Perseverance

Perseverance is perhaps the most important trait in determining if a salesperson will be successful or not, and ultimately this is a trait that really determines how successful anyone will be. The ability to be resilient even after failure is the hallmark of a great salesman and is imperative especially considering the fact that everybody faces setbacks in life. How somebody reacts to a setback is telling of their character. Regardless, the ability to bounce back when you may hear “no’s” all day in a selling role is key in staying buoyant and truly letting nothing detour you. Rejection is part of life, both sales and non sales related. Therefore, it is imperative that we learn how to deal with rejection; and also to be able to grow from it.

Mr. Starcher made the point of persevering really clear in his talk today and I think that just proves how important it is to be able to “roll with the punches”. If a salesperson can learn to implement this skill on the job, then they have learned an invaluable tool for every other facet of life. A recurring theme in this class is the fact that skills you may learn to be a great salesman really do roll over into other areas of life. I think that is all the more reason to focus on learning the art of selling; it helps you in so many different avenues. The interesting part of this concept to think about is the certainty that everybody experiences hardship, but there are two distinct ways to react to the same difficult situation. A person can choose to mope and give up, or they can take action. Even though taking action is inevitably the tougher of the two choices, it is far more rewarding in the long run.