The Sales Stoic

May 7th - Invest energy in activities you can directly impact

4 min

โ€œGod set this rule: If you want something good, find it within yourself.โ€ - Epictetus

Sales, like life, is full of external factors: quotas, market shifts, customer moods. But waiting for things to align is a losing game. Take ownership.

A good day isnโ€™t about perfect circumstances, itโ€™s about your mindset, attitude, and actions. Like Rocky, success isnโ€™t just about winning, itโ€™s about showing up, pushing forward, and giving your best effort.

A great day is one that focuses on growth, relationships, and resilience.

Actionable tips:

  • Instead of stressing over deals you canโ€™t force through, invest energy in activities you can directly impact, like making that extra call or refining your pitch.
  • Define your own criteria for a good day beyond just hitting numbers. For example, building a new connection or getting a follow-up meeting booked can be just as satisfying.
  • Sales is a long game. Recognise your efforts daily, whether itโ€™s overcoming objections, learning something new, or simply staying resilient.

Remember you will die.

โ€”

Subscribe to The Sales Stoic for daily insights: https://www.dealfront.com/resources/newsletters/the-sales-stoic/

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

Well, well, well, it's the 7th of May. It's a great day in May. Yes, it is. And I want you to stop relying on me and be your own source of success. It's going to be me. And I'm going to hit you with our old friend, easy for you to say, it's Epictetus. Easy for me to say. God set this rule. If you want something good, find it within yourself. Wow.

within yourself within me. โ“ It's kind of been my really enjoyed it. So you've got some stuff for me on this and haven't you? Yes. So I think if you want to, you want to get inside yourself. Okay. But we know as, as human beings, I feel, and I don't know about you because you're a bit different to me, but sometimes I can't rely on myself. Okay. I've got to trick myself. I've got to tie my hands together. I've got to burn the boats and say, there's no way back. You're doing this.

Okay. And I think that salespeople can do this in a way that pre-plans for them. It removes any of the thinking. So when you sit down at your desk and you're thinking, right, what do I need to focus on today? What am I thinking? Where am I on? So many people rely on that motivation to say, right, I'm doing this because I get this promotion or I get this commission and with the commission, I'm going to do this. I like to plan it all out and trick yourself, but set little reminders.

Something that I've been doing is putting little reminders in the morning on my phone and little reminders at night. Or I put something on like at my lunch break as like a refresher for the day. I said, right, like a little note when you come back from lunch, are you present? What are you moving towards? What's your focus? Little things. I also say to some of the team, like, okay, one of your weaknesses might be your pace.

You get on a call, you get excited and you go, I'm to be honest with this. You run through it. You're running through a wall. You're running through a wall. Someone's had their coffee. They're running through a wall and put a little post-it note that just says, slow it down, keep it or shut the fuck up. If like you talk too much, you've got to be silent. So what, kind of things have you found where this might work? I think the, you know, the feeling of I should have that conversation.

I should actually just ring that prospect instead and just find out, is it a yes or a no? Or there's a follow up that should happen. And really, I should do it. Actually, when you have that initial thought of you should just do it. Yeah. Almost treat thought like the more thoughts that happen as a roadblock, like the more that I'm thinking about something, the more it's kind of shackling me. Yeah. Stopping me from doing it. then before, know, I'm typing out the email that I'm deleting a bit that I'm rewording it all that time wasted. You could just picked up the phone got a quick yes or no.

I know I always find that if you write an email to get you in trouble Did I ever tell you when in my in my last company when I was when I worked for someone they might be watching it them so when I worked for somebody there was a One of my friends was on the other side of the room rather than going over to him and saying Are you are we gonna get some chicken for lunch? I emailed him but the email I sent was โ“ yeah, are we getting chicken for lunch or what? I actually sent it to a client of the same name

And I got in trouble. There was a big trouble. did the client say? He just said, what do you mean? And then obviously it all flagged up and did he want chicken? He didn't want chicken. He just wanted his insurance. So yeah, so I always say trust that gut instinct as well. Just pick up the phone, have those conversations because nothing good ever came from sending an email. No, if you feel it, say it.

I like that. Thank you. I've been Jack Frimson. I've been Zach Thompson. Remember you will die. Desire.

More from this series
See more

More series

Exclusive series on demand

Watch anywhere, anytime.