I recently created a short introduction slide for a presentation I did for Google. As one of the fun facts, I added that I was a competitive mountain biker (which, for reference, is true). Now whether or not I’m even competition is up for debate. But one thing is certain… I am competitive (especially with myself). I like to show up, have fun, challenge myself, see how I stack up, and certainly try and win! A great indicator of this is either how excited I am to win… or how disappointed I am when I don’t.
A Winning Strategy for Developing the Right Sales Mindset
There are many race strategies and styles to winning. My son (at his age) has one speed and one style, and that’s going all out riding at 100%. This is a great strategy, as long as he doesn’t make any mistakes.
He also has a different self-preservation threshold meter level than me. He is young, brave, confident, and does not know what it’s like to be laid up for months. Myself, I am more aware of mortality and recovery time, so I have a more risk-averse strategy. Those days of trying to make a name for myself have gone by. Success is more determined by going home injury free.
Learn Along the Way
Along the way, there have certainly been some challenges, frustrations, and opportunities to learn. Not all races go perfectly and things can go wrong pretty easily. Flats, broken chains, or a loss of focus and concentration at the wrong time can wreak havoc on the bike and body. And it is during these nondiscriminatory situations when the ubiquitous, fitting, and perspective phrase “That’s racing” is often shared.
I appreciate this phrase, the people that share it, their intentions and the overall message. It is racing. It is one race, and there are no do-overs. It reminds me to not be so hard on myself (I can certainly be my hardest critic), but instead to gain perspective. We cannot go back and make any changes. The race had a start, a finish, and a time. Really all we can do is go forward, learn and apply that knowledge to the next race. That’s racing.
Stay in the Race
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the moment and the immediate results, but one race is rarely an indicator of how well I will do over the entire race season. Success is rarely determined by one race, as is sales. Winning or not winning is part of the game. I accepted those rules when I signed up. Never was I promised a win and never did a win come easily. That is what makes a win so much more enjoyable. The most important part is that I keep signing up to race. The key to developing a powerful sales mindset lies in this principle. If you don’t race, you can’t win. Learn and enjoy the moment. Stay in the game.
