The Samurai of Sales: The Path to True Sales Mastery

By Mitch Harris and David Hancock

The goal of The Samurai of Sales is to give the reader an arsenal of real life selling skills that he can use to generate massive sales and consistently outperform the competition, while cultivating the realization that when done properly, being in professional sales is one of the most amazing privileges on the planet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781614482512

Mitch Harris

Mitch Harris is a former Navy lieutenant and Major League Baseball pitcher. He now works as a Wealth Management Advisor, helping others achieve their goals with the same determination that defined his baseball and military careers. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Mandi, and their two children.

Book preview

CONDITIONING YOUR MIND TO STAY THE COURSE

STAYING IN THE GAME IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING ELSE

It is the very mind itself that leads the mind astray; of the mind, do not be mindless.

—UESHIBA

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT FOR SALES MASTERY

I will lay it out for you very simply. This comes from over twenty years of studying, learning from and training with some of the most talented sales professionals on the planet—and blazing my own path as well:

The single most important ingredient that separates those who achieve the results they’re committed to from those who do not, is the ability of the former to effectively manage their states of mind and emotion — and to do this consistently, in a way that allows them to follow through and stay the course in the face of whatever is thrown at them.

There you have it. Whether they are getting the results they want or not, whether things are going well or to the contrary, top performers are able to maintain a certain level of focus, follow-through and resiliency that gets them to their destination.

If you want the prize, whatever it may be, you must direct the focus of your mind, and you must condition yourself to stay the course. Any skill, tool, or approach I teach you will mean very little or nothing if you do not possess the mindset necessary to stay the course and follow through. This is beyond important.

WHAT IS YOUR MIND?

This brings us to a question that is often avoided by those who teach mind management. And that is: What is your mind? Upon first reading this, you may say to yourself, Wow, that’s a pretty broad question!

You hear many teachers talk about how important it is to manage your states of mind on a consistent basis—and of course, it is critical. But wouldn’t you agree that if you’re going to talk about managing anything effectively, especially something as important to your success as your own mind, it would serve you to be clear on exactly what it is you’re talking about?

As I so often do, I’d like to first reference Webster’s definition:

Mind: The seat of consciousness, in which thinking, feeling, etc. takes place.

Interesting. I’d say the word etc. in this definition is used to cover a rather broad array of experience. Yes?

I’d like to share my own working definition of what is meant by the mind. I would like to emphasize that this is what I have concluded, based on my own experience. This does not, by any means, have to be your definition or what you accept as the truth. And if it is not, I encourage you to do some searching and exploration of your own to get clear on your definition of this critical topic.

I do not perceive your mind to be simply your brain, which seems to be a rather common misconception. It uses elements or faculties of your brain most of the time, but your mind is not strictly your brain. The brain is a tool that the mind uses. The brain is the engine, the factory, the storage center, and the control room for a lot of what the mind is up to, but it is not your mind.

The brain is made up of functions, information, connections, impulses, message centers, etc., which allow you to carry out the intended actions that the mind delivers. The brain is a physical and chemical bridge, if you will, for the mind to operate through.

When I talk about the mind, I am referring to that entire experience of thought, emotion, feeling, memory, intention, identity, intellect and skill, that contributes to who you are, how you function, and how you experience life. You may want to read that definition again. Please notice I did not say that the mind defines who you are, or that it is who you are; I said it contributes to who you are.

There have been many teachers throughout the millennia and up to the modern day, from various disciplines, who have taught that you are much more than your mind, and that your mind is simply one part of your being—it is a tool to be managed. I am inclined to agree with them.

The mind is affected by the brain, and vice versa; but the mind is so much more than just the brain. Likewise, the mind is affected by the body and vice versa, but it is also so much more than just the body. It is those two elements— the brain and the body—combined, as well as a third, more intangible element, which some call spirit, some call God, and some call intuition. These elements together make up and affect what we refer to as the mind.

So when we talk about the mind, we’re talking about a very broad experience. Of course, I don’t claim to completely understand how it all works. If you can figure that one out, you will have solved one of life’s great mysteries.

WHAT IT MEANS TO MANAGE YOUR STATES OF MIND

So what specifically do I mean by managing your states of mind and emotion on a consistent basis? Well, what I mean by that is the following:

1.When in action and working towards a certain outcome or result, being able to keep yourself focused on what is most important and what is most productive —on a consistent basis.

2.To be able to endure—to stay the course, or stay on track—in the face of the inevitable setbacks, adversities and frustrations that will come up in your life when you’re working towards anything worthwhile or meaningful.

3.Not to be stopped when things don’t go your way, or when things aren’t fair.

4.To be totally focused, clear, and in the zone when you are in those key, clutch moments that require you to perform at your best; where you seem to have the right things to say and the right questions to ask—the right ideas roll off of your tongue effortlessly.

5.To maintain habits and patterns of behavior that develop rock-solid character and set you up to follow through and win on a consistent basis. To avoid the inconsistent behaviors or ongoing procrastination that can block you from your desired outcomes.

6.While of course life has its ups and downs—and feeling down from time to time is a part of the process—being able to experience down-times much less frequently and to move through them more smoothly. This means you get back on track more quickly and easily, and you are at your best more often. By your best, I mean you are in that state of mind where you truly feel on top of your game and unstoppable. You just know you can’t be beat, and you know how to stay in that place most of the time.

