Why I encourage my salespeople to leverage discipline over motivation

In the dynamic world of sales, success often hinges on the ability to consistently perform at a high level. While motivation is often celebrated as the driving force behind action, it is discipline that truly sustains long-term success. Motivation can be powerful, but it is also fleeting and unpredictable. Discipline, on the other hand, provides the steady framework necessary to achieve goals, particularly in sales where consistency is key. Here’s why you should leverage discipline instead of relying on motivation when selling.

The Nature of Motivation

Motivation is the emotional drive that compels you to take action. It’s the excitement you feel when setting a new goal or the energy that propels you to tackle a challenging task. In sales, motivation can come from various sources, such as the thrill of closing a deal, the desire to outperform competitors, or the anticipation of financial rewards.

However, motivation is inherently unstable. It fluctuates with external circumstances—your mood, the outcome of previous sales calls, or even the weather can impact how motivated you feel on any given day. This volatility makes motivation an unreliable foundation for sustained sales success.

For example, a salesperson might feel highly motivated after a successful week, leading to a burst of energy and enthusiasm. But what happens when the next week doesn’t go as well? Without discipline, the temporary dip in motivation can lead to inconsistent performance, missed targets, and lost opportunities.

The Power of Discipline

Discipline is the commitment to doing what needs to be done, regardless of how you feel at the moment. It’s about maintaining consistent behaviors and routines that lead to success, even when motivation wanes. In sales, discipline manifests in daily activities such as making cold calls, following up with prospects, updating CRM systems, and continuously honing your skills.

One of the most famous examples of leveraging discipline over motivation comes from the world of sports. Consider Michael Jordan, widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. While Jordan was undoubtedly motivated by a desire to win, it was his relentless discipline—showing up for practice early, staying late, and working on his game every single day—that set him apart. His discipline ensured that he was prepared for every challenge, regardless of how motivated he felt on a particular day.

In the sales world, discipline can take the form of daily prospecting routines, adhering to a structured sales process, and consistently reviewing and refining your approach based on feedback and results. These disciplined actions, repeated consistently, build momentum and lead to long-term success, regardless of fluctuating motivation levels.

Why Discipline is Superior in Sales

1. Consistency in Performance: Sales is widely regarded as a numbers game. Therefore, the more consistently you engage with prospects, the more likely you are to close deals. Discipline ensures that you maintain this consistency, showing up and doing the work every day, even when motivation is low. This consistency leads to a steady pipeline of opportunities and more reliable results over time.
2. Building Habits: Discipline helps you build positive habits that become second nature. Over time, these habits reduce the reliance on motivation because the actions become automatic. For instance, a disciplined salesperson may develop a habit of making 10 cold calls every morning. Eventually, this habit is so ingrained that it requires little conscious effort to maintain, regardless of how motivated the salesperson feels.
3. Resilience Against Setbacks: Sales professionals often face rejection and setbacks. While motivation can quickly diminish after a series of rejections, discipline helps you push through these challenges. A disciplined approach means that you’ll continue to follow your sales process and improve, even when the outcomes are temporarily unfavorable.
4. Long-Term Success: Motivation might get you started, but discipline keeps you going. The most successful salespeople are those who can sustain their efforts over the long term. Discipline ensures that you continue to grow, learn, and improve, leading to cumulative gains that build up over time.

Balancing Motivation and Discipline

While discipline should be the foundation of your sales strategy, motivation still has its place. It can be the catalyst that drives you to set ambitious goals or take on new challenges. However, once the initial burst of motivation subsides, discipline takes over to ensure that you stay on course.

An entrepreneur launching a new product might be highly motivated by the potential market impact. This motivation can inspire a strong start, but as challenges arise—such as slower-than-expected sales or product development delays—it’s the entrepreneur’s discipline that will keep the project moving forward. By sticking to a consistent marketing plan, engaging in regular customer feedback sessions, and iterating on the product, the entrepreneur can achieve success even when the initial excitement fades.

In the world of sales, relying solely on motivation can lead to periods of feast and famine, inconsistent results and missed opportunities. Discipline, on the other hand, provides a steady, reliable framework that ensures consistent performance and long-term success. By cultivating discipline in your sales process, you create a resilient foundation that can weather the ups and downs of motivation, leading to sustained success in your career. This is where sadly many sales professionals are falling short.

Swadeck Taher OSK is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a Chartered Marketer (CIM) running businesses and coaching, consulting, mentoring CEOs and entrepreneurs ranging from startups through family businesses to established top 100 companies in Mauritius. He enjoys sharing the expertise he developed over the last thirty years at senior leadership/directorship level with his clients, business partners and other budding entrepreneurs.

Swadeck is also a GTD Practitioner and a Certified GTD Trainer. He helps others experience what the Productive Experience feels like and how they too can savour stress free productivity.

Sakeenah Co Ltd is the only Certified International Partner of the David Allen Company in Mauritius.

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