Staying energised and focused is the bane of every salesperson’s existence.
Lots has been written on this topic and some of it like the Law of Attraction and many sales courses talk about having clear goals.
One of the sorts of goals people have for themselves relates to being able to afford to buy better stuff, like new cars. So we pick a car to help us visualise making more sales and so earning more money.
Recently I was at the Ferrari and Maserati dealership in Waterloo Sydney talking with one of their nice salespeople Tom Westlake. The photo included here is of one of the Ferrari’s Tom currently has for sale. Tom also sells Alfa’s if anyone is up for the challenge of owning one of them.
If you want to see more photos of beautiful cars you can check them out at http://www.ferrarimaseratisydney.com.au/
Anyway….back to how people use goal imagery to stay motivated. People think to have a lot of motivation you need to set BIG goals so they plaster their walls, and their devices, their wherever-they-are-often places with pristine beautiful images of cars and what could be more pristine and beautiful than a Ferrari.
Then we think a few minutes each morning of our dream car, chat a few affirmations and perhaps a moment or two of gratitude focus and hey presto we will be motivated to achieve more sales to get that car.
WRONG!
As a Sales Excellence Coach of over 20 years, I know your brain does not work like that.
Your brain will orchestrate, on your behalf, what you REALLY want at the subconscious level. Most of us don’t really want a $500,000 car because we cannot conceptualise actually having it in the mental frame of our current self-perceptions. In plain English; the Ferrari doesn’t fit our current image of self or our current life. I’d never fit it into my garage and where on the streets of Newtown would I park it?
A highly specific goal will work to motivate you only if it is something you REALLY want at your deepest gut level and it is just outside of your current reach. So if you really want to change your car and you currently drive one worth $300,000 you might plaster your life with pictures of a Ferrari.
You need both elements for a goal to work;
- at your deepest core level you want that exact thing and
- it is at the outer edge of your current self-image.
So if you currently drive a $30,000 car and you WANT A NEW CAR and it’s not just a marker for more money, then you need to start focusing (not fantasising) and wallpapering your life with images of $60,000 cars. So when you ring Tom ask him about the Alfa’s instead!
But if you have no clarity about what you really want and why then you should connect with me first.
Untangling your deepest motivations is a journey in its own right and getting them out of your head is quicker and easier with the tools and objective guidance/probing of an experienced coach.
Maya Saric
Sales Excellence Coach
maya@salesinventoryprofile.com