7 Sales Lessons from Bruce Lee

5 minutes read

Whenever we think of karate, Bruce Lee is the first name that pops up in our heads naturally. As a kid, acquiring have been fascinated with Bruce Lee’s Karate movies like,

Enter the dragon
Fist of fury
And the big boss

But as I grew up I’ve realized that Bruce Lee was more just a fighter and a movie star

Bruce Lee was one of a kind. Today he is not only remembered as a fighting legend but also as a

Great actor
Philosopher
Role model
And a real-life hero

Bruce Lee’s philosophies and his famous quotes are not just limited to the fields of fighting and films. People from various fields can draw inspiration from this gem of a personality. And the fields of sales and business are no different. From my research, I found that the warrior mentality of Bruce Lee can help the sales reps win their sales battles.

So, in this blog, my mission is to bring in front of you 7 life lessons of Bruce Lee that can be used as sales lessons to empower the sales reps of today to succeed

1. No One Approach Contains All The Answers

In his lifetime Bruce Lee mastered Japanese karate, Korean tae kwon do, Filipino kali and silat before creating his voice and fighting style. Similarly in sales, many people still have the notion of sending too many emails but nobody wants too many emails.

Instead, you can adopt various ways of outreach along with sending emails. For example, you can,

Publish valuable content on social media. Create interesting posts to engage your followers.
Make your presence visible on social media by
- Sharing a client’s post
- And liking and commenting on their posts and work
Attend various networking events
Set up meetings with your clients and check in on them now and then

There are many other ways through which you can enhance your outreach. Having a multi-touch approach is always better than just sticking to one pattern.

2. Empty Heads Have Long Tongues

Cold calling has become irrelevant in today’s time. Calling a prospect without even knowing anything about them will eventually lead to a failed attempt. So, it’s high time that you drop cold calling from their sales routine.

But while cold calling may be dead, warm calling is still alive. And it’s a much better way of approaching the clients.

So you should make sure that you research your clients before you make a move. You should

Know your clients’ work
Follow them on LinkedIn
And analyze the client before getting in touch with them

3. Self Knowledge Is Crucial

Bruce Lee believed that everyone must undertake self-education and self-improvement on their own. Self-learning is extremely important for you as a sales rep to succeed and survive in your sales career. By consistently educating yourself, finding your shortcomings, and improving yourself, you are sure to achieve greater heights in your career.

Here are some ways through which you can educate yourself,

You can read articles and books related to sales
You can listen to podcasts from sales experts
You can get in touch with your sales coach/ trainer/ manager and ask them to help you improve particular skills

All in all, you should learn to

Not limit yourself to only certain skills
Learn consistently and expand your knowledge
And let go of negative thoughts and try to believe in yourself

4. Reject what Is Useless

You should learn to reject unnecessary and extra distractions from your life. This could be as simple as abstaining from social media while you are working. You should learn to avoid,

Checking your Instagram account
Checking the number of likes and comments that you have received on a particular post
Or just randomly scrolling the internet for hours

Instead, you can utilize this time to focus on something which can help you progress in your sales journey. You will be surprised as to how much work you can get done when there are no extra distractions.

5. Apply Yourself

While acquiring knowledge and improving yourself is important, it shouldn’t be just theoretical knowledge but also practical knowledge. You might be having excellent knowledge in your field of work but what is the use of that knowledge if you cannot put it into practice right.

So, make sure that you’re learning is happening through interactive exercises rather than just sitting on your phone or laptop and reading slides to educate yourself.

Only practical application can help you understand and analyze your shortcomings and the need for improvement. Just knowing a sales methodology or sales closing technique is not enough. You must know how to put it into practice.

6. Embrace Optimism

Hardships and difficulties are always going to be there but embracing a positive attitude can help you overcome those challenges. When someone works with you, your energy and your approach is also something that they notice.

Having a pessimistic attitude will make it difficult for your clients to interact or trust you in a way that they can do business with you. Having an optimistic approach and wanting to help your clients can make a massive difference.

7. Tap Into The Inner Warrior Within Yourself

In China, it’s called “chi.” In India, it’s “Prana.” It’s about harnessing the will inside you like any top athlete before a big game.

Sales is undoubtedly a tough job. Being a sales representative is like going through a lot of mental wear and tear daily Without the right mindset, things can get pretty tiring and irritating in this field.

So, make sure that you,

Understand yourself
Develop a lot of patience
Develop persistence through thicks and thins of your career
And march ahead like a true warrior

Want to learn about the famous CEOs who have started out their career as sales reps?

Read: Top 10 CEOs who started as Sales Reps

Published on Mon Nov 15 2021