The reality is products don’t sell themselves. No matter how great a product is, or how much your prospect needs your product or service, salespeople need to be mentally prepared for tough sales calls.  Sales success requires  mental toughness and preparation; successful salespeople must be mentally prepared to:

• experience failure

• learn from their failures

• move on to the next opportunity

If you want to be the best at sales, you have to mentally and physically prepare for sales success.

5 Steps to Mentally and Physically Prepare for Sales Success

1. Trust

In any sales environment you know two irrefutable facts:

1. Selling is not easy.
2. You are tougher than you think.

Salespeople are tougher than they think; we have an uncanny ability to be resilient and the ability to adapt – if we are mentally prepared.

2. Body Conditioning – Get #FitToSell

Your mind strengthens and becomes more resilient when you condition your body through a regular routine of exercise. The more consistent, dedicated and engaging your physical routine, the more your mind is also prepared for stress on the job.

3. Attitude Adjustment

Have you ever been told by someone, Your attitude sucks? The Notre Dame football program is well known for its slogan “Play Like A Champion Today.” This means play with the attitude of a champion. Salespeople have to have the attitude to Sell Like A Champion: be a winner, talk like a winner and walk like a winner.

4. Visualization

See yourself as a winner. Remember as a kid seeing yourself hitting the game-winning home run? There is no athlete who does not go through the mental process of visualizing themself as the star of the game.

If you can’t visualize yourself being successful, you’ll never have the inner motivation to be successful.

5. Practice

Mental preparation for sales success requires learning new sales techniques and then practicing what you’ve learned. No successful salesman stays successful without continuous learning. New ways of doing things, new technologies, new methods.

Once a sales skill is learned, it takes continual practice to hone and refine that skill for each unique prospect and situation. No salesman is every satisfied with past success: sales success demands continued striving for new goals

a version of this article originally appeared on LinkedIn

about Anthony Caliendo:

I’m an entrepreneur and sales professional with over 20 years of successful sales and sales management experience. My expertise in sales, marketing and business development spans from small business to international companies.

I’m the best-selling author of The Sales Assassin: Master Your Black Belt in Sales, winner of the 2015 USA Book News business book award for entrepreneurs and small business.

I provide personal sales coaching; and consult, speak and train about growing and motivating your sales team to businesses, corporations and conferences across the nation, as well as a guest contributor and sales expert for TV and radio, and professional organizations.

Connect with me on LinkedIn, or contact me today to grow your sales and train your sales organization:  anthony@thesalesassassin.com