Sales Lessons from Football Coaches: Focus on THIS Instead of Winning, to Actually Win More Often

I was watching Nebraska Football's new coach (homestate boy and former Husker national championship quarterback) Scott Frost's press conference from yesterday's Big Ten media day. 

He echoed what his mentor and former coach (and later US congressman) Tom Osborne always said about his philosophy: 

The goal is not to focus on winning, but on the process, 

and getting a little bit better every day. 

When you do that, the results (wins) are a by-product. 

That is so true in almost everything in life. 

And on a micro level, sales and prospecting. 

If a salesperson approached every day with just the thought of "I've got to make x sales or appointments today," that is a recipe for failure and dejection. 

It's desperation, actually.

You can't control the person at the other end of the phone. 

You CAN certainly do things to try and help them think and act differently, and that is by following a proven process. 

And what you do have TOTAL control over is your attitude, and your actions.

When you focus on what YOU control, the sales and appointments--and money--are the end result.

You control what you feed your mind with every day.

You control the color of the lenses of glasses through which you view everything, every day. Many choose the dark ones. And their attitude and results show it.

You control how much better you want to become each day. What if you improved just 1% every day of the week?

You control how you prioritize your time. You have plenty of time to make calls--if you WANT to.

You control how prepared you are for every call. Smooth-sounding salespeople are not "naturals." They are harder workers.

You control how you will learn from each call that does not go your way, so that you can handle it more effectively next time. Every "no" is currency added to the tuition you invest in learning--if you choose to. Otherwise, you just have an expense you wasted.

You control how you react to what happens to you, and the next actions you will take. 

Rejection is not an experience. It's a choice to react negatively to the experience. Focus on what you did accomplish, learn, and move on. React like a gambler does to their losses... they forget about them, and instead focus on their wins, and always feel the win is around the corner.

Focus on the process, fellow sales pro. (Get one, if you don't already.)

Commit to getting better each day.

Control what you can. Own it. Take responsibility.

Put in the activity. Religiously. Make it non-negotiable. Make consistent calling a ritual. Just like brushing your teeth every day. 

And you WILL see the wins.