Sales is a numbers game, and is often driven by emotions – yours as well as the customer’s. The problem is when you allow the peeks of closing the deal and the valleys of rejection to affect how you approach the next deal.

Consistency is key. The best example are those who canvass neighborhoods and telemarketers. Often times, their day consists mainly of doors being slammed in their face or being berated and then hung up on. And yet, if they allow this to happen 95 percent of the time, they are considered successful in what they do.

Think about it: Most salespeople are expected to fail far more than they succeed. Once you accept this, the opportunities are endless. The best major league baseball players come up short seven out of every ten at-bats. In a long, 162 game season, those same players will go through extended slumps, 20 or 30 consecutive plate appearances without a hit. Sometimes this means they need to look at tape and adjust their swing. But many times, it means they change nothing and do the same thing the following game, expecting the result will change simply because of the law of averages.

If you’re in your own extended slump and you can’t find anything wrong with your sales pitch, it’s probably because there’s nothing wrong with it. Instead, it could simply be your sales attitude. Be prepared for the no; in fact, go for the no – dare them to say it! Confidence and consistency are key. Of course, it’s easy to be confident if you’re fresh off a couple home runs (AKA: big sales), and typically, momentum will continue from there. But having the same attitude after striking out is just as important.

Your next appointment has no idea what the result of your last appointment was – unless you give it away by how you look or sound. If you can honestly look at yourself in the mirror after an extended slump and feel you’re doing nothing wrong, you’re probably right.

But if thoughts of failing creep back into your head during the next trip to the plate, you’ve found the change you need to make.