Emotional Intelligence, Sales and Ironman - Lesson #6 Self Regard

I can is 100 times more important than IQ. - Anonymous

Have you ever walked into a situation and the little voice in the back of your mind is telling you every reason why you can’t?

Before I ever got into the water at Ironman, I had that voice.

I never grew up as a swimmer. I was the kid that had the t-shirt on in the pool, hoping it would  hide my fat (it didn’t). The idea of swimming laps was right up there with modeling men's underwear.

When I decided to attempt my first triathlon, years before finishing Ironman, I had not swam a lap in my life. Before attempting the race, I did the most logical thing, go buy some new swim goggles and pray. It was the longest swim of my life.

If you know the world of triathlon, then you are familiar with the various distances that can eventually lead you to the Ironman 2.4 mile swim. My first race was 500 yards in the local lake and the doggie paddle became my stroke of choice.

It reminded me of my first sales call - I sucked at it. I not only felt terrible, but I also felt bad for the prospect that had to listen to me.

It eventually took my self regard to a dark level. It began scripting a scene in my brain that was not healthy. If I would have given up after my first attempt at a triathlon, I would not have had the experience of completing Ironman. Imagine if I would have given up after my first sales call. I would have never experienced closing deals like Dollar General, Family Dollar and Pep Boys or helped an individual gain confidence on their sales journey.

Self Regard is respecting oneself while understanding and accepting one’s strengths and weaknesses. Self Regard is often associated with feelings of inner strength and self confidence.

When you are in a profession when "NO" happens more often than you would like to admit, it can be the equivalent of 1000 paper cuts that lead to death. It chips away at your self regard and can leave you feeling less than confident.

When successful sales people have a positive outlook on their abilities. Like athletes who are confident in their own abilities, a sales professional must keep swimming even if they have been kicked in the head a few times.

Having the right attitude and mindset, can be more important than the ability to say the right things or have great swim technique.

Yes you can wing it with a positive attitude but wouldn’t it be easier to get a coach and have them show you some technique. Doggie paddling 2.4 miles takes a long time, I recommend short cuts.