Some early advice from a trusted mentor was to “always play from a position of strength!” How fortunate I am to have been gifted with such wisdom early in my sales and leadership career. I’ve come to observe this attitude in many top performers. Let’s unpack what it means and how it works.
What is a position of strength? It means you have the advantage. You are the overdog. The chips are stacked in your favor. It’s the highly favored and universally desired position in a competitive match. Think about a time when you were in the middle of a game, and you had supreme confidence that you would win because you were far ahead of your opponent. It’s a great feeling, right?
Examples in the world of sports would include the 1992 USA men’s Olympic basketball team, nicknamed the Dream Team. This was the very first American Olympic team to feature active professional players from the NBA. Do you think Chuck Daly was playing from a position of strength with players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan?
The point is when you have a position of strength you approach whatever game or endeavor with a certain amount of confidence that gives you an edge. Just knowing that you are likely to come out on top can create a powerful advantage.
So how do you cultivate the mindset of playing from a position of strength? Here are 3 tips to help you.
First, think abundance not scarcity. In sales, the worst mindset you can have is to think you have a limited number of prospects. The truth is, there are way more prospective customers for your products and services than you will ever contact. Overvaluing a prospect creates tension and fear. Flip the script and approach potential customers with the mindset that you choose your customers, not that they choose you. It’s your perspective that matters most.
The second tip is to spend time studying your craft. It’s much easier to approach prospective customers with confidence when you are excited about applying new ideas and techniques. Approach every day in the field as a learning and growing experience. Don’t evaluate your day based on your earnings that day, rather evaluate based on what you learned that will benefit you for the future. Many professions, law and medicine included, refer to their daily work as a “practice”. You should too!
Finally, visualize before each sales call the ideal outcome of the call. Take a minute and in your mind’s eye see the prospective customer greeting you with enthusiasm and joy because they are excited to hear what you have to say. Almost like watching a movie, see the presentation unfold as your prospect is engaged and eager to become your customer. If paperwork is involved, see your new customer smile as they sign on the dotted line. When you take time to visualize it as you want it to be, you approach with supreme confidence.
There are only 3 reasons salespeople have for not getting the results they would like to get and that they are capable of. Those 3 reasons are insufficient activity, lack of know-how, or a poor mindset. The first 2 are generally the easiest to solve. However, if your mindset is not right, you can have the first 2 and still not succeed. The mindset of playing from a position of strength is the correct approach and will lead to a high degree of success.