The Unbeatable Sales Synergy - How Agility & Resilience Synergize for Your Sales Success
By Michael J Griffin
6 minute read
In my previous blog on “Sales Plasticity” I highlighted how ability & adaptability lead to agility. The “high octane” fuel for having super sales agility is “resilience.” I learned this in the mid 80’s in Malaysia as road race cyclist under the guidance of the National Cycling Coach Ng Joo Ngan. He is a master coach who motivates his cyclists to win races with agility & resilience. Over the past 40 years as National Coach, he has coached Malaysian cyclists to 59 gold medals in international events. And I might add he allowed me to regularly cycle with the Malaysian National Cycling Team – what an experience!
If you are currently following the Tour de France cycling event, you can truly understand what resilience means: The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long stages over a 23 or 24 day period and cover approximately 3,500 kilometres in total. The average race day therefore is 166 km per day! The racers must have superior cycling ability adapted to a variety of terrain conditions that demands bike handling agility. What makes or breaks these cyclists to finish is their “resilience” to persist, suffer, and conquer the challenges of each day’s race.
A successful B2B sales career is like riding the Tour de France: It demands sales agility backed with your resilience to succeed.
In the fast-paced world of sales, success often hinges on a salesperson's ability to adapt to changing circumstances and bounce back from setbacks. Two key qualities that separate top performers from the rest are resilience and agility. When combined, these traits create a powerful synergy that can propel a salesperson to new heights of achievement. Here is how resilience and agility work together to create sales superstars. As you read, draw a comparison with Tour de France cyclists and you as a B2B salesperson.
The Resilience Factor
Resilience is the ability to consistently recover quickly from difficulties and setbacks. In sales, where rejection is a daily occurrence, resilience is not just helpful – it's essential. A resilient salesperson doesn't crumble in the face of a "no" or a lost deal. Instead, they view these experiences as opportunities to “Fail Forward” for growth and learning.
Resilient salespeople:
Maintain a positive attitude despite challenges
Learn from failures and use them to improve
Persist in the face of obstacles
Manage stress effectively
Bounce back quickly from disappointments
Consistently train themselves daily in the elements of selling effectively.
The Agility Advantage
Agility in sales refers to the ability to think and move quickly and easily. It's about adapting to new situations, changing tactics on the fly, and being responsive to customer needs. In today's rapidly evolving business landscape of more educated and demanding customers, agility is a must for successful salespeople.
Agile salespeople:
Are skillful communicators who build relationships with a variety of customers
Respond rapidly to shifts in customer needs or preferences
Quickly adjust their sales meeting approach based on customer feedback
Stay current with market trends and industry changes
Embrace new technologies and sales techniques
Think creatively to solve customer problems
Agile salespeople are very fluent in foundational B2B selling skills, market and product knowledge.
The Synergy of Resilience and Agility
While resilience and agility are powerful traits on their own, their true potential is realized when they work in tandem. This synergy creates a salesperson who is not only able to weather storms but can also navigate through them with skill and adaptability. How do successful salespeople do this?
Turning Setbacks into Opportunities
When a resilient and agile salesperson faces a rejection or a roadblock, they don't just bounce back – they pivot. Their resilience allows them to maintain a positive outlook, while their agility enables them to quickly reassess the situation and find a new customer-centric approach. This combination turns what could be a sales revenue stalling setback into a chance for innovation and sales growth.
2. Continuous Improvement
The resilience to keep pushing forward combined with the agility to adapt creates a powerful cycle of continuous improvement. Agile salespeople are always looking for ways to enhance their skills and techniques. When setbacks occur, their resilience ensures they don't give up but instead use these experiences to refine their approach further.
3. Building Stronger Customer Relationships
Resilient and agile salespeople are better equipped to build and maintain strong customer relationships. Their resilience helps them persist in nurturing leads over time, while their agility allows them to respond effectively to changing customer needs. This combination results in salespeople who are both persistent and flexible – a winning formula for long-term customer loyalty with customers of different needs and personalities. This is a must in today’s buying committee environment.
4. Thriving in Uncertainty
In today's volatile business environment, uncertainty is the only certainty. Salespeople who are both resilient and agile are best positioned to thrive in this landscape. They have the mental toughness to handle unpredictability and the flexibility to adapt to new circumstances quickly. No deer in the headlights syndrome but they welcome uncertainty as an opportunity for learning and sales success.
5. Innovative Problem-Solving
When faced with a challenging situation, the resilient-agile salesperson doesn't just persevere – they innovate. Their resilience gives them the confidence to think outside the box, while their agility allows them to implement creative solutions quickly. This combination leads to innovative problem-solving that can set a salesperson apart from the competition. They see themselves as helpful creative problem solvers that propose solutions, not just push features and benefits.
Developing Resilience and Agility
The good news is that both your sales resilience and agility can be developed and strengthened over time. Here are some strategies for synergizing these two qualities:
Embrace a growth mindset: View challenges as opportunities for learning and improvement. Hunt and expand accounts to grow your expertise.
Practice mindfulness: Develop awareness of your thoughts and reactions to build emotional resilience. I personally start my mornings with meditation or early bicycle rides of 40-50km at 430am in the morning. Start your days with peaceful wins and exercise that builds resilience!
Seek feedback: Regularly ask for input from colleagues, managers, and customers to improve your attitude, approach, and ability.
Stay informed: Keep up with industry trends, new technologies, and changing customer preferences. I am a voracious reader to keep me learning. Maybe for you it is reading or podcasts – just keep up with focused learning.
Experiment with new techniques: Regularly try out new sales approaches and tools to enhance your agility. The current hot technique is GenAI. One I enjoy is selling in different cultures, whether it be a new country culture or corporate culture.
Reflect on experiences: Take time to analyze both successes and failures to extract valuable lessons. Do this with your sales manager/coach by doing joint sales meetings, key account planning sessions, or in-office role-playing.
Build a support network: Surround yourself with positive, supportive colleagues who can offer encouragement and advice. Who is in your Inne
Take care of your physical and mental health: Maintain good habits in diet, exercise, and sleep to build overall resilience. Let’s just say “Health is Sales Wealth!”
The Synergy for Sales Success – Be Tour de Sales Champ!
In today's competitive sales environment, being either resilient or agile is not enough. The true path to sales excellence lies in developing and harnessing the synergy between these two crucial qualities. Salespeople who can bounce back from setbacks while simultaneously adapting their approach are the ones who will consistently outperform their peers.
By strengthening both your resilience and agility, you can create a powerful competitive advantage that stands out in the marketplace. You become known as a problem-solver who can be trusted to deliver results, no matter the circumstances. Your resilient & agile reputation not only leads to more closed deals but also to stronger, more enduring customer relationships across cultures and personalities!
See me on how to boost the synergy of agility and resilience of yourself or your sales team. I have quite a few innovative ideas…..
Michael J Griffin
CEO & Founder of ELAvate
Resilient and Agile Sales Coach
Seasoned Road Cyclist of 40 years
Fan of Ng Joo Ngan Coaching!
michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com
+ 65-91194008 (WhatsApp)