Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here.

Today’s edition only takes 3 minutes.

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I’m on my HoneyMoon right now, so the below is an updated version of an article I had published on an Australian website called "Anthill Magazine Online", in around ~2008/09.

Enjoy!

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6.5 Reasons Surfing is like Founders Selling

They might seem worlds apart, but there are many similarities between surfers and founders who sell. Here are six and a half.

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1. Learning takes time

Before even touching the water, surfers are already heavily invested in their equipment (board/s).

Surfers then spend the next few months to years finding their feet, which is straight up hard.

When they stand up for the first time, it’s a brief moment of exhilaration, then they fall over and get to try again and again.

This journey is similar to founders learning to sell; it takes time, and unforeseen currents will sweep away many leads, buyers, and deals.

But once founders learn the skill of sales, it’s a skill for life. All that is required is time and deliberate practice.

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2. Tunnel vision can be a good thing

A “barrel” is the tunnel shape a wave makes when it falls around a surfer, and the ultimate goal for most surfers is to ride long barrels.

Getting into a sales tunnel, where founders are hyper-focused on the end, is vital for founders learning to sell.

It’s when there’s a great sense of excitement about the potential, yet the workload feels overwhelming.

And you only have two options: slow down and risk being sucked back into a wipeout or powering forward, pulling out of the barrel and into the sunlight.

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3. Surfers have to work with the waves that roll in

If a surfer doesn’t like the wave conditions, they can move on or work with what they have.

Similarly, founders must work within the existing market conditions.

The market, like the ocean, is bigger than almost every business.

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4. To catch waves, first you have to paddle through them

Just as surfers have to paddle out through the waves, founders must paddle through difficult sales experiences to reap their rewards, eventually.

For surfers, the reward is a rush of adrenaline when they accelerate, take off, and stand up on their boards.

For founders who sell, the rewards are financial gain and a sense of achievement.

Both are magical rushes everyone should experience at least once.

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5. You can lead someone to water, but you cannot make them surf

I mentioned to an older friend that I was a surfer. He said he’d always wanted to learn to surf. That was four (twenty?) years ago. So far, nothing has changed.

Too many founders are stuck waiting for the right time, when the only perfect time was last year or the last decade.

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6. There is always another wave

No matter how successful or problematic the last wave was, like surfers, founders who sell know they have to paddle back out and keep trying.

Setbacks are inevitable.

However, like surfers, founders either find the drive to push through, or give up (for now) - but there’ll always be another wave.

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6.5 After all is said and done…

And finally, after catching your wave of the day, you can go home, rest and prepare for the next day on the turbulent seas.

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Until next week,
Scott Cowley

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