7.And finally, to be able to truly enjoy and appreciate your accomplishments—perhaps being willing to give yourself credit on a more consistent basis. Likewise, to be able to appreciate and enjoy your setbacks as well. Yes, you read that correctly. View your setbacks as valuable learning experiences that teach and help you develop as a human being, not as end-of-the-world disasters that totally define who you are or what you’re capable of. To squeeze deeply the juice out of life and enjoy it for everything it’s worth!

So is this important? You better believe it!

I’m going to shed a bit of light on some approaches that have been proven, time and time again, to be effective at accomplishing what I’ve described above. Some I have come up with on my own; some were suggested by others who came before me, and others are a combination of the two. In other words, the latter are ideas or principles that were around long before me, which I have improved, updated, or developed in a way that makes them more relevant and helps them land much more powerfully—especially in regards to mastering your sales game.

WHY COMMIT TO MANAGING YOUR MIND?

When talking about managing your states of mind, another critical question comes up: why? Why commit to managing your states of mind and emotion on a consistent basis? In other words, why even bother, especially if you’re already doing well?

To pose a question like this to a samurai would have been laughable. To not continually work on conditioning one’s mind and one’s skills would not even occur to him. It would have been like asking him to imagine life without breath.

I think of the mind as being like an elephant. This is a metaphor I once heard in a discourse given by my meditation mentor, S.N. Goenka. The elephant is this huge, powerful animal with incredible strength and potential. If left wild and untamed, it is capable of inflicting incredible damage and destruction on almost anything in its path. It could certainly crush a human being with ease, and there have been cases in the past where that has happened.

But if trained and effectively disciplined, an elephant can be used as an awesome tool to accomplish great tasks, move incredibly heavy objects, transport people or things, and even to become a weapon of defense in times of war, which used to be the case in some parts of the world.

Likewise, the mind too is an incredible resource with what many believe is unlimited potential. Very often, when left to its own devices, it can be incredibly destructive and harmful, leading us down paths we’d rather not go. Yet when trained, disciplined, and directed with purpose, it can perform incredible tasks and accomplish the most amazing results.

Furthermore, you want to manage your mind because the degree to which you don’t is the degree to which your success, follow-through and execution will be unpredictable and in doubt; because there is a huge difference between knowing what to do and doing what you know, just as there is between common sense and common practice; and because anything you know—anything you understand or may be skilled at—will only be as useful, effective, and profitable as the degree to which you actually take it out there into the world and use it.

That execution, follow-through, and ability to finish the job is as important as any other part of the success process. Doesn’t that just make sense? As someone once said to me years ago:

"Don’t just accept something because I say it.

Ask yourself if it makes sense and decide for yourself."

THE PAIN/PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

So let’s take a closer look at the topic of managing your mind. The first thing I want to talk about is critical—I repeat, critical—if you are even going to even think about managing your states of mind and emotion on a consistent basis. This is a concept that’s been around for many years; it’s been taught, used and practiced by so many individuals and called by so many different names that I couldn’t even begin to give credit to whomever it actually originated from.

It’s been called neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), neuro-associative conditioning, neuro-conditioning, neuro-programming, and associative conditioning. Unfortunately, this methodology has been the topic of debate between many people as far as who actually created it and who deserves the credit. My instinct is to point first and foremost to the Buddha over 2,500 years ago (which is not a common reference), when he spoke about embracing pain and suffering as a reality and a part of life, and working through that as a path towards enlightenment.

But in a more modern and perhaps secular context (although I have never considered Buddhism to be a religion)—and in regards to the personal growth and development aspect of it specifically—I would point to Richard Bandler and Mike Grinder as having founded this methodology, and to Mr. Tony Robbins for bringing it to the masses on a global scale. He was the first person I ever heard speaking about it.

You can call it ham on rye conditioning if you like. But whatever you wish to call it, I share it with you because it is effective, extremely powerful and it alone can make a huge difference in how successful you are at conditioning your mind and developing habit patterns that drive you towards that which you desire.

I’d like to direct your attention to one of the foundational tenets of this methodology. I call it the pain/pleasure principle. The basic premise of the pain/pleasure principle is as follows: If you boil being successful down to its essence —having what you want out of life and enjoying the process—then taking the actions necessary to make this happen really isn’t very complicated. It’s actually rather simple. I’m not saying it’s always easy, but it is simple.

It’s a matter of first knowing what you want; in other words, what your intended outcome is. Then it’s a matter of taking the actions necessary to achieve it. Once you’re in action, you simply need to observe if what you’re doing is working, or if you need to change your approach. Once you’re taking the right actions towards achieving your result, you simply stay on track and continue to do the things that work until you’ve achieved it.

Pretty simple—yes?

So here’s the question—and it’s a question that was posed to me years ago and is one that changed my life, which is why I’d like to pose it to you.

If it’s so simple, why doesn’t everybody do it?

Bad breaks and bumps in the road included (which we’ll talk about later on), if achieving success and the things you want in life really is that simple, why don’t more people do it? Why don’t more people take the actions necessary to make it happen?

Another way of asking this question is: what, more than anything else, holds people back from really going for it in life?

Yes, you’re correct: the answer to that, I would assert, is fear. I say you’re correct because whenever I conduct workshops or seminars and ask that question, the first answer that comes to mind for the overwhelming majority of people is fear. And it is absolutely correct. Webster defines fear as anxiety caused by real or possible danger. Fear holds us back, and in some cases it paralyzes us from following through and taking