the success of achieving my goals year after year.
Achievements are written all over your uniform in the military. But the business world is different. In the business world, you can look the part without being the part. When I transitioned, I wore nice suits, had a nice title, handed out business cards, used the corporate AMEX like a pro, and was armed with enough buzzwords to hold a conversation.
It’s not that hard to look successful in the real world, but it’s really hard to succeed.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), sales is like the military in that there is a clear indicator of achievement - hitting your number. You can be the smartest, the most product educated, or the most collegial professional on the team, but what truly matters is how you perform toward your sales goal. The difference between knowing what it takes to be successful in sales and being a successful sales professional is consistently hitting your number. You either do or you don’t.
I missed my number in my first two years in sales. I had to learn to be the part, not just look the part. I had to learn how to achieve in the business world, drawing upon my success from the service, though respecting that those successes were in the past, just like my fancy uniform. After those two years, I experienced something I had not experienced before in my life: I quit. I actually tried to go back to the war even though I didn’t want to, but that path was unexpectedly cut short. So I tried sales for another year. But I had to get my mind right to make it.
My problem wasn’t that I didn’t know how to sell or believe in the product. My problem was entirely me. I wasn’t motivated to be a sales professional, and my efforts were lacking as a result.
I lacked the right motivation because I didn’t want to be a yucky salesman. And I didn’t want to be seen as one. I really liked being liked by my customers and prospects, so I didn’t want to jeopardize that by offending someone because I asked for the business. Week after week, I would work my territory, visiting many prospects and closing modest deals here and there. For the most part, I never really took a run at making the hard asks. All because I had so much baggage about being a salesman. I had accomplished that aim, though. I was not a yucky salesman, but I also wasn’t a sales professional - I was a professional visitor.
And I am here to tell you that this is a common problem we see across sales organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Many salespeople look the part but aren’t playing their part. Often, they aren’t hitting their numbers because they lack the right motivation, and they don’t know how to close or how to identify the right close for each call.
I failed my first two years in sales because I allowed the specter of being yucky to keep me from closing. I knew the moves, and I could do the moves, but I wasn’t giving it my full effort or putting myself in the position to win or lose. I was on the ice, wearing the jersey, but I wasn’t taking any shots, so I was neither missing, nor making them.
I could see the shots, but wasn’t taking them.
I knew how to succeed but wasn’t successful.
I looked the part, but I wasn’t playing my part.
And while only part of the conditions were under my control, lamenting about them and focusing on anything other than my efforts is making excuses. No one excuses their way into growth. Owning our losses on our ledgers teaches us how to win the next game far more than chalking it up to the conditions of the territory (or in military parlance, the grader who screwed you out of your patrol in Ranger School). You either earn your Ranger tab, or you don’t. You either hit your number or you don’t. The only difference between the Army and the business world is that your uniform shows the results.
There are many ineffective salespeople out in the world today. And while that may seem harsh, it’s intended to inspire action, not shame. I get it. I know what it’s like to look the part in the business world, yet know inside that I wasn’t doing my part. I was fortunate to have leaders who were willing to have difficult conversations with me and develop me. They were also willing to invest in me and support me. Halfway through my second year in sales, my leadership determined that the expansion territory I had been hired to develop was a bust and offered me the opportunity to transfer from Alabama to Colorado.
Returning to the West was a blessing for my career and my family. But it wasn’t an automatic ticket to success. There are no automatic successes in life. I had to come to grips with my failures and my lack of execution in my previous territory. I had to fix my motivation, jettison the specter of being a yucky salesman, and commit to being a sales professional. And I had to identify my closing problem. I was afraid to ask for the business. I was afraid because I was saddled by my aversion to bad salesmen and because at that time in my life, I was more motivated by feeling liked by someone (anyone) than by winning.
Where are you at today in your role? Are you playing your part right now? If so, excellent! Pass this on to someone you know who could use it. If not, why not?
Perhaps your motivation is off? Ask yourself this: what is my role? What is my goal? And what are my rewards for hitting them? Then follow up by asking if your personal capabilities, needs, and wants match up to them.
And finally, if you are scared to ask for the business, name it. I was. I was scared to be yucky and so wanted to be liked. Until I learned something so profound and important - everybody knows why you are there. If you are a sales professional, everybody knows you are there to represent your product or service. There is no mystery involved. So do yourself, your prospect, and your company a favor - represent your product or service. Be a sales professional, not a professional visitor.
