Where there is no vision the people perish, and that’s especially true in sales. Because we aren’t constructing physical structures like houses or sidewalks, the game of sales is largely mental, and it requires a visionary mindset. The book Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, now available as a free download, addresses the importance of vision and what can happen when you don’t have an eye on the future. VISION FOR SALESPEOPLE Vision demands that we look beyond the work that we’re doing today. It demands that we look into the future, perhaps to the end of the quarter or the end of the year. In some cases, we’ll look to the end of five or 10 years. Without vision, you won’t progress and you won’t grow. We may imagine the worst-case scenario, and then we find ourselves in a loop, playing it over and over in our heads. Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps shared his strategy of playing a “tape” of a perfect race in his head. His coach encouraged him to imagine how it would feel to win, the accomplishment he’d experience, and then think about that over and over. POSITIVE LOOP Michael had a positive loop playing in his head, so even when he found himself making bad decisions, he was able to get back on track quickly. He had a tenacious drive to succeed. I worked with a guy once who always saw life through a negative lens. He could turn the very best outcomes into negative scenarios. If he won the lottery, he’d likely complain about driving to Tallahassee to claim his prize, or about the fact that he had to pay taxes on his winnings. You may work with people like this. Avoid getting pulled into their negative mindset. When you spend large amounts of time around these people, you may allow their negativity to creep into your thinking. CHANGE YOUR FOCUS Emerson said that whatever we persist in doing becomes easier. I refer to this quote all the time because it’s true that our mindset affects our outcome. If you are focused on negativity, you’ll more readily see negative outcomes. If you focus on the fact that you’re going to set an appointment, you’re going to capitalize on an opportunity. You’re going to reach your commission and create power to accomplish those things. When I spent too much time around my negative coworker, I spent less time on the phone and less time doing email outreach. When I changed my focus to positive things, prospects were more willing to listen to me because I was the catalyst. I still had negative experiences, of course, but there were fewer of them. GET RID OF NEGATIVE When I was a young seller, I didn’t speak up to my negative coworker because I didn’t want to cause a rift between us. If I could go back, I would push back against the negative thinking. I would share positive thoughts and read encouraging books. I would either seek to change my coworker’s attitude or repel him because he knew I wasn’t going to listen. Be honest about the fact that you’re trying to focus on positive things. IMAGINE THE WINS When you achieve your daily goals, what will it feel like? What will you say to convince those people to close? Practice seeing how that will look. Take charge of your life. Read encouraging books. Refuse to let other people affect your personal vision. You’re listening to this podcast, and that’s a great...

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