5 Keys to Sales Success with Robert Paylor, #168

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On May 6, 2017, Robert Paylor broke his neck. On national television. During the Rugby collegiate championship game.

Doctors said he would never walk again and would actually be lucky if he could regain any movement below his neck. Yet, almost four years later, Robert is telling an amazing story of recovery, hope, and forgiveness.

I’m super excited about having Robert Paylor as my guest in this episode of The Modern Selling podcast. Robert is an international public speaker and, in his own words, a “quadriplegic on a journey to walk again and inspire others.”

Don’t miss this episode to hear Rob’s story, some amazing life lessons, as well as valuable keys to sales success for leaders and sellers alike.

In the notes below, I’ve included a short video under each key to sales success, so you can watch Rob himself explaining what they mean to him. Plus, I’ve asked some members of Vengreso’s sales team to pitch in with some sales advice.

Key to Sales Success #1: Successful Sellers Control Their Mindset

Rob was a rising star in UC Berkeley’s Rugby team, with a bright future in front of him. But it all changed in an instant. The medical prognosis was that he would be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Rob, however, refused to accept that.

Rob’s attitude and mindset after his injury helped him get through the pain and the grueling recovery process.

“Don’t take negativity in,” Rob says. “Don’t listen to hopelessness. You have control of your mindset.”

One of his secrets is to go on a mental diet. Just as with a food diet where you avoid foods that are bad for your body, a mental diet will avoid bad information in your brain.

“Audit your thoughts,” he says. “Decide what is good for you and look for inspiring stories.”

I love how Rob’s advice can be applied to the mindset of a seller. Salespeople hear “no” all the time. Rejection is a constant in their work.

So, as a sales leader, how do you help your team deal with rejection? Through a mental diet where sellers are inspired by the wins of others and negativity is filtered out.

Key to Sales Success #2: Success in Sales Requires Perspective

Another one of Rob’s secrets to stay positive is perspective.

“Perspective is a powerful tool. You can compare yourself to others up or down, to what you’ve accomplished or to what you have failed at.”

Rob recommends that when you are going through a struggle, you ask yourself, “compared to what?” That will allow you to put your problems into perspective and feel empathy for others.

Rob keeps a gratitude journal where he writes down three things he is grateful for every day.

Perspective in selling takes many forms.

“When pursuing a sale, always keep the buyer’s situation in perspective,” says Kurt Shaver, Vengreso’s CSO and Co-Founder. “They may not be on the same timeline as you. They may even be having personal challenges outside of work. Slow or no response from a prospect doesn’t always mean there’s no interest. Sometimes it just means other priorities are more important right now. Don’t risk future business by pushing too hard.”

Key to Sales Success #3: To Succeed in Sales You Must Give It Everything You’ve Got

Compared to Rob’s physical trauma, many of our problems in the sales profession pale in comparison. Still, selling can be hard, especially during these times when remote selling is the new normal and we can’t keep doing business as usual.

Rob’s advice is to give everything we’ve got, no matter the circumstances.

“We have one life,” he says. “Don’t live it as a quitter. Fight and get everything you want.”

Key to Sales Success #4: Find Vision and Purpose if you Want to Be a Successful Seller

His recovery process involves doing physical therapy for three hours every day. But remember that for him, even doing simple things is hard work.

The way he motivates himself to keep going is by turning it around and finding purpose in his recovery journey.

“I don’t do it for myself, but to inspire others. Find the ‘why’ to keep going forward. You must have a vision.”

‘Vision yourself where you want to be in 6 months’ time, 1 year time, and 5 years’ time in your sales career,” says Diego Garcia, Market Development Manager at Vengreso. “Once you find your purpose and ‘the why’ of your goals, you can then reverse engineer your plan into daily, weekly, and monthly habits to get where you want to be!”

Key to Sales Success #5: Accountability will Skyrocket Your Sales Career

Accountability has also been an important part of Rob’s journey. He works with a mentor (one of the coaches at UC Berkeley) who helps him set goals and is there to support him.

This is an important lesson for us as sales leaders. Our words and coaching are not for our sake, but to help our sellers succeed.

Inspiring, moving, and brilliant. Those are just three of the words used to describe this episode with Rob Paylor, that actually moved me to tears.

Listen to the whole episode to learn about the power of forgiveness, gratitude, and resiliency.