I firmly believe that quite a number of salespeople know exactly how they should be conducting themselves once they are in front of their prospect. Having trained salespeople over the past three decades, however, one of the challenges that I observe is a lack of self-discipline.

They know the importance of engaging the prospect, conducting an assessment, not panicking when resistance is raised and being persistent with closing techniques and so on – but they lack the self-discipline to do it consistently.

I once saw self-discipline defined as “Doing exactly what you are supposed to do. When you are supposed to do it. Whether you feel like it or not.”

Salespeople have been trained in what to do. They have been informed when to do it. Now it is left up to them to execute if they FEEL like it. And there lies the problem. To be a top salesperson, you must have the self-discipline to execute consistently, especially during those times when you don’t feel like it. That’s the mark of a professional.

In order to become self-disciplined when it comes to selling, you should:

1. Identify a specific area of your sales approach that you would like to be more disciplined in.

2. Identify the desired behavior.

3. Practice until it becomes comfortable.

4. Determine how you will hold yourself accountable to this new discipline.

5. Revisit on an ongoing basis until new discipline is established.

MARVIN MONTGOMERY is an author, speaker and sales training consultant with more than 30 years of experience. You can ask the Sales Doctor a question at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .