One Step, One Decision, One Prospect At A Time

As far as my personality goes, I’m a process-driven person. But that doesn’t mean that I’m locked into a robotic routine, where every step I take is somehow automated beyond my own control. I own my process, and because I own my process, I also own the direction it goes. Once I’ve found a process that leads me to success, I lock onto it because I know it works and takes uncertainty and anxiety out of the equation.

When it comes to following a process, nobody does it quite as well as top-level athletes.

I believe that salespeople are corporate athletes, and in order for them to achieve peak performance, they need to be treated as such. That doesn’t mean running laps around the building (although regular walks do help productivity), but it does mean doing the things a corporate athlete does. And the biggest learning we can pick up from the sports world is the idea that following a process will change everything for you.

That’s the heart of the idea behind One Step, One Decision, One Prospect at a Time.

If you’re a baseball fan, you probably know about David Ortiz. Ortiz was one of the best players of all time, and he’s one of the greatest examples of the importance of taking a process and chunking it down for maximum follow-through.

Every time he stepped up to the plate, he broke down his process and practiced his techniques separately, so he was always prepared for anything the pitcher threw. He had a process for every batting practice, for every at-bat, for every type of pitcher. He studied. He learned. He practiced. Because of his ability to chunk down his hitting skills into a step-by-step process, he became one of the best ever. And because he had a process, he was able to make small course corrections all along the way. He knew if a right-handed pitcher always threw in one direction, he could look for tells about when it was about to happen.

Going forward, I want this to be your mantra as a sales warrior: One step, one decision, one prospect at a time. No matter what you’re doing, you have to chunk it down to the smallest possible step so you can avoid feeling overwhelmed by the circumstances around you. When you feel overwhelmed, the brain essentially shuts down. It stops regulating a chemical called cortisol, which controls things like your energy level, how well you sleep, and your blood pressure. So, you feel drained, your immune system doesn’t work properly, and you’re more likely to get headaches and experience anxiety.

So how do you avoid all that? You chunk it down. Every time you think, “There’s nothing I can do about the economy,” I want you to say to yourself, “One step, one decision, one prospect at a time.” Every time you say, “I can’t control my prospects’ decisions,” I want you to think, “One step, one decision, one prospect at a time.” Every time it seems like the market is getting worse, I want you to feel, “One step, one decision, one prospect at a time.”

Internationally bestselling author Haruki Murakami had this to say about the importance of sticking to his process:

“When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4 a.m. and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10 kilometers or swim for 1,500 meters (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9 p.m. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.”

The key piece here is that the repetition of a process unlocked a deeper state of productivity and focus. When your process becomes second nature, any anxiety or nerves you have around selling can disappear. Your process will free your mind so you can focus on moving the sale forward. 

The point is that processes aren’t robotic. They don’t lock you into a state where you’re suddenly not you. That couldn’t be further from the truth. A sales warrior realizes that a process in the course of the sale is the only way to truly let their own light shine.

Give yourself the gift of a process, focus on one step at a time within that process, and let the score take care of itself. Study the processes adopted by the top 1% of sales warriors. Learn about why they were successful. Commit yourself to follow them. Understand the big picture, but don’t focus on it. Instead, focus on the steps to make that picture come true. You’ll be amazed at the results when you’re focused on the brushstrokes, not the painting itself.

Traditional Sales And Leadership Training Fails To Address The Real Problem!

You’ve tried training your team in the past, but it didn’t really work. The old style of training just doesn’t seem to work anymore. It’s no secret that sales and leadership training is essential, but it can be hard to find a training program that actually works. Most programs are outdated and are not focused on changing behavior.

FPG Sales Training is different. We don’t use the traditional approach of lecturing your team for hours on end. Instead, we help your team understand their mindset and give them the tools they need to succeed. We help them remove their excuses so they can finally achieve their goals. Book a Meeting today!