If only confidence came pre-packed in Keurig pods, ready to be sipped whenever you needed a boost (and the copywriting team wasn’t monopolizing the machine. Again. Alas, gaining confidence isn’t quite that easy.

But — what if it could be?

There’s a secret weapon out there that can help to instill and enhance that confidence that will make all the difference between having confidence and having doubts. It’s an automated, proactive solution that reduces performance drags and brings fun to mundane tasks. It also happens to be the #1 work app. It’s called Surprise. And it’s a complete SuccessOS.

Look, having success in sales can be hard. There are so many factors that can impact your performance that are truly out of your control. Budgets. Client whims. Supply chains. Heck, even weather can be a factor. But who you are and how you perform isn’t one of them. Surprise helps to build your best you, and every single day you become even better. 

Surprise at work

It all begins with Missions. These small tasks build up foundational skills, delivering a burst of dopamine from Surprise payoffs. But what’s more important is that they lay the groundwork for sustained success. Missions aren’t quick-hit sales hacks that tease better closing rates or maximizing prospects. They’re not cheat codes—they’re upgrades. These are science-backed techniques to make your work life fundamentally better.

Confidence builds by stacking success. So with each completed mission, you’re building upon your personal success model. Your confidence grows with each rung of the ladder, inoculating you against missteps. You’re building up your resistance to failure.

That carpet isn’t magnetic. Once you get knocked down, Surprise is there to help you bounce back up.

Why is confidence so important?

It’s been said that 80% of sales come from 20% of salespeople. That’s not by accident. A confident person can navigate the ebbs that come from selling. Rejection is just part of the deal. But to be in that 20%, you have to have the inner resilience to keep going. Setbacks become repurposed as opportunities, not stop signs. Mountains become molehills. 

A confident salesperson looks at every day like it’s their Super Bowl. They know they can sell a boatload of pencils to a paperless office.

Sales used to be a persuasion business. It’s become a solution provider. Persistence is the key. InsideSales says that 50% of sales are made after the fifth contact with a prospect, while most salespeople give up after two. According to MarketingDonut, only 2% of sales come from the first meeting. 

Optimistic confidence pays off. Using resolute, positive words such as “definitely,” “absolutely,” and “unquestionably” separates the top performers from the struggling ones and exudes confidence. That positive mindset works wonders. A study from Dr. Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania showed that “super optimists” outperformed pessimistic salespeople by 57% — even those who had failed an aptitude test. 

In sales, confidence, optimism, and persistence are the three biggest keys for sustained, real success. Confidence fuels optimism and persistence. Surprise, and its SuccessOS, feeds confidence by building fundamentals and sharpening the skills that put you at the top of your game. The pathway to maximum performance has never been simpler. Smile, download Surprise, and start building that road to a better you and a solid place in that top 20%. Today.

Don Seaman spends his professional life trying to put the alphabet into the right order to construct coherent thoughts that people can read. Now he does that for Surprise. You can find out more about this failed musician and retired superhero on LinkedIn and Twitter.