Need to Psych Yourself Up Fast? Try This Science-Backed Method [New Research]
As a sales professional, you know the constant pressure to perform at your peak. Whether you‘re cold calling prospects, giving a high-stakes presentation, or trying to close a crucial deal, your mindset can make or break your success in the moment.
But staying motivated, energized and resilient is often easier said than done, especially in the face of rejection, objections and quota stress. Even the most driven reps have days where their usual self-assurance and enthusiasm fizzles.
In those moments when you need an instant jolt of confidence and motivation, there‘s one simple but powerful tool you can always keep in your back pocket: the scientifically-validated practice of self-talk.
What Exactly Is Self-Talk?
Self-talk is the internal dialogue and commentary constantly running through your head. It‘s the way you narrate your experiences, encourage or criticize yourself, and interpret the world around you.
We all have this non-stop conversation unfolding in our minds, but we‘re not always conscious of what we‘re saying or how it‘s influencing our moods, beliefs and behavior. When it comes to sales, many reps fall into negative self-talk patterns without realizing it:
"I hate making cold calls."
"This prospect is going to be so difficult."
"I‘m never going to hit my numbers this month."
"I‘m not cut out for high-pressure deals."
Over time, these kinds of defeating thoughts can become self-fulfilling prophecies, chipping away at your confidence and crippling your sales performance. But intentionally shifting your self-talk in a more supportive, empowering direction can have the opposite effect, instantly and measurably boosting your ability to persuade, persist and close.
The Fascinating Neuroscience Behind Self-Talk
What makes self-talk so potent? An explosion of neuroscience research in recent decades has shed light on the incredible power our inner dialogues have to shape our realities.
It turns out that the way we use language to frame our experiences and narrate our lives has profound effects on brain structure and function. Numerous studies using brain imaging scans have shown that affirming, optimistic self-talk is correlated with stronger activation in regions involved with emotional regulation, memory encoding, problem-solving and goal-directed behavior.
For example, a study published in Cerebral Cortex found that people who habitually engage in self-enhancing inner speech exhibit increased gray matter volume in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), an area that plays a key role in positive self-concept and emotional stability. The more robust this brain region, the greater a person‘s psychological resilience.
What‘s happening is that every thought and word you tell yourself triggers a cascade of neurochemicals that can change your brain‘s architecture over time. Positive, empowering self-talk bathes your brain in feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, while training your neurons to fire and wire in ways that make you more emotionally hardy and success-oriented.
Visualization works hand-in-hand with self-talk to further entrench desired mental states and behavioral patterns. Vividly imagining successful outcomes recruits additional neural networks involved with motivation, planning and action, amplifying the benefits of empowering self-talk.
The Evolutionary Roots of Self-Talk
Intriguing anthropological theories suggest that this "inner voice" may have given early humans an evolutionary advantage. The ability to hold an internal dialogue and consider different scenarios before acting likely enabled our ancestors to better plan, predict, strategize and deceive adversaries.
In modern times, we‘ve retained this deeply-rooted self-talk mechanism but it‘s not always well-adapted to our complex social reality. Stone Age circumstances like saber tooth tiger attacks prompted intense fight-or-flight self-talk for survival. But that same panicky inner chatter now gets triggered by abstract social threats like the prospect of rejection or disapproval.
For salespeople, the instinctive surge of negative self-talk in the face of a tough client, an imposing boardroom, or an abrupt hang-up is actually a false alarm, a relic of our evolutionary past. Consciously updating your inner monologue to be more positive, rational and resilient is a way to break free from outdated mental constraints holding you back.
The Latest Eye-Opening Research on Self-Talk in Sales
A game-changing study recently published in Frontiers in Psychology demonstrates the remarkable performance-enhancing effects of self-talk and visualization in a high-pressure, competitive context highly relevant to sales.
The researchers recruited nearly 45,000 participants to compete against a virtual opponent in an online timed concentration task. Subjects were divided into self-talk, visualization and if-then planning intervention groups and compared to a control group. They watched videos of Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson teaching them the specific mental techniques, then attempted to beat their opponent.
The results were striking:
- On average, the self-talk group performed 18% better than controls
- The visualization group also outpaced the if-then planning and control groups
- Self-talk and visualization subjects also perceived their performance to be significantly better
This study provides hard data for what many top sales performers have long known intuitively: psyching yourself up with an inner pep talk and envisioning successful outcomes measurably boosts your ability to succeed when the pressure is on.
Real-World Examples of Sales Leaders Using Self-Talk
Some of the most iconic figures in sales history have sworn by the power of self-talk and visualization. Their experiences (and bank accounts) prove just how transformative these inner game techniques can be:
Zig Ziglar, one of the world‘s foremost sales coaches and motivational gurus, used affirmations religiously to become "better, wiser and more motivated" each day. Every morning he‘d tell himself: "I will outperform my previous self. I‘m the best me I can be today."
Mary Kay Ash, cosmetics queen and empire-builder, urged her sales force to continually repeat "I can do it!" to summon their courage and enthusiasm before making calls or giving presentations. This self-talk mantra became a company-wide doctrine.
Dale Carnegie, a pioneering self-help author and sales trainer, called your inner dialogue "the magic in your mind" and taught salespeople that "Your self-talk today determines your tomorrows." He believed unwavering optimistic and aspirational inner speech could melt sales resistance.
Tony Robbins, the world-renowned peak performance coach with a track record of helping sales teams shatter records, uses incantations like "Every day in every way, I‘m getting stronger and stronger!" to enter an unstoppable positive emotional state he calls ‘flow‘.
