When I was a sales director, my number one priority was achieving my team’s assigned quota each month and quarter. Consistently hitting our target was always top of mind. I can tell you that my team did exceptionally well at achieving quota because we were always concentrating on it. We knew what needed to close each week, and what deals needed to come in before month’s end in order for us to achieve our goal. Every morning, every day, before a forecast call, and during one-on-ones with my reps- it was always front and center. I never allowed other tasks (i.e. distractions) to cause me to lose sight of our number one priority. It was always top of mind throughout the course of each day.
When you concentrate on a single task (or even just a couple of key tasks), you can get really good at them and do them exceptionally well. But when you focus your attention on numerous different tasks and initiatives, the quality (the attention) just isn’t going to match up. Imagine if you had to cut down a big tree with just a small axe. If you focus your energy on hitting the tree in the same spot with the axe, that massive tree will fall in short order. But now imagine hitting that tree with the same axe in various places. You swing the axe at the trunk of the tree, then you move further up and begin striking the tree in various other places. Then you move back down the tree and swing the axe at yet another part of the tree. The result: you wasted a lot of time, you were ineffective, probably exhausted, and you didn’t accomplish your goal of taking down the tree. You were too distracted with trying to hit the tree in other places instead of just concentrating all of your efforts and energy on one spot.
This is what can happen to you, the sales leader, if you allow it. The number of distractions that are constantly coming at managers and sales leaders is unreal. So-called “fire drills.” Spreadsheets that have to be filled out and returned by 4 PM today. Meetings with other cross-functional teams only leading to more meetings. Ideas by others that pop up today that require immediate action only for you to never hear back on the initiative again. Sound familiar?
Don’t get me wrong here. I think it is only natural that a company is always thinking of great ways to create new leads or market their products more efficiently. This is a must for growing companies. With that said, I do strongly believe that the more a manager takes on, the more initiatives and meetings that they add to their plate, will often result in a loss of focus on the top priorities causing what matters most to suffer. Their performance will drop if they allow their attention to shift too much towards the distractions and not enough on their key priorities. It is all about having a healthy balance…
As an effective leader, you have to know when to say no to distractions. When your gut tells you that if you add any more to your plate, that the things on your plate are going to start falling all over the floor, you need to stop! Take a look at what’s on your plate. Don’t add more. Instead, clear off the sides. Get rid of the things that are taking up your time and attention, yet are not priorities, and then re-center your attention back on the “main course”- your number one priority.
Get disciplined at doing this on a consistent basis, not just at the end of a sales month or quarter, when it’s “all hands on deck.” Practice this each and every week. Measure what is on your plate and how focused your attention is on achieving your top priorities. Then adjust accordingly. The result: when you concentrate your energy and efforts on your one or two key priorities, you will in all likelihood accomplish them. The odds are naturally in your favor. Remember, where your attention goes is where your energy goes.
Another benefit to you as a leader is that by concentrating on less, you will feel completely in control of your business. This is because you have your arms around what’s on your plate. You have more time to focus on what is most important. When you feel in control, you are running the business versus the business running you. This results in less stress too. You are no longer feeling overwhelmed and distracted, but very much in control of delivering the results that you want. Now that is a great feeling!
So start today by concentrating on less. Prioritize what is on your plate. Get rid of the distractions (energy-drainers). Revisit your top priorities and keep them front and center.
-Happy Selling!