No matter if you've had a great month, closed a big deal, or made it to the winner's circle at President's club, winning makes you more vulnerable to losing.

A Winning Message for Sales Winners

Last week, I delivered a keynote at a large company's President’s club event. It was fun! Great hotel. Tropical destination. People were upbeat and happy because they were celebrating success. And frankly, I love hanging out with ultra-high performers. It’s so energizing to be with winners.

The challenge though was figuring out exactly what I was going to say to them. 

Think about it. These sales professionals are the best of the best. Cream of the crop. The Bee’s Knees in the words of their VP of Sales. They’ve proven that they know what to do. They already are motivated. The last thing I wanted to do was bore them to tears or cause them to feel that I was talking down to them.

So I spent several weeks nervously working on my keynote speech for this group of winners. I went around and around in circles unable to nail down the perfect message until it hit me that these sales professionals were in a very vulnerable position for the very fact that they were winners.

Welcome to the Sales Graveyard

The sales graveyard is full of former President’s Club winners who:

Came home with a trophy and were fired because they quit selling. 

Were one hit wonders—winning once and never getting back into the club again. 

Came back with so much promise and potential only to drift along in mediocrity because they stopped doing the things that got them to the podium in the first place. 

Too often when we win, we see it as an opportunity to take our foot off of the accelerator and coast for a while. It happens to President’s club winners and everyday sales reps.

Have a good month, take a break from prospecting. Close a big deal. Start taking shortcuts. Win the big trip, celebrate a little too long.

Some winners spend a little too much time reading their own press clippings. After working hard and doing all of the right things, they no longer believe that the rules of physics apply to them.

Rather than going back home and honoring the basics and fundamentals of selling that brought them to the dance in the first place, they become undisciplined—delusional that they possess some sales superpower that guarantees their success. 

Maintain your edge by taking courses on Sales Gravy University—the world’s most powerful sales training engine featuring more than 1500 hours of classes from over 40 of the world’s top sales experts and authors. plus live workshops each week and mastermind group coaching sessions. There is nothing else like it in the sales world. 

You Cannot Be Delusional and Successful at the Same Time

We’ve all been there in big and little ways. It happened to me just yesterday.

While playing golf I hit a screaming drive—one of my longest ever—right down the middle of the fairway to within 50 yards of the hole. On that drive, I’d done everything right. I slowed down, followed my routine, focused myself on the fundamentals, and executed. It was an incredible feeling. I celebrated with a big fist pump and high fives all around. 

Confident, I walked right up to my second shot—a short pitch into the green—tasting a birdie and then…I chunked it. For those of you who play golf you know exactly how this feels. It’s awful.

But what was the difference between the first shot—the winner —and the second shot—the loser?

It was me!

Instead of running through my routine and being disciplined and intentional with my approach to that crucial shot, I became lazy. Rather focusing my mind on the basics and fundamentals, I believed that after that beautiful drive, the basics no longer applied to me.

Trust me on this, gravity is a bitch. I walked away with a sad double-bogey proving once again that you cannot be delusional and successful at the same time.