by Keith Rosen
“Whether it’s a task, project, hobby, sports, practice, homework, or even a conversation, put your head into it—and more important, put your heart into it. Whatever it is you are doing at that moment, do it the very best you can because what you do is a reflection of you and who you are.”
Refocus Now! Everything Counts
Here’s a universal law that’s impenetrable: The habits and choices you made yesterday are what created the life and career you have today. So here’s the real opportunity. The habits and choices you make today will create the life and career you have tomorrow.
Think about the things that consume your day. E-mails, phone calls, travel, customer meetings, reports, presentations, training, coaching, working with customers, business development, internal meetings, upselling, handling challenges and problems, admin work, project management, team meetings, cross-selling, forecast reviews, deal reviews, performance reviews, getting to decision makers, weekly reporting, proposal writing/bidding, asking for referrals, your own professional development—I can go on and on.
Here’s the point: Are you embracing the same philosophy you tell your children? What about the message you deliver to your team? Are you modeling this yourself?
This certainly doesn’t suggest becoming a master multitasker.
Miracles Happen When You Pay Attention
It’s so easy to go through the motions without the emotion, to treat exceptional results as just another day at the office, to ignore the seemingly insignificant miracles that happen among your team members and with your customers—the remarkable things you do and what your people do every day. How have they have changed, improved, or grown? Do you even recognize when these things occur? And if you do, are you acknowledging them?
Take this one step further. Are you leveraging these moments to coach people around the best practices you want them to engage in consistently so they can replicate their success and refine their processes?
We incur a greater cost when we have both eyes focused on the result. If you continually focus on and live in the future, at some point, you are going to turn around and realize that your life and career have passed you by. Life is what happens in the now, in the present moment.
And if this isn’t enough to ignite the fire of change within you, then ask yourself, “What am I modeling? What message am I sending to the people around me, at home for my family, in my community, and at work?”
Ultimately, whatever you’re doing in the moment, regardless of what it is; it is the most important thing you are doing at that time. As a leader, if you can model this, think about the message you are sending to the rest of your team and the other people in your life and the impact it will have.
Respect the dualities of life—two conflicting truths that coexist simultaneously. That is, be mindful of the future while being engaged in the moment.
Simply put, be where you stand.
Go Do: Focus on the Process X3
Write down three examples where you recently focused on the results or goals—sales-related or otherwise—instead of focusing on the process.
Then sketch or quickly write out the process for how you are going to achieve each goal. What are the steps? What will you communicate in those steps? To whom? What does the messaging look and sound like across all communication platforms?
Once this is given the attention it rightly deserves, you will notice how much easier your life will become. You will be taking the time needed to build out your process and best practices consciously and to allow the result to happen as a natural conclusion of your efforts.
[PART THREE]
SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY
CHAPTER 20
Get Off the Adrenaline Train
Adrenaline—The Drug of Choice for Sales Leaders
You may have a drug problem. Many people today are hooked on a commonly abused yet elusive drug whose widespread use seems to be flying under our radar. That drug of choice is adrenaline.
It’s time to choose a healthier drug—momentum.
The classic symptoms of adrenaline addiction? Saying yes when you mean no. Overcommitting or overbooking your schedule, delivering on exceptionally tight deadlines, or juggling a list of incomplete tasks. Procrastinating until the last moment. Believing you “work best under pressure.” Being easily distracted. Deriving enjoyment by seeking out and solving problems.
Consider that an adrenaline addiction may be creating many of the problems, employee challenges, and obstacles, especially to your sales process, that you want to avoid. Tolerating stress, chaos, disorganization, poor planning, lackluster team performance, or undesirable customers create situations that provide the adrenaline rush associated when working on overdrive.
Like any drug, adrenaline has its rewards. On the surface, it may appear that this legal, seductive drug provides a burst of energy to get something done, tackle a project, or meet a deadline. Being superhuman enables you to accomplish more than what a mere mortal is capable of producing.
However, it’s more dangerous than we realize. The body produces adrenaline when stressed, in pain, or to protect us from imminent danger. You don’t want the drug to control you and dominate your lifestyle. After a day of riding the adrenaline roller coaster, you crash.
Too much adrenaline from other sources (nicotine, chocolate, caffeine, etc.) can also lead to stomach and heart problems, high blood pressure, and anxiety. Aside from feeling drained, burned out, and exhausted, adrenaline lowers your productivity level and sets you up for dips in performance. If you thrive on chaos, it’s difficult to maintain your focus, concentration, peace of mind, or mental clarity. If you’re a salesperson, a congested mind does not allow for the space to create the best solutions for your customers during a sales call.
