Prepping for 2021- What separates the good from the great?

How can you get 1% better every day? separate from your competition and your former self?

What actions will you put in place to achieve this? Thinking and strategizing with no action will keep you standing still.

As a runner, when I was training for marathons my ultimate goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I knew what needed to go in to this from running, nutrition and mindset. But was I willing to invest the time and do what it would take to get the results I wanted? When it counted the most, could I put the shoe down and get the time I needed?

Not unlike sales, when we reflect on 2020 how we had to adapt, pivot go through some discomfort initially only to come out the other side. Surprisingly stronger, more productive and in some cases achieving results we never though possible. In this situation we were forced to make changes.

Going in to 2021, what changes will you make intentionally? Having more understanding of our current environment, what’s in our control and the changes we see from our buyers with virtual selling. Where and how will you be more deliberate?

In one particular marathon, I hit a pivotal point, the 36km marker, I had to make a decision- did I want to finish or did I want to qualify for Boston? This is where I had to act, no longer think the plan, I had to work the plan. Dig deep to get what I wanted and deserved.

Some of you may be at this pivotal point in your sale journey coming up to year end. What plan can I create now to start implementing in 2021? Lay the foundation now for a smooth execution in January. What 1% can I start with today to get ahead of 2021? Build the confidence, trust and belief in myself that I can do it and avoid wavering when January comes.

If you want to create a new story for yourself in 2021, I am sharing 3 areas of focus. Similar to my approach from breaking away from the running pack these will help you break away from your former self in areas you want and your competition.

1)   Mindset

2)   Predictable process

3)   Support system

1) Mindset is everything. Taking stock of what’s happening within before you approach any race or sales activity is critical. Check in and see what you need for yourself in order to be of service of others, if the moment is not right, step back.

Too often we sweat the small stuff and allow it to join us from one meeting to the next. How can we re-set and avoid carrying the negativity throughout our day?

Change your state. Stand up, walk outside, leave your room, stretch, get a drink of water. Re-set your mind, acknowledge the situation, label it and intentionally keep it from growing legs. In the words of Peter Crone “ What happened happened and couldn’t have happened any other way because it didn’t”

Our mindset can make something 10x bigger than it actually is. The more we believe it the more we start eroding trust and belief in our self.

 In my race, I put my head down, tuned out “you can’t do this”, ”it’s hard”, “you’re tired” I was committed to the outcome, I didn’t want another finish, I wanted to qualify. I stayed the course, didn’t look around, focused on what I had trained for, although at this point it was all mental. I had to control my mind, it was the lever for my legs.

Tim Kight’s The R Factor, states E+R=O. Where E is the event, this we cannot control, take COVID for example. What we can control is R, our response to it. How we respond to any event produces O, the outcome.

 As a leader, individual contributor or family member this formula is crucial. Keeping a realistic and optimistic mindset, and responding the best way you can will produce the outcome you desire. This comes with intention; it doesn’t work from default, reactive thinking. 

What do you want for yourself, your team, your family in 2021? How can you align your mindset to your future state? Will you continue to respond in a way that produces undesirable outcomes that you are not happy with? Or will this be the year of change?

If change is now, it starts with adjusting your mindset. This approach is a way of life and gets easier with time. We begin to develop habits of high performers, create behaviours that influence our response and produce the results we want and ultimately deserve.

2) Predictable process. Create and follow a proven and sustainable process aligned with our buyer’s journey. Keeping us acutely aware of where we are and where we need to be as well as the required commitments within each stage of the process.

This was my running program, I developed confidence as I knew what was expected of me at each stage of the training. That level of certainty came in to play, when doubt reared its ugly head.

 If we execute the commitments with precision and intention, we gain clarity as to what is contributing to our successes and our pitfalls. We can pinpoint where we need to modify and where we need to double down. A lack of process is like searching for a needle in a haystack. You don’t know where to start.

When our emotions run high, as they do in times like year end, we can start to doubt ourselves and, in some instances, come across as desperate to our client. We may be shooting from the hip.

Our teams can become disjointed or misaligned, contributing to poor performance and culture. A predictable process brings us together, creates shared purpose and direction. It allows us to have confidence in ourselves through clarity of where we are and where we are going. This transfers to our clients; they feel they are in capable hands and have a good understanding of what needs to take place in order to make a purchase. Put them at ease by guiding them through the process, creating a positive experience for them at every stage. 

3)Support system. As a runner, I had a team and a coach. I showed up some days with no motivation, fatigue and somehow my team managed to carry me either on a 32k long run or a gruelling day of hill sprints or speed drills. Knowing I had them to lean on, to hold me up when I needed support was part of my success. I didn’t mistake that for transferring the weight and riding their coattails. They were the catalyst to get me going, the fire I needed to get started. After that it was on me.

Similar to a sales manager, mentor, coach or colleague. Anticipate there will be low times, times of weakness, not enough pipeline- these will come. Create a support system to help you through those times and nudge you when you need it.

Use your community to role play, bounce ideas off each other, brain storm, collaborate and sometimes get out of your head. We can get too close to our problem, emotionally attached to the outcome that lines get blurred. Stepping back and getting a fresh perspective is sometimes just what we need.

Also, there are areas you may need to learn more about, your support system can help you develop and hone your newly acquired skills. You can also self-develop through online courses, podcasts, vlogs. There is an abundance of free content out there. Absorb what you need and what interests you to help make the changes you need. Then put it in to practice. Sitting on this information won’t change anything.

Work with your mentor, coach, manager to put it in to play. This may involve becoming more vulnerable, trying something on for the first time may feel awkward, ensure you are in a trusting, safe environment and work through the discomfort, lean in to the change and over time you and your clients will see the results.

In short, we have all heard of the knowing doing gap. We know what to do, but we get in our heads and avoid doing the things that will take us to where we ultimately want to be.

 Let’s not start 2021 off by falling in to this trap. Where can you be intentional, get real with yourself? We know our shortcomings, the things we don’t want to do, but these are the very things that produce the results we want. How can we systemize these areas leveraging our mindset, incorporating them in our sales process and having someone hold us accountable to our commitment?

Lock it down now, once 2021 comes, we are quickly taken with the momentum and reactiveness of everyone else’s plans and agenda. Carve out time for you. Set you up for success. Ask yourself, are you interested or are you committed?