The fact that these legendary sales leaders and influencers all incorporated self-talk as a core daily habit should persuade even diehard skeptics of its merit and impact. From their morning rituals to their pre-meeting psych-up routines, they used empowering inner speech to transcend self-doubt and adversity.
Your Self-Talk Impacts Your Sales Success More Than Talent or Training
World-class sales trainer Duane Daiker surveyed over 4,000 salespeople in 135 different industries to better understand the beliefs, habits and inner qualities that distinguish the top 20% of revenue generators from the rest. His counterintuitive discovery?
"The rock star sales reps were rarely the smoothest, most polished or experienced. What set them apart was their resilient mental game and ability to maintain a powerful, positive self-image. In other words, they consistently won the inner conversation in their heads, and it showed on the outer scoreboard."
The results of Daiker‘s study provide strong evidence that optimizing the tone and content of your self-talk is one of the most important determinants of your success in sales. Even if you weren‘t born a natural at establishing rapport or haven‘t honed a perfect pitch delivery, nailing your inner narrative can be your Great Equalizer.
In fact, 85% of top-earning reps in the study reported intentionally using self-talk to manage their headspace before and during high-stakes sales scenarios. They pumped themselves up with phrases like "I got this," "Time to crush it," and "I eat pressure for breakfast."
Compare that to the 74% of struggling reps who didn‘t have a proactive self-talk strategy. Instead, they allowed the default chatter of self-doubt, anxiety and defeatism to domineer their thinking, especially when the going got tough.
Daiker‘s research shows that as a salesperson, you simply can‘t afford to leave your self-talk to chance or let it run on autopilot. Your income and career trajectory depend on proactively programming and fine-tuning that voice in your head until it‘s an unstoppable ally.
7 Science-Backed Self-Talk Techniques to Dominate Your Sales Calls
So how can you use the latest insights from neuroscience and psychology to optimize your self-talk and psych yourself up when it matters most? Try these proven inner game strategies:
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Develop a pre-meeting self-talk ritual. Don‘t walk into important calls cold. Give yourself a rousing motivational speech for 2-3 minutes beforehand to get in the zone. Invoke your personal power phrases.
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Use the second person. Refer to yourself as "you" instead of "I" in your self-talk, like giving advice to a friend. This creates psychological distance and reduces emotionality. "You‘ve prepared for this, you know your stuff."
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Visualize successful outcomes. Use vivid mental imagery to picture yourself effectively handling objections, building rapport, and closing the sale. See it, then say it to yourself with conviction. "They‘re going to love this new feature."
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Leverage positive memories. Before heading into a challenging sales scenario, recall a previous triumph and relive the way you felt. Carry those winning emotions forward and tell yourself "I‘ve succeeded before and I‘ll do it again."
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Detach from negative thoughts. Notice pessimistic self-talk without fighting it. Imagine skeptical thoughts like "This guy‘s never going to buy" as clouds in the sky floating past rather than facts. Say "There goes my mind telling stories again."
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Question your assumptions. Examine negative beliefs and ask yourself how true they really are. "Do I have solid evidence this prospect won‘t be receptive, or is my mind jumping to conclusions? Let me find out."
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Focus on what you can control. Fixating on things beyond your influence breeds helplessness and anxiety. Shift your self-talk to what‘s within your power. "I can‘t make the client say yes but I can show up with enthusiasm and value."
Create Your Custom Self-Talk Script
One of the best ways to leverage self-talk as a sales accelerator is to develop your own personalized inner dialogue tailored to your unique goals, challenges, and sticky spots. A custom self-talk script acts as a scaffolding to keep your mind focused and fortified in the moments you most need a boost.
Use these prompts to craft your bespoke pre-meeting pep talk:
- What qualities and strengths do I want to summon in myself? (e.g. confidence, resilience, expertise)
- What‘s the most empowering way I could view this specific challenge or opportunity?
- If I‘m feeling nervous or pressured, what do I need to hear to relax and trust myself?
- How do I want to feel before, during and after this interaction?
- What would I tell a colleague or friend in this scenario to encourage them?
Weave your responses into a brief but powerful self-talk script you can mentally rehearse or say out loud whenever you need to shift your state. Your script should be punchy, memorable, and infused with evocative emotion words that electrify your psychology.
Here‘s an example:
I am a world-class trusted advisor and an unshakable optimist. I‘ve prepared diligently for this meeting and I‘m going to wow them with my insights and conviction. Whatever comes up, I can handle it with poise and professionalism. I believe wholeheartedly in the tremendous value I‘m offering. There‘s no such thing as failure, only learning. Let‘s do this!
Self-Talk Mastery Cheatsheet
The Ultimate Sales Edge
In the words of Zig Ziglar, "You cannot consistently perform in a manner that is inconsistent with the way you see yourself."
Your self-talk is the steering wheel of your sales career. It drives what you believe is possible for yourself and how you show up in critical moments. The more you intentionally guide that inner voice to be your biggest cheerleader and motivator, the more you‘ll achieve the outcomes you talk yourself into.
Every sales call is an opportunity to practice flexing your self-talk muscle and overriding negative mental habits that have kept you stuck. With consistency, you can make empowering inner speech your default setting.
Ultimately, selling is a transference of belief. To be truly convincing, you have to first sell yourself on your value, your product, and your ability to be a change-maker for your customers. That starts by winning the conversation in your own mind.
By leveraging these self-talk strategies, you‘ll hard-wire your brain for unshakable confidence, motivation and resilience. This is the inner edge that will catapult you into the top ranks of sales success!
