About This Episode

Rejection. We all face it. Everybody who has ever live has had to deal with being turned down. With having someone not want what you’re selling.

The question is not, “if you get rejected?” The question is, “when you get rejected.”

On a recent episode of The Sales Engagement Podcast, we sat down with Morgan J Ingram, Director of Sales Execution & Evolution at JBarrows Sales Training. Morgan has made it his life’s mission to be the world’s number one motivator.

Morgan talked with us about the innate drive, staying motivated, and what to do when things don’t go your way.

The Innate Drive to Succeed

You can teach someone how to use a software. But can you really teach someone drive? Can you teach that passion that seems to live within the hearts and souls of people like Morgan?

According to Morgan, you can’t teach drive.

But there is good news. You may not be able to teach drive, but there is drive in everybody. Everybody is born with a fire in them, but it’s up to them to turn on the switch.

You can’t put a fire into people. You can’t make someone be passionate about something, or make them want to be successful. But you can nurture the fire that’s already inside of them and help them to coax it out.

Staying Motivated

We all know that sales profession is full of ups and downs. Highs and lows. People who are excited to hear from you, and people who couldn’t care less about you.

So what’s the secret to staying motivated in a world like this?

You come to grips with the fact that  the person on the other end of the phone is going to forget about you 5 minutes after they hang up with phone. While this may seem harsh, it ought to free you up. If your best friend hangs up on you, that’s hurtful. But if that stranger that you’ve never met hangs up on you? They’re going to forget you exist in 5 minutes, so try again next week with a different pitch.

Control the Controllable

Everybody is going to encounter things that they can’t control. You’re going to have a bad quarter. You’re going to miss goals that you’ve set for yourself, even though you did everything you should’ve done. Because the world is unpredictable. Worry about what you can control, and stop stressing about what is out of your control.

When you Lose the Deal

What if you’ve put months of work into a prospect, and you get to closing time and they decide to walk? They go with someone else. How do you stay motivated and rebound from a loss?

First up, keep a pipeline. When you have a full pipeline, you’re not solely relying on inbound. You’ve got prospects and leads.

Secondly, do a deal review with that prospect.

Give them time, and then approach them and ask, “What made us lose that deal? Why did you decide to go in a different direction?” Don’t use this as a chance to re-pitch. You’ve already lost the deal. Instead, use it as a chance to learn. Maybe you’re just not a good fit. Maybe your process is off. There are a hundred reasons why that deal could have gone south. Find out so that you can fix it next time.

Morgan’s motto in life is “Keep Dialing.”

Not that he’s constantly on the phone, or that he believes that strongly in cold calls. He views “KEep Dialing” as a way to motivate him to keep striving. Keep pushing. Keep reaching for those goals that he knows he can hit.

If you “Keep Dialing,” you’ll be able to hit those goals too.

This post is based on a podcast interview with Morgan J Ingram from JBarrows. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast.

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