This is a guest blog post by Chris Peterson, Principal at Vector Firm
Greg Maddux, former Major League Baseball player, four-time Cy Young Award winner, and MLB Hall-of-Famer, was known for his control. He wasn’t overpowering but was always in control of his pitches and his ego. It was his control that led to his greatness. However, if you watched him closely, there were a few times during every game when Maddux lost control of his temper while he was on the mound, and sometimes the reason was perplexing.
There would be times when Maddux would throw a strike and he’d scream at himself. Even if the cameras weren’t pointed at him, if you listened for it, you could hear him shouting “Come on!”. But he just threw a strike. Why’s the guy so mad?
Other times he’d give up a home run and be perfectly calm – even looking satisfied. What’s with this guy? Not only does he seem way out of control, but he also seems delusional.
Maddux only cared about one thing: did he throw the ball to where he intended and with the speed and movement he wanted?
That’s it.
Maddux had one scoreboard and everything else was out of his control.
Sometimes he’d get lucky by missing his target but having the result be a strike. He didn’t care about luck. He cared about his performance. Who cares if the batter swung and missed. He didn’t achieve his goal and he’d yell out of frustration. Where the ball travelled was in his control – and that was the only scoreboard that Maddux had.
As a sales professional, what’s on your scoreboard?
If you’re like most, you simply follow your company’s. That’s ok, and you should continue to follow their scoreboard, especially if you like your job. However, the craft of selling is extremely loose and undefined, with many of the results out of the individual’s control.
If you’re going to perform at your highest level, and maintain your happiness, then you must create your own scoreboard and follow that above all others.
What should be on your scoreboard?
The top things that are in your control and lead to success should be on your scoreboard.
Some examples could be quantity of outbound touches, speaking opportunities at networking events (when they return), hours of sales training, hours of technology training, how often you start work before 8:00 am, etc. If there is a factor that leads to success and it’s in your control (for the most part), then measure it. (I like to keep this list to five or less things to measure.)
By the way, there is no better time to have your own scoreboard than now. While we’re working through the COVID-19 pandemic, many things are out of your control. What can you control now? What matters to your success now and when we come out of this? Measure those things. Measure them every day or every week. And if you make a huge sale but don’t hit your outbound call goal for the week, I want to hear you scream at yourself like Maddux used to!
This article has been republished with the express permission of Vector Firm.
Read the original story here – All salespeople need to create this one thing for themselves…
