The Sales Stoic

April 26th - Challenges are temporary, don’t get caught up on them

5 min

“When someone crosses a line, whether it's through a cheap shot or a moment of aggression, you don’t overreact, make a scene, or assume they’re out to get you. You simply stay aware of them, not as an enemy, but with a healthy sense of distance.” - Marcus Aurelius

In sales, you’ll encounter difficult clients, tough objections, or unexpected setbacks. Instead of reacting defensively or letting frustration take over, stay calm and keep a clear mind. Like a boxer in the ring, or a chess player eyeing the board, successful salespeople learn to roll with the punches.

By not letting negativity or setbacks cloud your judgment, you can stay focused on the bigger picture; closing that deal.

Remember, every challenge is just another opportunity to refine your strategy and sharpen your resilience.

Actionable tips:

  • Practise healthy avoidance. When faced with a difficult client or situation, take a step back. Acknowledge the challenge without letting it consume your focus. Decide how to approach the situation calmly.
  • In moments of frustration or unexpected challenges, remind yourself that these hurdles are temporary. Keep your eyes on the bigger picture and don't get distracted by short-term setbacks. Acknowledge the challenge, then keep moving forward with your strategy, knowing that each round you survive gets you closer to your ultimate objective.
  • Instead of viewing challenges as personal attacks or threats, see them as opportunities to learn and grow. Keep a journal of your experiences and reflections on what you can do differently next time.

Remember you will die.

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Follow Jack & Zac: Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/ Zac: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/

Connect with We Have a Meeting: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/we-have-a-meeting/ Website: https://www.wehaveameeting.com/

Disclaimer:

The Sales Stoic draws inspiration from the profound wisdom of Stoicism as presented in Ryan Holiday's "The Daily Stoic." As avid readers & fans, we deeply respect the work of Ryan Holiday, and acknowledge the significant impact of Stoic philosophy on our own approach to sales and life.

While The Sales Stoic applies the core principles of Stoicism to the unique challenges and opportunities faced by salespeople, it is an original work with its own distinct voice and focus. We aim to build upon the timeless wisdom of Stoicism to empower sales professionals with practical guidance and actionable insights for success in their careers and personal lives.

  • Jack Frimston

    Jack Frimston

    Co-Founder at We Have a Meeting

  • Zac Thompson

    Zac Thompson

    Co-Founder at We Have a Meeting

Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, Mr. Alias Happy birthday to you

Marcus Aurelius' birthday. Happy birthday, Marcus. You'd have loved vaping.

When your sparring partner scratches or headbutts you, you don't then make a show of it or protest or view him with suspicion, or is plotting against you. And yet you keep an eye on him, not as an enemy or with suspicion, but with a healthy avoidance. You should act this way with all things in life. You should give a pass to things with our fellow trainees. For as I've said, it's possible to avoid without suspicion or hate. Wow, really nice.

Really nice. Easy for me to say. He would love the apprentice. Wouldn't he? He would have loved the apprentice. Marcus Aurelius. So I'm thinking here, Jack, about how you can use parts of your team to help you get better. And actually what you can do is you can say, right, I want to be a team leader. So I want to take the people in the team who are perhaps struggling the most.

and see if I can teach them. Can I do a few calls for them? Yeah. Can I look at a discovery call for them? Is there any way that I can help them? All while actually looking at the team leader muscle of going, is this a skill thing or is this a you're not fitting in the team type of thing? if you're looking at your skillset as something that should always be being improved like you would with picking an expiring partner.

If you're a salesperson who is aware, actually, I'm not very good at that bit. You should be leaning in to that bit. So looking at things as full learning opportunities, where do I want to be? How can I use the team to help me get there? Makes sense. Doesn't make sense. Talk to me. No, it's really, really good. I also think there's a bit of a framework for learning. it's how do I learn is something that you have to think about. it's a question I've wondered about you for a while. It's a question as old as time.

So there's a bit of a framework, okay? If you want to learn, you read something, okay? You read or you consume something. Obviously we're living in the digital world. AI, podcasts, audible. You've got all of that stuff. Yeah. They've got AI podcasts now. AI? AI. What does it stand for? AI. So yeah, you've got reading. Then I would say you write about it. So if you truly, truly want to understand and learn something, write it down. Try and write your own framework.

So listen to something, write down the notes and then you're going over it and you're seeing what you've just learned. You're putting it into practice by writing it down. And like, it was reminded there by what you were saying about like working with the team. The best way to truly learn something is to teach. So when I was, when I joined you and we started the business, I had to go out to Prague to teach one of our client's teams. Okay. And I'd only been doing the role five months.

But I found that actually by teaching people, it just reinforced it even more. I believe it. I know it. kind of find out what I'm talking about a little bit more and you start to understand your ideas. So we mean you, we do a lot of podcasts, which are great to kind of challenge ourselves and each other and talk about our theories. And sometimes you don't even know what you truly believe until you kind of write it down or say the spoken word. I would say to yourself as well, that if you're trying to learn something and you don't necessarily want to teach.

hit record on a voice note and just talk and see if it is there, see if you had to recite it back. Can you articulate it in a way that comes across well that shows that you truly understand it and then you can start putting it into practice? Exactly. And actually what we spotted was this is a great way of getting the team invested in the business and in the new starters and getting the new starters invested in the team. So what we started doing

with actually getting the team to teach new starters. So initially when we'd hire people, be me and you training them nonstop. But actually if I spot that Meg in my office has got a really good skill that she's having regular success with, well actually Meg, you can teach that and find out why it works and break it down for them. Or you can pick someone in the team that isn't as strong in a certain area and you've got to teach the new starters that skill. And then doing that and getting in the weeds.

they tend to upgrade their own skills as well. Because it's not those that can't teach, it's those that teach can. And those who can't teach, teach PE. I've been Jack Frimston. I've been Zack Thompson. Remember you would die. Marcus Aurelius. You'd have loved Love Island.

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