March 22nd What True Education Looks Like

“What does it mean to be properly educated? It’s about learning to align our instincts with the right priorities, staying in tune with our nature, and understanding how to distinguish what we can control from what we can’t.” - Epictetus

True education isn’t just about acquiring knowledge, but is about aligning your actions with your priorities and focusing only on what you can control.

The Stoics remind us that we can’t control everything, but we can control how we prepare, respond, and adapt.

In sales, this means directing your energy toward what you can influence: building relationships, sharpening your pitch, and finding creative solutions.

Don’t waste time stressing over what’s out of your hands, like a competitor’s moves or a prospect’s final decision.

Do your best, act with integrity, and let go of the rest.

Actionable tips:

Focus on the process, not the result. Don’t stress over whether or not you’ll hit your quota, focus on perfecting your outreach, follow-up, and relationships.
Let go of what you can’t control. If a deal falls apart, ask yourself: did I do my best? If the answer is yes, move on without regret.
Constantly improve what’s in your control. You can’t control a client's decision, but you can refine your skills, product knowledge, and pitch to be more effective.

Remember you will die.

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Zac: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/

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Disclaimer:

The Sales Stoic draws inspiration from the profound wisdom of Stoicism as presented in Ryan Holiday's "The Daily Stoic." As avid readers & fans, we deeply respect the work of Ryan Holiday, and acknowledge the significant impact of Stoic philosophy on our own approach to sales and life.

While The Sales Stoic applies the core principles of Stoicism to the unique challenges and opportunities faced by salespeople, it is an original work with its own distinct voice and focus. We aim to build upon the timeless wisdom of Stoicism to empower sales professionals with practical guidance and actionable insights for success in their careers and personal lives.

Jack Frimston
Co-Founder at We Have a Meeting
Zac Thompson
Co-Founder at We Have a Meeting

Dr. Jones. Thank you. It's actually my turn to sing because I'm reading out Dr. Jones. I was not impressed with you. It's the 22nd of March. Do an impression of you. It's the 22nd of March. It's a 22nd of March guys. What true education looks like. What does it mean to be properly educated? You don't know. It's about learning to align our instincts with the right priorities.

staying in tune with our nature and understanding how to distinguish what we can control from what we can't. Epic Tears. Was it? It was. And it was. Easy for me to say. So from two blokes that grew up in Blackpool, one with a Cockney accent, one with a non Cockney accent, education might not be our forte, but what does true education look like? So I think for salespeople, I could, I could list five sales books that you could go out. I could say,

I could spout lots and lots of sales gurus you should check out. I could say Jeb Blount three times in the mirror. Say your second name. Blount. Is that how you say it? It's pronounced blunt. I think Blount is a great word. I like the guy. But true education for salespeople. We think that you should actually think about it a little bit differently. Where can you learn different skills that are going to be vital within the sales process that you might not necessarily learn in a sales book? Yeah.

So the Stoics had this idea, right, that you could hit a quote, a phrase, an idea, and it would really resonate with you because it could stick onto every part of your life. It could thread out to the parts of your life. So the idea of remembering you'll die or being present in certain moments, it resonates with us because you can do that everywhere. You can be more present at work, you can be more present as a father, as a husband. All these things have three lines through. And I think...

Salespeople should be looking at other things outside of selling that they could bring in to the selling environment. So we're obviously big on selling being like therapy because a lot of therapy techniques are there to try and encourage you to acknowledge that you have a problem and then find the core motivation to fix it. And the old things that are stopping you from doing it. How is that different than selling? It isn't. And if anything, it's probably a better, more reliable framework to follow. And on a more and like light hearted manner, you still lost from Louis Theroux. both do the silence. They asking the big broad question, not helping to pad it out and just being completely silent. And then the other person answered the question. Oh, we've asked a few tough questions and discovery call saying I just want to check in actually, because I feel like I've actually a few tough questions that you okay for me to keep going. Yeah. The ability to check in that's pulled in from external things. Jeb Blount didn't teach me that. No, Jeb Blount didn't teach me that. I think it's like something that I always, always think about is if you want better answers, ask better questions. Well, say it twice. If you want better answers, ask better questions. Nice. Now, sometimes the best questions are the most simple ones, but sometimes you steal things from different people. So who are the journalists? Who are the podcasters? Who are the interviewers that are getting the most out of their guests, that really getting them to open up and asking thought-provoking questions?

What kind of skills are they using? How are they mirroring? How are they labeling in those situations? And once you kind of like a finely tune that ear and that's what you're focusing on, you'll start to learn a lot more and you'll start to hear a lot more. Exactly. Yeah. The amount of times I've listened to Dr. Steve Peters or Marissa Peer or they're not in sales. No, but I've listened to them and they've asked the question. Someone said, well, if someone had this problem, what would you do? Well, the first time he's asked them this question and you go,

That's good. I'm keeping that. I'm sticking that sticking that in the in the toolbox for later. And actually you end up with this more authentic toolbox of questions rather than going for the pre prescribed sales books. Yeah. Cause those sales books that you think are unique to you. How to win friends influence people or whatever you're spreading off. Everyone says those ones. Yeah. Like go for something different. Yeah. Find something a little bit niche and remember true education looks like Louis Theroux. Wow.

I've been Jack Frimston. I've been Zack Thompson. Remember you will die. Shoelaces or not? Let me know.