Grace While Growing: How to Recover from Setbacks

Every salesperson knows that feeling, the one right before the big meeting when confidence wavers and doubt creeps in. Alex Weber knows it, too. He’s one of the few people to go from hosting American Ninja Warrior to competing on the show. When I asked him what separates winners from everyone else on an episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, he said: “Winners believe they're going to win. You’re not going to win every deal. But even as I say that, I’m never going to let myself actually believe that.” This is a masterclass in sales mindset—the mental toughness every top salesperson needs. The difference between a competitor who freezes and one who performs is simple: The winner chooses belief over hesitation, every single time.  Stop Managing Doubt, Start Dictating Belief The average salesperson walks into a deal trying to manage their doubt. They worry about the competition, they worry about the price, and they worry about rejection. That hesitation bleeds through every presentation, email, and follow-up. The average rep tells themselves, "I hope I get this deal." Winners decide before the phone rings that they are the best solution, they deserve the business, and they are going to win. That mindset is the foundation of high-performance selling. The moment you let the "what if I lose?" question become dominant, you pull back. You ask soft closing questions. You accept the first objection. Top salespeople know that a soft sales mindset guarantees a hard loss. You must carry the confidence of a winner, even when the odds are stacked against you. Failure is Feedback: Burn the Ship and Move On In high-stakes competitive environments, you can’t dwell on failure. If a Ninja Warrior misses a jump, they can't afford to spend five minutes replaying the error in their head; they are already in the water. In sales, the deep end is rejection. Too many salespeople treat a "no" like a personal failure instead of professional feedback. They let one bad call destroy their attitude for the entire week. This is why their sales mindset is fragile. Winners understand that every loss is simply data to be analyzed. What did the client object to? Where did you lose control? What did the competitor do better? Process it immediately, then move on. When you fail, you need to "burn the ship." You acknowledge the loss, extract the lesson, and sever the emotional attachment. The inability to recover fast is the #1 killer of a sales mindset. You are guaranteeing an underperforming pipeline if you can't reset your mental state between calls. Commit to the next interaction, not the last one. Build Your Muscle Memory for Pressure You can't expect to be calm and collected during a high-pressure, high-dollar negotiation if you haven't trained for it. Elite competitors don't rely on game-day adrenaline. They rely on muscle memory built through intentional practice under pressure. Practice is how you develop the sales mindset that never wavers. Identify the parts of the sales cycle that make you uncomfortable. If handling tough objections is your weakness, practice them relentlessly until your response is automatic. If you freeze up when cold calling top-tier decision-makers, role-play the opening three minutes of that call until you can deliver it with confidence. Your pipeline grows on competence, not hope.  Stop Waiting for Motivation: Execute on Discipline The worst lie in sales is the idea that you have to feel motivated to prospect. Motivation is an emotion. It comes and goes. Discipline is a decision. The champion's sales mindset relies on routine and process. You don't need to feel excited to make that fifth cold call or send that critical follow-up. You just need to execute your process. If you let your feelings dictate your schedule, you will only prospect when the conditions are perfect. That is an amateur move. Winners know the work is non-negotiable. Discipline is showing up every day, executing the critical,