In coaching sales people I have found many similarities to raising children. Not that sales people are childish at all, but we tend to be an emotional and reactive lot.
Take Ben as an example. He knows that he needs to book 2 appointments every day to reach his sales goals, but setting appointments is not his most fun thing to do in his day. He’d rather research companies to call, read his trade journals, call his buddies to network (of course) and fill in the blank with any other activity possible to put off doing what he knows he should be doing: scheduling appointments.
We’re all guilty of this, even my hyper-productive sales people. Even if our prospecting effort is solid, taking the time to fill in our contact database with solid leads or our calendars with appointments is just not fun. That’s work that we would rather not do – even if it brings us that much closer to our sales goals. I know I would rather have fun – and I know most of my clients would too. It’s our natural childlike instincts that are resisting our adult ones.
But who’s running the show? Is your inner child in control, or does your adult stay in command?
If you’re honest, you probably will admit to the child allowing procrastination to creep in. Here’s how to corral your inner 9 year old.
- Ask yourself a key question. Stop what you are doing right now (although you do need to keep reading for a bit!). Ask yourself: “Is what I’m doing right now taking me closer to or farther away from my goals?” If the answer is farther away from, then set it aside to no-pay time activity and get back to one that is pay time activity.
- Know your goals. This isn’t just some vague fuzzy idea of your goals. This is about the nitty-gritty of how much you want to make, how many clients you have to land, number of appointments scheduled, referrals given and received, your exact number of conversations to hold each and every day to attain those goals.
- Use your calendar. Plan each day the evening before. Review your accomplishments and what you didn’t do. Does it really still need to get done? If not, dump it. If so – Do It! Take charge. Put it on your schedule and don’t allow your inner 9 year old to run your life.
- Celebrate. Reward your inner child when you are successful. Recognize their contribution to your energy and enthusiasm and foster that through your personal goals and rewards. Have a party! Take a group of friends out so everybody can let out their inner kid to play!
These are just a few of many great ideas out there on maintaining focus on productive activities. What are some of your favorites? How do you stay focused on your high payoff activities and not waste time?
Share your ideas and strategies below!