Being in the Zone of Sales Success - By Paul Montelongo

One of the key elements to being in the "zone of sales success" is Intention.

You may know it as focus, purpose, target, or even your objective. Your Intention is the complete certainty with which you move toward your desired outcome. Your ability to focus on your desired outcomes and to block out peripheral opponents is the key to your success.

Peripheral opponents are distractions. These opponents cloud your vision. They distort your focus. They cause confusion, which, in turn, causes fear and disillusionment. The visual result is a lack of sales.

A peripheral opponent can be any number of influences:

• The media and its negativity can distract you from your Intention to sell more products and services.

• Your sales manager or your company can put undo pressure on you to perform other tasks that distract you from obtaining more sales.

• Your spouse, kids, mother-in-law, friends, or significant other can place demands on your time that take you away from the business of selling more business.

• Television, radio, movies, surfing the net, text messaging, emails, garbage magazines at the grocery check out counter all have a negative affect on your ability to concentrate on the importance of your focus.

• Poor health or lack of energy because you don’t take care of your body, mind, and spirit can be detrimental. You must take care of your energy levels to be able to sustain your Intention to be in the zone of sales success.

• Customers who make strenuous demands on your time and energy with trivial and useless expectations.

• Personal problems with relationships, finances, or crappy emotions can drain you of energy to uphold your Intention to sell more products and services.

• …and more.

All of the above peripheral opponents have the ability to distract you from your Intention to sell your product… IF YOU ALLOW THEM TO.

Your Intention is revealed by your laser focus and the certainty with which you work toward your objectives.

To keep your Intention in line and reach your desired level of success (or better) requires that you do the following:

• Be specific with your Intention. Areas of Intention for sales professionals include Prospecting, Follow-Up, Referrals, Asking for the Close, and being committed to finding solutions for your customers. The area in which most sales people fall short is asking for the sale. Why? The surface answer is fear of rejection. The deeper, more truthful answer is a lack of Intention. The possibility of someone saying "no" to your sales proposition or the idea that you anticipate "No" is the peripheral opponent. Your genuine Intention does not hear "no." It hears, "what else do I need to do to get a 'yes' ?"

• Additionally, be specific with those around you who need to know how serious you are about your sales success. Graciously inform your friends and family that you have a laser focus with what you do. You don’t need to repeat yourself to them about your level of seriousness. Let your actions speak for you. You will find some of your friends and family will be intimidated with your laser focus. Understand this is likely a need for you to reassure them. They need to hear from you that you are not going away from them, but that you are doing this to improve your relationship with them. You are doing this because you care about them.

• Stand over the trash can when you open your snail mail. Immediately toss anything you are not going to use within twenty-four hours or that is not of financial importance.

• Impose self limits on watching TV, listening to talk radio, surfing the Internet, checking emails, etc. Get really disciplined with your “crackberry” (black berry phone). Check it between appointments or between phone call sessions only. Give yourself a ten-day trial. You will be amazed at how many irrelevant and unimportant messages you receive. You will also observe that many of the messages take care of themselves by the end of the day, if you will just allow.

• Focus at least an hour each day to take care of your health and fitness. This is not an article on your physical condition, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that taking care of your health and fitness will improve your sales performance. My personal rule is to exercise vigorously at least five times each week and at least stretch my muscles every day. Exercise in ways that support your body, mind, and spirit. Lose yourself in your exercise and it will allow you to be re-energized each and every day to focus on your Intention to sell more products and services.

• Pay attention to how prospects respond to you when you feel healthy and energized because you take care of your health and fitness.

• Pay attention to what is working and continue to do it better than before. Often, people will sabotage their own success out of fear of the unknown. In other words, they haven't reached this level of success before and the uncertainty of the situation causes one to go back to what is familiar and comfortable. Have you ever had a banner month of sales and then follow it up with a lackluster effort the following month? Your subconscious put the brakes on because your Intention was not set to that level of success yet.

• Pay attention to the way your buyers gravitate to your ideas when your laser focus enables you to concentrate on their needs and desires.

• Pay attention to your ability to focus on your Intention to sell your product when you eliminate the peripheral opponents mentioned above.

Get clear with your Intention to be in the zone of sales success every day. You would not dare consider yourself a physical success if you only went to the gym once a month or three times a year.

Your Intention is much more acute and requires regular attention and reinforcement. It requires that you maintain a clear pathway to your goals.


About the Author:

A nationally recognized speaker, author, syndicated columnist, and entrepreneurial consultant, Paul has built two multi-million dollar construction companies over the last 28 years. His companies have contracted with literally thousands of clients, from Fortune 100 companies to the private investor. Paul's companies have specialized in new home building, design/build remodelling, real estate development and insurance restoration. Paul has earned the prestigious Certified Graduate Remodelor™ ( CGR ) and the Certified New Home Sales Professional™ (CSP) designations from the National Association of Home Builders ( NAHB ), which recognizes excellence and professional commitment to the construction industry in America.