- “I figure my competition is in the same place I’m in. I’m simply
going to attempt to show a better face than my competitors. I’m
going to stay in touch with my clients even when they’re not buying,
because when the tide does turn, they’ll remember how I treated
them in downtimes.”
•“The important thing is to not live at a level where you have to be
earning the top potential dollar just to break even. If you put your-
self in that position and tough times come, you’ll suffer and start
paying attention to the wrong things.” - “I was once in an industry that went south. I knew I had the stuff to
bounce back, but I wasn’t sure if the industry would bounce back. At
times like that, you have to take a long, hard look at the industry
you’re in and decide if you want that challenging or that rough a
ride.”
All these statements reveal resilient mind-sets, which separate what is
happening from personal feelings of worth. The person who internalizes
every bad turn will be weighed down to the point of becoming lethargic.
These resilient individuals had learned through experience to formulate
thought processes and lifestyle processes that would help them weather
tough times.
HAILING ON THE PARADE
My brother Mark sells insurance to car lots and implement dealers, and
adversity is a predictable part of his business life. This adversity comes each
spring in the form of hail. His company’s compensation plan is tied to his
loss ratio, which means that when it hails, he loses substantial income. Some
years, he has just missed making the President’s Club because of the hail.
It is a circumstance beyond his control, but he pays an appreciable mone-
tary and emotional price for it.
At first, he let the weather affect his resilience level, and he grew fear-
ful and somewhat cynical as the season approached. He began to get angry
with clients that he felt were taking advantage of his company in these cir-
cumstances. He soon learned that it would be necessary to prepare a men-
tal approach that would buoy him for this eventuality.
“I decided that, other than saying a few Hail Marys, I didn’t have much
control over weather patterns and the damage they could cause to my clients’
inventories or, subsequently, my paycheck. With my competitive nature, I
decided that the only way I could stay positive was simply to set my goals
114 SELLING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE