How do You React to Adversity?

Frontline Reps, Motivation, Sales Tips, Vision, Goals, Overcoming, Problem Solving, Commitment

Sales—and life—can be hard at times. In sales, you face a lot of rejection, daily, and yet you need to persevere and overcome in you want to succeed.

In life, too, there is adversity and things don’t always go your way. The question it: What is the secret to dealing with life—and sales—when situations don’t go your way?

The answer is to have a vision or goal that will keep you moving forward and on track no matter what. Some people call it a ‘burning desire’ to succeed, and it is this vision that enables you to work through the inevitable circumstances that can and do block your way.

What do I mean by vision?

A good example is a guy named Ray Kroc. When Ray was 52 years old, he was broke, had diabetes, just had his gallbladder and part of his thyroid removed. Ray’s circumstances weren’t very encouraging, but he had a vision to open a fast serve style hamburger restaurant and believed that if he served fresh food, prepared quickly and inexpensively, that people would come.

This was a big vision given it was in the late 50’s when eating at home was a family tradition. But again, Ray had a burning vision. So, each morning Ray woke up and took action out of his vision rather than his circumstances. After much hard work and perseverance, Ray’s vision resulted in his burger stand being slightly successful, and they now call it McDonald’s…

Same thing with a surfer in Hawaii named Bethany Hamilton. Surfing since she was five, Bethany had a vision to become a world champion surfer, but circumstances intervened. 

When she was thirteen, she was attacked by a tiger shark that bit off her left arm from the shoulder. She nearly died. Yet just six months later, she choose to take action out of her vision, and she overcame this traumatic event (and disability) and was soon surfing competitively again—and winning.

In fact, in 2004 ESPN named her “Comeback Athlete of the Year.”

Think about the circumstances in your own life. How is your company doing? How are your leads and your territory? What are your bills like? Other personal challenges? When you wake up in the morning, are you choosing to take action based on the temporary circumstances in your life, or do you have a burning vision for your success and where you’re ultimately going?

Another word for vision is goals. Do you have a specific production number you’re committed to by the end of this year? How about for 2020? How about five years from now? 

In other words, what is driving you?

The bottom line is that only a solid vision will keep you motivated. If you don’t have one, then circumstances will always distract and deflate you. Remember: It’s not what happens to you that determine your results—it’s what you decide to do next that does.


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Who Should Attend?

Any sales reps dealing with the following issues:

  • Reps struggling with call reluctance
  • Getting screened out by the gatekeeper
  • Overcoming blow off objections like, “Just email me something”
  • Identifying decision makers
  • Qualifying prospects
  • Setting call back appointments that stick
  • Giving successful presentations and dealing with objections
  • Staying motivated