What drives you, each day – every day? Are you fighting to survive, or are you focused on winning? Without context, this could seem like a mere play of words. But, you see examples of this all around you – in people, athletes and all those who compete in any way.
When you fight to survive, you are willing to settle for the minimum threshold. Just cross the line and you will survive. One new product can get you incremental market share, one successful deal will help meet the target, one more performance will keep me in the league. This really requires effort and it does utilize a lot of energy due to the constant prospect of failure looming overhead. As I work with salespeople, I find that this attitude often crushes their work-life balance, mostly leading to desperate situations. Decisions steeped in desperation are never decisions that we are proud of. Akin to a hamster on a wheel we scrape through one target to the next, fighting to survive.
Focus on winning, so much so that you can’t afford to lose. This creates an aura of positive energy and gives you the conviction and confidence to take tough decisions. The difference between ‘good’ and ‘great’ is often the fact that the Great focus on winning and take losses and failures in their stride as a learning experience. Every loss can take you higher towards winning as you learn and get better. From Steve Jobs to Bill Gates, from Obama to Modi, From Sania to Sachin its not that they never lost but you remember them for their master strokes. That will always be their legacy.
Winning is about the ability to take risks because you can’t afford to lose, and this results in a focus that usually makes you win.
Apply this to sales and it fits brilliantly. Don’t worry about the deal only because you need it to survive; but be focused on winning and that will enable you to be innovative and ensure that you keep the focus on adding value to the customer.
Stay focused on winning & you will never have to worry about survival!
By,
Priya Sachdev
CRO – Business Salt
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