Right now I am technically not reading, but listening to a book with Audible called, Atomic Habits by James Clear.
I am only a few chapters deep, but one topic discussed that reminded me of the way we can approach the sales process; it also gave me a flashback to a conversation I had with my boss in 2011.
First, the concept I was reminded of from this book, is to stop focusing on the GOAL and instead focus on the PROCESS. Results are derived from the concept of compounding actions.
I used to direct the marketing for an orthotics lab and in doing so, I was involved heavily in meetings with the sales team. Every month, our boss would get frustrated if the sales team hadn’t met its sales goals. So he would make the goal higher. This confused me.
I remember a specific conversation with him and said, “you could make the goal $100 a month or $1 million a month and it won’t matter if we don’t equip each sales rep with a process of how to get there.”
What I was trying to explain was the result is completely out of anyone’s control. We can only control our actions and the process we employ to achieve a particular result.
Because I’m a tennis player, I used a tennis match as an analogy. I told him..
  • I can only win a match if I win two sets.
  • I can only win a set if I win six games.
  • I can only win a game if I win 4 points.
  • I can only win a point if I utilize my strengths and expose my opponents weaknesses and THAT is the only part of the entire equation that is within my control.
Ultimately, if you raise the goal each month but provide no change to the process, this is likely an unwinnable battle and you’re setting your team up for failure. Instead of focusing on the result – change your mindset to focusing on the “how” we get there by implementing tactics within our control.
Thoughts? Questions? Email Me!
Sarah Breymeier: beheard@podiatrymeetings.com