If you’re overwhelmed with a pile of tasks, then you can’t be present with or listening to your customers. This affects your ability to follow a sales process, ask the right questions, uncover your customers’ needs, and even create or recognize a selling opportunity. This can create enough holes in your selling approach that many promising sales can fall through. To kick the habit, prevent sporadic results, and get off the adrenaline train, shift away from using adrenaline, and start creating the momentum that produces consistent, long-lasting results.
Just Say No—It’s Good for Everyone
Are you a “yesaholic?” Do you instinctively say yes first without considering if you can realistically deliver? The irony is, saying yes and not following through creates what you wanted to avoid. That is, letting others down by overcommitting and not delivering can cost you by causing frustration, unhappy employees, disappointing results, lost business, eroded trust, customer dissatisfaction, and even lost referrals.
Before you respond with a start/delivery date on a project or proposal, ask yourself, “Is this something I want to be doing? Do I have the time for it, and if so, when?” In other words, “Are there activities that I’ve already committed to that take priority?” I’m sure your family would appreciate (be shocked?) if you made it home for dinner a little more frequently.
When my wife and I were in the final stages of building our new home—the 9th month of a 4-month project to be exact, I had discovered that while my contractor did fabulous work, he didn’t honor any of his timelines. He said he had been trying to keep me “happy” by telling me what he thought I wanted to hear.
But was I happy that I had to extend my stay in temporary housing? Happy that I was billed every additional month for storage? Happy that I was paying my mortgage and utilities without living in my home? Happy that my wife and I planned our lives (school for three children) around a four-month timeline? No, I was the farthest thing from being “happy.” In truth, this project was a thirteen-month project. But he didn’t want to tell me that.
You will make more money, have more loyal salespeople, have happier clients, and deal with fewer internal headaches when you always choose to be honest when setting and managing people’s expectations. This
is the conversational side of time management that I address in Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions.
I’m not suggesting that my contractor was lying by doing something illegal or immoral. The fact is, I trusted him 100 percent. I’m suggesting setting realistic expectations about what you know to be true and then share it with your people, even if they may not like what you’re saying. This strategy will always serve you best.
Do you ever say yes when you’re better off saying no? Have you made promises you can’t keep or struggle to honor? Do you have a hard time telling your team the truth about how long different company initiatives might actually take or exactly what is expected of them when you ask for their participation on different projects? Do you withhold information from your team or your clients that you know they want or need to hear because you are afraid of a confrontation or losing a sale? Do you believe you need to please people for them to like you? Is your schedule frequently overbooked? If so, you may be a “yesaholic.”
When you immediately say yes first without thinking about whether you can realistically deliver on that timeline or expectation, I get it—you always have the best intentions in mind. You believe you can “do it all.” Yet think about what happens when you promise to deliver on something (completing a project, meeting with a new hire, getting a report out) and you’re not able to honor that promise. How does that make you and the other person feel?
Saying no is often perceived as a bad thing. After all, you don’t want to say no and fear letting someone down, looking bad, or losing a sale. And saying no to your boss or even peers?
The irony is, if you inevitably say yes all the time to keep everyone happy and don’t follow through with your commitments, you wind up creating what you wanted to avoid from the start. That is, you let others down and create stressful situations that cost time and money and cause problems by continually overcommitting and not delivering!
Being honest, setting clear time expectations, and honoring your boundaries (saying no) is a very attractive trait. You’ll find that more people will want to work with you because people respect those who deliver on what they promise.
How to Say No
Here’s a quick tip from your coach. The next time someone asks you to do something (including promises you make to yourself), give yourself time to process their request by saying, “Let me check my schedule, and I will get back to you at…” or “Thanks for the opportunity. I will consider it and let you know by…” Then ask yourself these four important questions before you respond. (How important are these questions? In terms of a measurable cost, these six questions would have saved my contractor $42,200).
“Is this something I have to do?” (It supports my goals, responsibilities, lifestyle, priorities, etc.)
“Just because I can do something well, do I take on projects or tasks that aren’t my direct responsibility?”
“Do I take on tasks that others could be doing?”
“Can I meet this person’s expectations?”
“Do I really have time for this?” (Are there other activities I have committed to that take priority? What sacrifices am I making to commit to both?)
“What is a reasonable deadline/expectation I can commit to in the absolute worst-case scenario?” (If you plan for the worst, you wind up building buffers into your schedule that would enable you to handle unforeseen problems while still honoring your commitments. The result? You’ll look like a hero!)
