When salespeople feel a possible threat to their selling efforts, they become concerned that they will lose the sale; at that specific moment, many salespeople create a barrier between their prospects and themselves. That is, they react.

Reacting is the aggressive and often abrasive action or posture a salesperson takes and which quickly erodes the relationship between the salesperson and prospect.

Think about the word. Reaction is an action that you have taken before. When you react to what your prospect says or does, you are acting from your instincts or past experiences, surrendering all your personal power to act by choice.

For example, at some point during a meeting with a prospect you think back to the events of a previous situation. Whether it's a similar cold call, a prospect with comparable problems, or a common objection, you may react in the same way that you have in the past. Reacting to these situations only succeeds in keeping you stuck in survival mode, recreating the same experiences and results over and over again.