Selling Is A Contact Sport!

Last Sunday, I watched a martial arts test, featuring most of the belt levels, including those just a few notches under black.

As always, it was interesting. Two young women were testing for senior belts, and as part of this rite of passage, they were “served,” which means expertly struck and kicked by the judges, themselves Black Belts.

Apparently, the candidates weren’t expecting to receive such contact without having donned their protective gear, a chest protector, leg and arm pads, and sparring gloves. One of them was visibly shaken from the experience, though I’m sure she wasn’t harmed, physically.

Karate is a contact sport, so if you’re at an advanced level, every day you can expect to be challenged, whether it’s in the dojo by an instructor, or out on the street, by an assailant. It just goes with the territory.

But selling, in its way, is also a contact sport.

We can and should expect to be roughed up as we go about this activity. Undoubtedly, in the fullness of time, we’ll be pummeled by rejection, rebuffed by people who have been trained to only say no, and insulted by folks who purport to know more about our products and services than we do.

But just like the martial arts, selling is an opportunity to refine our personalities, to iron out wrinkles in our emotional dispositions. Everything doesn’t always go our way, and we must face setbacks and disappointments, constantly, if we hope to prevail, to succeed.

We come up against our limitations on a daily basis, just as karate students do, when they fear they’re overmatched by a bigger, or faster, or better-conditioned sparring partner. The victory isn’t in always “winning,” it is secured when we step on the mat, facing the dragon of the day, rising above our previous achievements.

Selling makes us tough, it has to, otherwise we don’t prosper.

So, the next time a customer “serves” you, smile as it’s happening, and just tell yourself that the occupation you’ve chosen is also a contact sport!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.