Dr. Paul Stoltz is one of the nation’s most renowned researchers on adversity. In his book Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities, he describes how we can determine our adversity quotient. The test reveals how well we deal with life’s tough challenges, setbacks and difficulties. When measuring a group of real estate salespeople, Stoltz found that agents with a high AQ outsold agents with a low AQ by as much as 250 percent.

Stoltz says people generally fall into three main categories – the quitter, the camper and the climber. The quitter gives up trying to live a purposeful life. According to Stoltz, “they refuse the opportunity and abandon the climb.” In the second category, between 60 and 80 percent of people, are the campers. The camper only go so far and then “weary from the climb terminate their ascent.” They set up camp somewhere along the road to success and may never see what else lies ahead on their journey. The climber is in the third category. Climbers are dedicated to a lifelong ascent says Stoltz. These are resilient, tenacious, persistent people who don’t know the meaning of the word quit. Typically, 5 to 20 percent of the people you work with are climbers.

Research by Dr. Martin Seligman shows that what counts is not what happens to us, it’s how we interpret or explain an adverse event. Dr. Seligman measured the responses to adversity of thousands of insurance agents. He found that the way salespeople explained their difficulties – by using either optimistic or pessimistic terms – dramatically affected their sales results. Optimistic salespeople outsold pessimists by 88 percent. Salespeople who used pessimistic explanatory styles were three times more likely to quit regardless of talent.

To a sales manager, managing adversity is as important as managing goals. A successful sales team must strive to achieve ambitious goals and learn how to overcome obstacles. Unless a sales team develops a methodology for knocking down barriers and turning stumbling blocks into stepping-stones, a more resilient team will take the lead in the marketplace.

The sales manager has to apply the right mixture of realism and optimism to help salespeople understand that though they’ve lost a sale, they haven’t lost their capacity to sell. The blueprint for managing adversity must be embedded in the manager’s attitude. He or she has to demonstrate that we all can make the choice to respond to adversity in a positive, creative and constructive way.

The most successful salespeople on any team are extraordinary climbers who conquer more difficulties than their competitors. Studies of people who have fought life’s toughest battles show that winners over adversity discover inner peace, uncommon wisdom and unprecedented levels of success.

Some experts suggest that we can fake it until we make it. There is some practical wisdom to that. Many feats of mankind hinge on a hope and a prayer. Sales success can hinge on the art of turning setbacks into comebacks. We alone hold the key to turning adversity into an excuse to camp out and fail, or for a reason to continue the climb and win.