Be Brave 5 Seconds at a Time

Know what happened in the last 5 seconds?

• 375 McDonald’s burgers were sold
• Nike made more than $3,000
• 79,181 pounds of trash were thrown away in the United States
• 15,800 tons of water flowed over Niagara Falls
• 17 million emails were sent

Know what else happens in 5 seconds? Your choice to be brave or wimp out.

Wimp Junction

In Sandler, we call this moment in time “Wimp Junction.” Sandler Sales Training can only take you so far. There comes a time when you have to make a choice: you can wimp out and fall back into the seller’s system, or you can be brave for five seconds to ask the hard question, tell the prospect he’s not the right fit for you, pick up the phone and dial, say something that’s not in your best interest, or just simply be quiet.

What you do at Wimp Junction is completely up to you. A Sandler trainer can’t do it for you. Your boss or business partner can’t do it for you. The prospect certainly won’t do it for you. YOU have to make the decision – to wimp out or be brave.

There’s a quote in the movie We Bought a Zoo that reflects this well (although he says “20 seconds” instead of five)…

“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” – Benjamin Mee

You Have to Be Prepared for It
Being brave doesn’t always come naturally. It’s something you have to work toward. However, the need to use bravery often rises up in a moment’s notice. So how can you be prepared?

1.  Train Hard
Just like a professional athlete trains to become the best he or she can be, you have to do the same. For me, specific to “sales bravery,” it means showing up at President’s Club sessions every week. It means learning from others who’ve been there before. It means reading books and listening to podcasts. So, when I get to Wimp Junction, I will KNOW what to do.

2.  Practice Often
Knowing and doing, though, are two different things. I KNOW that touching the outside of a boiling pot will burn me; but I still have a choice to reach out and touch the pot. Being brave works the same way. I have to practice putting it into action. All the training in the world won’t help me if I don’t practice. Using the athlete metaphor again, if a quarterback trains a ton…lifting weights, running, throwing footballs through tiny holes, etc…but never gets out on the field until game day, he’ll fail every time. So, instead, he runs drills with his players, they scrimmage, and they create game-day scenarios to get ready for the real deal. So, practice being brave in everyday situations – do something out of your comfort zone every day; be brave about it, and don’t make excuses…just do it.

3.  Have Confidence
When you have the right training and you’ve practiced being brave, then you’re ready for the real world. When the chance to wimp out rears its ugly head, be confident in your beliefs and in your actions. It’s very difficult to be brave when you’re wavering in your convictions. So trust yourself; have confidence in yourself.

It literally takes just five seconds. You can use those five seconds to wimp out, or you can use them to be brave. Which one will you choose?

Thank you to Matt White for sharing. Matt is the owner of JoltCMS where he helps businesses help their customers.