Selling is hard work, and successful sales people constantly push the envelope and step outside their comfort zone. “There is nothing good inside your comfort zone,” Chris’mere Mallard told about 30 sales people during a recent seminar at the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce.

And, to prove his point, Mallard used interactive tactics to put most everyone in the room on the spot, either in group exercises or individual challenges. Participants had to learn names, favorite foods and other information about the people in their groups, and then recite it all back to the larger group. Individuals were prompted with a single word and expected to deliver an impromptu speech for a minute and a half of the subject.

Mallard’s message for people working in sales centered on overcoming the challenges and the frequent rejection that come with a sales territory, and finding success through personal growth fueled by belief in one’s own self. “Sales is one of the toughest industries, and one of the most rewarding,” he said. “But you cannot receive if you don’t believe,” he said.

A motivational speaker and owner of CLS Devices, a McAllen company that sells specialized medical equipment, Mallard started selling himself when he was 10 years old mowing lawns in his neighborhood. He said that’s where he began to learn about communication as he went door-to-door selling his services.

“You have to get to know your customers and that means you have to listen,” he said. “Too many sales people show up and throw up, and they don’t give the customers a chance to talk. The best communicators are the best listeners.” As a rule of thumb, Mallard said a good sales person will only do 20 percent of the talking during a meeting, allowing the customer to dominate the conversation with 80 percent of the talking time.

And a good sales person will take the information gleaned from a customer to tailor the sales approach to build confidence and trust with a prospect. “Anytime you interact with customers there are things they want to know,” he said. “They want to know who you are and what you have to offer them. They also want to know why they should care. They want you to earn their business.”

On average, it take five interactions with a potential customer to close a deal, Mallard said, and sales people need to learn to handle rejection and overcome obstacles. “That’s why a lot of people get out of sales, they can’t handle the rejection. But obstacles are not in the way, they are the way of life.”

Mallard divided people into two categories, those with a fixed mindset, who tend to see failure as the limit of their abilities, and those with a growth mindset, who see failure as an opportunity to grow. People willing to move outside their comfort zone will find professional growth through persistent effort and a positive attitude, as well as building relationships with others of a like mind.

“If you want to be successful, hang around successful people,” he said. “If you want to be a loser, hang with losers. And seek out cheerleaders. Everybody needs a cheerleader, someone who will lift you up when you are down.”

Implementing time-tested sales strategies of prospecting, assessing customer needs, pitching an appropriate product, overcoming objections and closing a deal are most effective when the sales person gains insight into a customer’s business to design a proposal to match needs.

“Never take something to your customer they don’t need,” Mallard said. “Don’t be greedy because eventually they will catch on. We sometimes fail to realize that one customer has 10 others out there and they are going to go out and refer.”

Setting goals that are specific, attainable and measureable is also a good strategy to stay focused on selling, but all the formulas in the world will fall short without the right attitude.

“You are going to get beat up every day in sales,” Mallard said. “I start out the day with positive affirmations. I talk to myself in the mirror: Today is a great day. Nothing is going to stop me. I am not going to stop me.”