Yesterday, we covered how challenging a sales career can be on one’s emotions and mental toughness. The first strategy we discussed was about developing one slogan that you should own. As helpful as your slogan is – especially when you repeat it and write it multiple times a week - sometimes we need to hear another voice. When we doubt ourselves, self-talk isn’t quite as effective. Which brings us to strategy #2 to helping you stay motivated…
Strategy #2 to staying motivated as a sales professional: Use Audible.com to listen to motivational books.
Actually, it doesn’t matter what you use – I just happen to like Audible.com because it charges a monthly fee and I feel like a member of a club, so I use it. What matters is the content, not the medium.
I’m the last person that should be suggesting motivational books. I have a mechanical engineering degree and I’m off the charts “analytical” on any personality profiling test. I’m one of those people that watch a motivational speech and asks questions at the end. Many of the books I listen to don’t have empirical evidence or data, but they’re full of positive messages that make sense to me. Sometimes they can be a little hokey, but I find that doesn’t really matter. The end result is that I feel positive after listening to a chapter or two while walking through an airport or driving to an appointment.
Here’s the real trick: play the audiobook and don’t listen. That’s right, don’t listen. Now, I’m not recommending that you always do this. However, most of us put on background music or other noise like talk radio or the TV. Don’t do it – if you need background noise, play your motivational books. If you do this day after day, you’ll start to notice a lift in your attitude and some added resolve in your character.
Try it out. Walking the dog? Grocery shopping? Working out? Go ahead and throw on one of these books that may not teach you anything, but will inspire you to keep giving your sales career your all.
I’d love to hear some recommendations from you. What motivational books have you read or listened to that you think other sales professionals should consider? Thank you in advance!
