In the phenomenal documentary 'The Last Dance' film makers cover the legacy of Michael Jordan and the 90's Chicago Bulls team. It's an incredible insight into demanding and delivering excellence consistently at the highest levels.
In the final episode (no spoiler here don't worry) the narrator describes that most people live in fear because they project the past into the future. Thinking about past things or worrying about the future outcomes however he goes on to state that Jordan was a mystic because he would never be anywhere else except in the moment.
His gift wasn't that he could jump higher, run faster, or throw a basketball better, his gift was that he was completely present and that was the separator.
Being in the moment is how he managed to deal so well with the pressures that only a global icon could understand.
Now when it comes to average salespeople, focus, concentration and being in the moment is a huge missing factor of their sales game that I see more and more often.
Here's some tell tale signs:
These are just some of the signs your focus is not in the moment when you're selling.
Can you imagine if Jordan whilst playing started to think about how bad he was playing or that he must make this shot because it's for the game or everyone expects excellence so I must deliver this etc. etc. etc.?
If he started thinking about all the outer things he would never be able to produce results game in game out every time he stepped on the court.
You must start being present in the moment every time you step onto your sales floor or meeting a prospect face to face. Whatever the situation...it's game time! You must be present, in the moment ready to simply execute your work to the best of your ability.
What can I do to be present?
We cover many different mental strategies in our sales training programs but here are two quick tips to centre yourself and be present when selling...
Tip 1
Take 5 deep breathes focusing on your stomach going out as you breathe in and your stomach dropping in as you breathe all the way out to the end. This breathing technique also known as breathing like a baby relaxes you and centres your concentration ready to sell. Breathing in concentration and breathing out all distractions.
Tip 2
You can use an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) technique called chunking to gain more focus. Let me explain, if I ask you to give me your all for a whole day most people would struggle to do so because the amount of time I'm asking for is too much to comprehend. However, if I ask you to give me your very best for the next 30 minutes it's easier for you to except and for the mind to agree and say yes we can do this. So, chunk your own commitment to focus/concentrating down to an agreed timeframe with yourself that you can achieve. Once you achieve it you can commit to another timeframe and as you build this you can build the time commitment you give yourself.
Being in the moment when selling is essential to achieving higher levels of sales excellence and sales performance.
Imagine a sports professional who struggles to be in the moment.
Imagine a surgeon who struggles to be in the moment.
Imagine a driver who struggles to be in the moment.
Now imagine a sales professional who struggles to be in the moment.
The difference being that some of the above examples could mean life or death whereas in sales it simply means a poor performance. This explains why it's so much easier to lose concentration and focus in sales and so much harder to achieve consistently....because it isn't life or death.
But imagine if you could start thinking differently and start working on being in the moment.
How much more could you achieve?
What could you be capable of?
Make the decision today to increase your powers of focus and concentration in your sales game.
Be professional at every aspect of your sales game.
Be in the moment and let's see where it can take you.
As Michael Jordan famously said, "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen."
Start today. Go out there and make it happen. Be the best sales professional you can be and be in the moment!
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