| |
Psych-Up Strategies for Sales Professionals
Get Ready to Win
Bill Cole, MS, MA
People don't plan to fail...they just fail to plan. Powerful
performances must provide perceptive pre-performance procedures
so poor performance is precluded! Here are some pre-performance
sales strategies from some of the world's top selling professionals
and others who have achieved preeminence on the platform of
life's stage. Before your next sales event, consider preparing
your mind in these special ways:
1. At the minimum, practice your sales performance the
morning of the "show". Not the whole thing, but bits and
pieces. This is your warm-up and will help you begin to focus
on the performance.
2. Have some sort of pre-event routine that will prepare
you mentally, emotionally and physically. Even NOT having
a traditional routine is fine (goofing off, not paying attention
to the upcoming event) as long as you realize that this works
for you.
3. Custom planning is the key. You need a routine that
will work specifically for you, not one that you saw another
sales pro do. Experiment to find the one that meets your needs.
4. What are your needs? You want a routine that focuses
you, helps you contain anxiety, energizes you with positive
energy, psyches you up mentally so you expect to do well and
helps you make a gradual transition into your performance
state.
5. The performance state is a special consciousness that
is different from our normal day-to-day existence. We
need to enter that state well before the show goes on. Just
arriving at the performance and then rushing on will not do
it. A gradual leaving behind of our normal day and a slow
immersion into our "game head" is required.
6. Your pre-show routine is very much a ritual. You
need to have a series of steps in the routine that you do
each time before a performance. Over time, this ritual begins
to feel comfortable, normal and will work for you. It's a
security blanket for your confidence.
7. It's important to maintain the same ritual in the same
order each time you prepare. It's this sameness that kicks
off your psych-up energy and automatically helps you focus,
relax and energize.
8. The ritual you design should be no shorter than 10 minutes,
but no longer than 30 minutes or so. Any shorter and the
effect is not as powerful, and any longer and you may not
be able to find the time or space to execute it. The best
rituals are done quickly and require no special equipment
or place.
9. Check any sales tools you will be using. Make sure
your clothing is in order. Do a final check of the performance
area. Make sure all physical things are under control as much
as possible. This frees your mind of worry.
10. Visualize your sales performance. Imagine it the
way you would love to perform. Imagine your success and how
you will feel when it is over. This builds your will to win,
to succeed despite all cost and obstacles.
This will start you on the journey to the perfect pre-performance
sales routine. I wish you the best of luck in your march to
selling peak performance.
To learn more about how sales coaching can help you become
a better, more confident sales professional, visit Bill Cole,
MS, MA, the Mental Game Coach™ at www.mentalgamecoach.com/Services/SalesCoaching.html.
Copyright © Bill Cole, MS, MA 2005, 2008 All rights reserved.
This article covers only one small part of the mental game.
A complete mental training program includes motivation and
goal-setting, pre-event mental preparation, post-event review
and analysis, mental strengthening, self-regulation training,
breath control training, mental rehearsal, concentration training,
pressure-proofing, communication training, confidence-building,
breaking through mental barriers, slump prevention, mental
toughness training, flow training, relaxation training, psych-out
proofing and media training.
For a comprehensive overview of your mental abilities
you need an assessment instrument that identifies your complete
mental strengths and weaknesses. For a free, easy-to-take
66-item sales skills assessment tool you can score right on
the spot, visit https://www.mentalgamecoach.com/Assessments/SalesSkills.html.
This assessment gives you a quick snapshot of your strengths
and weaknesses in your mental game. You can use this as a
guide in creating your own mental training program, or as
the basis for a program you undertake with Bill Cole, MS,
MA to improve your mental game. This assessment would be an
excellent first step to help you get the big picture about
your mental game of selling.
Bill Cole, MS, MA, a leading authority on peak performance, mental toughness
and coaching, is founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching
Association, https://www.mentalgamecoaching.com.
Bill is also founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants, a consulting firm that helps
organizations and professionals achieve more success in business, life and sports.
He is a multiple Hall of Fame honoree, an award-winning scholar-athlete, published
book author and articles author, and has coached at the highest levels of major-league
pro sports, big-time college athletics and corporate America. For a free, extensive
article archive, or for questions and comments visit him at www.MentalGameCoach.com.
Article Source: MentalGameCoach.com
Return to The
Mental Game of Selling Articles directory.
|
|
