If you’re in sales, there’s a high chance you have a competitive drive.
You want to become the best, or at least become your best.
And you know that getting there requires you to be intentional and proactive.
In other words, you know you must take your career into your own hands. Nobody else will do it for you. Period.
Thankfully, there’s a little secret in the sales world called “sales mastermind groups.” These groups are the next best thing to individual sales coaching. They can take you from struggling-to-hit-your-numbers to exponential growth and put you on the fast-track to promotions.
And let’s be honest, sales can get lonely. It’s an individual sport after all. By nature, sales pits you against others on your team to see who can outperform who. So mastermind groups are a break from that competitive environment, and they put you in a creative and collaborative environment with others who want to sharpen their skills. There’s nothing else like it.
What Exactly is a Sales Mastermind?
A sales mastermind is a small group of salespeople (SDRs, Account Execs, Sales Leaders, etc.) that meet regularly to discuss sales tactics and strategies, motivate one another, and hold one another accountable to reach their goals. The masterminds I’ve been a part of meet at least monthly — but ideally weekly or bi-weekly — over Zoom or another video conferencing platform.
Although it’s a democratic and collaborative environment (no authoritarian rule), it helps when there’s one person who takes the lead to schedule, organize, send out reminders, and take care of other logistics. Otherwise, it’s a totally collaborative space where the success of others will almost literally rub off on you. Don’t worry, I’ll unpack this.
Why Join a Sales Mastermind?
Iron Sharpens Iron
First and foremost, you join a sales mastermind to rub elbows with others in the field and to learn how to sell better… much better. In your first meeting, you will hear new perspectives that you never would have thought of on your own.
Maybe someone is seeing massive success testing a new cold call opening line… they’ll share it with the group. Maybe someone else found a sales tool that allows them to make 5x the calls they were previously making… they’ll share it with the group. Then maybe someone else had a difficult prospect they just couldn’t close, and you can learn from their mishaps and even give them pointers. And finally, maybe you’re just one or two insights away from a huge breakthrough. This is the space where those insights flow freely.
Motivation and Accountability
There’s nothing like getting on a mastermind call at 6am, while the rest of the world is sleeping, and getting fired up about transforming your career and your life. It’s like a cold plunge for autodidacts and hypomanics like myself.
Sure there’s collaborative problem-solving, knowledge sharing, and personal and professional growth. But masterminds are also inherently motivational. Someone in your group might have hit $30K in commissions last month — and now you can almost taste that for yourself! And then there’s more overt motivation, where others will encourage you and root for your success. This will naturally carry into your work day and work week. Trust me.
You’ll also have a group of people to hold you accountable. You’ll share your standards and goals, and the weekly or bi-weekly check-ins will be foundational for your personal and professional growth. There’s no better way to stay laser-focused on your targets than having others hold your feet to the fire.
Networking and Connections
Don’t be surprised if a fellow masterminder becomes a client of yours at some point, or comes to work for you, or even becomes your business partner in a new venture. Some of these relationships will be long-lasting and lucrative. This is another huge benefit of masterminds.
Having an inner-circle that you meet with consistently is better than any mixer or networking event out there. These people are 10x closer than any LinkedIn 1st-degree connection you have. It might take a year, or even several years, to find out why… but a select few from your mastermind group will be there for you somewhere down the line.
Individual Coaching is Expensive
On average, it costs $200-$300 per hour for one-on-one coaching. And the coaches really worth their weight charge upwards of $500-$1,000+ per hour. So unless you’re high on the socio-economic pecking order, you can’t afford to get coached on an individual basis.
But… maybe you have the budget for group coaching, which is much cheaper. Welcome to the mastermind! Now you’re saving hundreds, or even thousands of dollars every month, and you’re getting access to multiple backgrounds, vantage points, opinions, and perspectives that a single coach could never give you.
You Become the Company You Keep!
I love good sales wisdom and motivational quotes. My mentor Jim Rohn once said, “You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” This is a sobering reality if you’re going through life on default (like most people are!). But if you’re reading this, you are a different breed. You aspire to greatness. And you want to be in the presence of others who are on a similar path.
With this in mind, it’s critical to surround yourself with other top performers. To put a finer point on it, you’ll want to surround yourself with sales professionals who are a few steps ahead of you on the journey. This is your new standard, your new bar. And these folks will teach you how to get where they are. They don’t have your roadmap, they are your roadmap.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Joining a Mastermind Group
There are some things you must consider before starting your search for a sales mastermind group. Getting these ducks in a row will allow you to get the most value out of the experience.
The last thing you want is to make the time sacrifice without going the extra mile to ensure it drives actual value for your career and life. So here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- What are my personal and professional goals?
- Am I committed to meeting weekly?
- Is this mastermind comprised of people I admire?
- Am I ready to apply what I learn in the group to my career and life?
- Am I ready to help others step into greatness?
- Am I ready to step into greatness?
Final Words
I didn’t discuss cost, mostly because there are plenty of free mastermind groups you can join. You can find them on Facebook, by scouring Reddit, and through your LinkedIn Network (reach out to your ultra-successful contacts and ask!). Other groups will cost money, but again, this investment is worth its weight in gold.
Also, I recommend joining an already existing mastermind group rather than form your own… at least to start. Forming your own group can be a good thing, but we want to reduce friction as much as possible, so joining an already-established group is your best bet, by far.
Finally, expect to try a few groups before you get it dialed-in. By testing the waters, so to speak, you’ll learn what you like and don’t like in a mastermind group, and you’ll have actual standards you can hold a group to. Think of it like dating. Your chance of finding the perfect match on the first date is slim-to-none. Thankfully, similar to dating, there are loads of mastermind fish in the sea.
So get out there and invest in yourself. Joining a sales mastermind could be the one thing standing between you and your ultimate success.
Until next time…
Johnny-Lee Reinoso