What did Martial Arts teach me about sales

Most sales folk at some point have harboured a thought of being Neo from the Matrix, Kwai Caine from Kung Fu or Rock Lee (for the up and coming millennial sales folk). Indeed we feel like we are often performing deft acts of balance; control and when at the top of our game - mystic Eastern Arts.

But of course the sales world is ebbs and flows. Certainly not linear. So here is my view on how to apply martial arts to the art of sales.

1. A black belt will always tell you that once you reach the accolade you start to learn how to apply the basics. So in sales; when you think you have mastered the sale; you can be sure you need to ask yourself how can you do the same role but make it simpler.

2. "Before enlightenment chopping wood and carrying buckets - after enlightenment chopping wood and carry buckets." Yes I know this is a Zen proverb not martial arts. But there are close links to the two and in either MA or Sales you need to understand that you will always need to be consistently doing the same thing. For sales managers it is good practice to follow the same principles. Grab an account for yourself and practice what you preach. As a sales manager you need to make sure you always keep your sword sharp.

3. In Jiu Jitsu some days you will get on the mat and be teaching everyone a lesson. Other times you will feel like you just started. What changes? Attitude, your health, boredom, your training partner? It can change week to week. The important thing no matter what the environment is to just turn up. If you turn up week to week, day to day, you will get better over time. I will 100% guarantee this. In sales you need to turn up. Every day. Some days you need to go easy on yourself. Other days you need to go hard on yourself. The important thing is to listen to how you are feeling on the day.

4. In direct opposition to the point above. Take time off. Not when you need to but ideally when you are still chomping at the bit. Take that time to relax and watch the magic happen when you return to the mat. To often in martial arts or with sales we try to push when we should be reflecting.

5. Bruce Lee. Now this one is going to upset the fanboys/girls. It is easy to put your favourite salesperson or martial artist or instructor up on a pedestal. Bruce Lee wasn't that good at the first art he learnt (Wing Chun). In fact in real terms he was a very basic beginner. He was flawed in the mastering of his first art and said that the art lacked completeness. The fact is he wouldn't have had to 'add' in other techniques if he mastered the first. In sales don't be too quick to chop and change what you are doing. Sometimes it just takes time to learn the craft correctly. Patience is a virtue.

6. 10,000 hours. If you break it into an average day of 6 hours (thats 12 hour days taking away the time you are at the water cooler). And you work 365 days a year (you don't but let's pretend) then you are going to take just short of 5 years to master the art of sales. Now in martial arts; you don't practice 6 hours a day and you don't do 365 days a year so we can see how it is hard to get a master level under wraps. But at it's essence most martial arts are simply learning to move. The move's become formless at the end. In Sales though; there is plenty of individual skills to learn that I would argue all take 10k hours to master. Are you putting in the time?

7. In defence of Bruce Lee, I really like this quote "fear not the man you knows 1000 kicks but the man that has practiced one kick 1000 times". Nothing is more true on this quote and its application to sales. That cold call you feel like you have down pat. Guess what; chances are unless you started your career as a SDR/BDR; chances are you probably need to get back on the tools and master that technique before you take on the next. To the new sales folk; don't be afraid of repetition. For the sales manager; don't be afraid to enforce a daily habit.

8. Finally; the martial part of the arts implies you test your art at some time. Usually; there is someone that is better than you. The result can be a black eye. It comes with the territory. So in sales you can expect in your career to get a black eye. What counts though is what did you learn and how did you respond.