Drilling for Diamonds

Selling in a tough, recessed market calls for extra resilience and the ability to bounce back from rejections and belligerent customers.

Over the next few sessions, I am going to focus on how you can develop and hone your mental skills.

Winning the mental game in selling has always been a key to success. Here are the skills, attitudes and techniques.

Much of the advice is based on the research we began into mental toughness. In the early 1990’s I wrote a book: The Mental Edge which was based on work which was being pioneered at Autralia Institute of Sport and other high performance sporting academies.

Achieving Optimum Performance

• When you perform you are operating in one of three mental performance zones.
• With the right mental skills you can control the zone you perform in.
• The key to peak performance lies in maximising your time in your zone of mastery - the flow zone.

The Three Performance Zones

Flow Zone

The flow zone is where you feel your skills are equal to the challenges you face. Tasks seem effortless, tasks flow. Hence the name Flow Zone. This is the zone of exellence, acheivment and mastery.

Panic Zone

In the panic zone, the challenge seems too great for the skills you have. You burn up your energy trying to accomplish more than you feel you can tackle.

Drone Zone

In the drone zone, you have all the skills but there is no challenge. The tasks are too small, trivial or demotivating. The result is lethargy and boredeom.

Exercise: Performing at your best

Think back to a time when you performed extraordinarily well. it might have beern at work, at sport or with your family. Note: it does not have to have been of great imprtance or monumental significance.

Picture:

1. Ther background to the experience.

2. Who was there, what happened, what was said.

3. Your feelings, thoughts and emotions during the experience.

When you have described your peak experiences use the checklist of performance stats to analyse your experience. The attributes you choose arwe the performance states that collectively put you in the Flow Zone.

Checklist of Performance States

Performed extremely well        1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Performed  extremely poorly

Extremely relaxed                    1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Extremely anxious

Extremely confident                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Not confident at all

Extremely motivated                1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Not motivated at all

Complete control                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7     No control at all

Automatic                                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Constantly thinking

Muscles relaxed                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Muscles tense

Extremely energetic                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Extremely fatigued

Positive self-talk                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Negative self-talk

Extremely enjoyable                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7     No control at all

Focused concentration             1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Unfocused

Effortless                                  1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Great effort

High energy                              1 2 3 4 5 6 7     Low energy

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