The Hidden Power of a Sales Mastermind Group

In his book, Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill describes what a mastermind group is:

Nice, isn’t it? “A friendly alliance.” “Plan and purpose.”

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The Truth Emerged

Last month, in the mastermind group that I’m in, a guy broke down into tears. He was struggling. His business was not doing well. And, this was the first time he actually admitted it to another human being.

While it was awkward, I’ve never seen 9 people jump into service so quickly. Isn’t it interesting that when the truth comes out – when we become “real,” people are always there to help?

Later, he emailed the group, sharing what a massive relief it was to know he had people on his ‘team’ that were in total support. You could feel the relief in his tone.

Below, I’ve listed 5 reasons that you MUST consider joining a mastermind group if you’re truly serious about your professional growth.

1. Unconditional Support.

Where, exactly, do we go to get this today? Our family? Our manager? Our banker (ha!)? Our clergy? Our friends?

All of these are good people to have on your team, but can you really level with these people? Not usually. Brian Tracy once said: “The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.”

Unconditional support from another person makes it OK to be you, without the prejudgement – and persona. No more freedom does one enjoy than being who they are meant to be. Unconditional support gets you down that road.

2. Accountability.

Jim Houdan (CEO Root, Inc) wrote: “The power of peer accountability is often underutilized and may in fact be the ultimate performance driver.”

The “ultimate performance driver.” Wow. Powerful words. I agree.

When you commit to some action, especially if that action is slightly outside your comfort zone, you often need another human being to report to (whether that is a manager or an outside force.)

Usually, we think of the word ‘accountable’ as a punitive reference. But it should never be that. Success is simple. Set a goal. Set a plan. Be accountable. Peer groups help you do that.

3. Sales Is A Game of Inches.

You’ve heard this before. If you’re off ever-so-slightly in your approach, you could fail. In a day when the average closing percentage is in the teens, it doesn’t take more than a few tweaks to get that up into the thirties. I’ve seen it too often.

A slight modification here or there can mean huge jumps in income. A word here. A phrase there. A slightly new perspective. A revised subject line in an email. All of those tweaks are what you will hear from your peers.

4. Challenge.

Who challenges you? It’s easy to challenge a 16-year old to a new way of thinking. They don’t have much experience. But what about you? Do you take a healthy challenge well?

Here’s an example of my blindspot.

Last year, I was getting ready to go down a path that would have resulted in epic failure. I didn’t see it, but my peer group did. I fought their suggestions – hard. At some point, the facilitator called me out. “Bill, I thought you were in this group to hear the truth. We’re telling you the truth but you’re not listening.”

Point made.

Get into a peer group that is unafraid to challenge you – to shine the light on your blind spots. It takes courage to challenge. And it takes courage to listen. But that’s how we get better.

5. You Need Principles

I’ve been in groups before where the learning was without principles. That means there was no philosophy or guiding principles to what was being taught. Just lots of content being thrown at me. It was frustrating. Lots of rabbit trails and blind alleys. I don’t think the facilitator did it intentionally. It was just because there were no guiding principles that governed the group – or the topic.

You will succeed quicker when you have principles that drive you. A great peer group will share the core principles as you enroll. Once you’re in, core principles help you rewire your approaches so you can succeed.

One core principle in the peer group I run is “100% Detachment to Outcomes.” That simply means that we must detach from our outcomes in life because it will make us freer (to do the right thing). If you have a deal you really need to close to give you some emotional jolt, then that will go against the core principle of detachment. So that principle governs the group as topics get brought up. It makes it very clear what our beliefs are.

Albert Einstein said: “If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies.” Live your business life with sound philosophies – solid principles.

A good peer group keeps you grounded in principles that are at the root of your long-term success.

The Bottom Line

Peer groups will help you rapidly grow your income. Not in the traditional way of techniques and strategies. But with personal development that governs all that you do.

Get YOU right, and the rest follows swimmingly.

Want to Join Me?

If you’re having trouble finding a good peer group, I invite you to check out The 2X Group, which begins quarterly. It’s limited to 10 people and is virtual, meaning, you can participate regardless of where in the world you are. It’s only for sales and account development people.

If you’re interested, check out the video here: http://the2xgroup.com.

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