Say No, and I’ll Respect That; Say Yes, and I’ll Expect That
Start practicing saying the word no. Give yourself the opportunity and the space to do the things you want to be doing as opposed to filling your days with the things you overcommitted yourself to doing simply because you’re in the habit of saying yes to other people’s requests. Realize that saying no to others is only half of the equation. I’m also referring to saying no to your own demands as well.
If you are concerned about people’s reactions to hearing no or feel uncomfortable about saying no, it’s a perfectly normal feeling, especially when trying something new. Just realize there will be a retaining period for you, as well as the people in your life, as they will need to learn how to interact with you in a healthier, more acceptable way.
After all, where do you think they learned how to respond to you in the first place? From you! You are the one who taught the people in your life how they can treat you, talk to you and what they can expect from you by allowing or tolerating (Chapter Eleven) certain behavior.
After saying “no” a few times, you’ll quickly get more comfortable with doing so, since your life will become more simplified once you remove some of the unnecessary clutter that results from overpromising. You can then fully be at choice and do what you really want to do with your time—time that you will never get back again.
Do Complete Work
“I’ve always been a great self-starter but not a good finisher.” Sound familiar? Keeping incomplete projects alive becomes another source of adrenaline. Instead of continually stopping and starting something new, commit to seeing each task through to completion before taking on the next one. Once you’ve cleared out some space as a result of completing one task, you can add another in its place.
How Adrenalized Are You?
If you identify with 50 percent or more of these questions, you may be an adrenaline junkie.
I find myself procrastinating tasks until the very last moment and feel that I “work best under pressure.”
I frequently attempt to “beat the clock” and arrive late to meetings and events.
I get juiced or energized from chaos and solving problems or find that it gives me a sense of purpose.
The idea of having nothing to do frightens me. I resist boredom.
I run out of patience with people, projects, or situations (e.g., standing in line, waiting for something, or during conversations, when results aren’t showing up fast enough).
I feel everything should happen now! If it doesn’t, I lose interest.
I feel guilty if I take time off from work and find it challenging to make the time for or enjoy recreation or relaxation time.
I find myself continually focused on the future (goals, projects, activities, results, etc.) instead of on the moment or today. I have a hard time being present.
My life and workspace are cluttered and unorganized. I have lots of books, magazines, and newspapers I’ve saved to read and catch up on. I haven’t been able to see the top of my desk for a while.
I feel that saying no is a bad thing. It’s not easy for me.
I may be a “yesaholic.” I say yes first when I need to say no.
My “to-do list never seems to get completed as scheduled and keeps growing!
I find that I have loose ends and unfinished projects. I jump from one incompletion to the next.
I don’t have measurements of success (measurable goals, milestones, or a routine) or recognize my achievements, and I relentlessly strive to achieve more with no end in sight. I don’t determine when enough is enough. So it’s never enough.
I quickly squeeze in my meals while driving, working, or on the run.
To achieve my goals, I sacrifice things like personal time with family and friends; time for leisurely, enjoyable activities each day; and self-care.
I don’t have a mapped-out path or a series of defined and measurable actions that I take daily and weekly to effortlessly move me toward my goals and ideal lifestyle.
I find that I produce irregular, sporadic results with a burst of energy or overexertion rather than generating the momentum that produces consistent results from consistent daily actions.
I feel depleted or exhausted at the end of a day.
I’m more reactive than responsive and allow external situations or circumstances to control my day (vs. having a routine!).
I set unattainable goals and place incredibly high expectations on myself.
I anguish over making decisions or find myself being indecisiv
e. (This creates mental paralysis and self-doubt vs. exercising choice and trusting myself and the process.)
I have a hard time delegating or letting go of certain tasks that someone else can do.
If I do delegate certain things, I often do so without clear direction and find that I need to go back and fix or complete the task myself.
I overcommit and find myself unable to deliver on deadlines or follow through on the commitments I’ve made.
I’m driven by interruptions. I allow myself to become easily diverted or distracted by situations, new tasks, or people who take me away from what I was initially focused on.
I don’t have a healthy, rewarding relationship with time. Time is my adversary rather than my ally.
I generally don’t write things down. I try to manage my responsibilities and tasks in my head.
I’m resistant to the idea of having a routine. (If I had a routine, I wouldn’t be able to work off adrenaline!)
When it comes to hobbies, sports, and other leisurely activities or just getting out of bed in the morning, we all need and enjoy a certain amount of adrenaline. However, like too much of anything, it can become addictive and unhealthy. Follow the strategies I have shared with you here, and you will be well on your way to breaking free of adrenaline’s addictive chains.
Go Do: Take the Adrenaline Assessment
Take time to answer the adrenaline assessment above right now. Total your score of the statements that resonated with you.