Russ Peterson Jr.Stress | Russ Peterson Jr.

Next week is the final topic and one I’m sure we are all aware of… procrastinating!

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, by Simon Sinek

Do the Work, by Stephen Pressfield

Cut the C.R.A.P. and Make the Sale, by Russ Peterson Jr.

Get your copy of my FREE eBook on Sales and Leadership Inspiration.

Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The post 3 Steps to Overcome Procrastinating with Marshmallows first appeared on Russ Peterson Jr..

Anyone Else Want to Eliminate the Anxiety of Indecision?

RPjr — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 06:32:27 +0000

Part 3 of 4 - c.r.A.p. - Here's How to Overcome Agonizing a Decision

Out of all 4 mental hurdles, I struggle with this one the most. Agonizing… doesn’t that just sound awful? While the label may sound worse than what it really is, it can still crush your forward momentum. Agonizing creates a total lack of progress for one simple reason…

Perceived Risk!

When we see the risk as being greater than the potential reward, we will find ourselves frozen in “analysis paralysis.” We end up overanalyzing the situation and ultimately doing nothing. Three steps you can use to overcome agonizing:

Know what’s at risk
Determine the odds of success or failure
Just make a decision

Understand that the uneasy (agonizing) feeling inside can be reduced by simply making a decision. The longer you put off decisions of any magnitude, the more the uneasiness weighs on you. As more and more decisions get put on hold (procrastinating! but that will be next week’s blog post), the more those feelings begin to pile up.

1. What’s really at risk?

We like it when life is predictable because then we feel in control. I can prove you like predictability! I am betting you like music. I don’t know what kind of music, but you like music! What is music? it is a series of patterns repeated. It includes variety (which we also love!) and it includes patterns (predictability!)

Even if you’re hearing a song for the first time, you can predict the next note in the melody. Even though you are only predicting the future by a split second, we are still predicting what is coming next. Because we can predict music, it is calming to us. This is why people have said, “Music calms the savage beast.” I don’t think they were actually talking about a real beast, I think they were talking about our internal irritability.

Ask yourself some of these questions:

What’s truly at risk with this opportunity?
Are you risking your job? your life? your commission? your sale? your team? your bonus? your reputation as a strong leader? your budget?
Seriously, what’s at risk?

Sometimes when we realize there isn’t much at risk, we’re more willing to actually make our decision and move forward.

2. What are the odds of each outcome?

Knowing what is at stake is just the first step. Next, we need to think about the probability of each outcome. In other words, are you positioned well to succeed or is it a long shot? While we won’t always need to get into a statistical analysis to figure the exact probability of success (I’m picturing C-3PO from the Star Wars movies always giving the odds of survival to Han Solo.) If you have done what you needed to position you and your team well, then the odds may already be in your favor. Knowing the probability of success is higher can help move you toward a decision.

While you may not have a droid present to give you the exact odds, you can do your homework to see if you are positioned well. As I look back on my personal selling history I can see opportunities I lost where I should have known I was not positioned well.

For example, one opportunity I was never given an opportunity to speak to the actual decision maker. All information was collected from a direct report and then sent to the decision maker. In addition, all the questions from me were focused on the proposal details and the pricing. That is not a good sign. They are most likely using your bid to negotiate a price with their preferred vendor… lesson learned and never forgotten!

3. Just do it

After you’ve done your homework to prepare, you know what is at risk and you know the probability of success, you’re ready to pull the trigger. Prior to doing that, most people will fall into a risk analysis one more time. For me and my sales example above, now I know if I’m not positioned well then I’ll make the decision to pull out of the bidding. This saves me and my team the time of chasing a losing opportunity.

“	Whether you think you can or you think you can’t… you’re right —ZIG ZIGLAR

This is when an internal dialogue to remind you of all the preparation can be helpful. You need to have faith in something. For me, it’s God. I trust that he has the outcome in his hands. (Jeremiah 29:11) That doesn’t mean I do nothing and wait, it means I do all the things I should do, to the best of my ability and I allow him to take it from there. For you, your trust might be in something else.

Trust and go…

For you, your trust may be in your training or your developed abilities. You’ve been trained. You have the experience. You have the support group around you. You know that regardless of the outcome, you will learn from the experience. Which means, you will always walk away with value from every decision you make. Go ahead and take that step.

See you next week!
Russ

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The 4-Part Series – C.R.A.P.

Are we connected on Twitter? If not, let’s connect!

Cut the C.R.A.P. and Make the Sale, by Russ Peterson Jr.

Claim your copy of my FREE eBook on Sales and Leadership Inspiration.

The post Anyone Else Want to Eliminate the Anxiety of Indecision? first appeared on Russ Peterson Jr..

3 Steps to Overcoming Catastrophizing

RPjr — Sun, 21 May 2017 06:17:01 +0000

Don't let a false future control today

You were expecting a call from your prospect yesterday and it never came. Immediately, the speculation in your mind begins to torment you. “What happened? Why haven’t they called? What did I do wrong?” Every question points you toward a feeling of loss. This is the voice of resistance and it’s your first mental hurdle. You have begun to catastrophize! (Still not sure if that’s a real word, but we might just make it one!)

The first mental hurdle we must learn to overcome is the future catastrophe that isn’t even real. It’s a false future designed by the enemy to keep us in our place. As Steven Pressfield points out in his manifesto, Do the Work, resistance is very real. It is an enemy to progress. The enemy begins his assault on your mind with catastrophizing. So let’s talk about how we can overcome this first hurdle.

“	“There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is enormously powerful.’ —STEVEN PRESSFIELD

Step 1: Awareness

I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is a detective with the Austin Police Department. He’s an amazing individual with a heart for the community and a passion to serve. He told me that a constant struggle is trying to balance his training to react instinctively versus his training to slow down and be totally aware of misinterpretations. (i.e. is he reaching for a gun or a cell phone?) He said the key for him is to constantly remind himself to slow down enough to increase his awareness. For us to overcome the future catastrophes we create in our minds, we need to do the same thing. Slow down and think.

Sales Solution: When your sales opportunity appears dead to you but you have not received a final “no” from the customer, you should recognize this as catastrophizing. This is where a good sales manager or a friend outside the situation can be helpful. Regular reviews of your sales opportunities with your manager can help you walk through the next steps and recognize when you are catastrophizing.
Leader Solution: Leaders are focused on the future and where the team is going. If the future seems like nothing but a train wreck, the leader needs to talk to someone. There is always a choice that can be made today to change the trajectory and the destination of the team tomorrow. Having a mentor to talk to will help you find your next step.

Step 2: Know your Location

Our choices create results, which are strung together over time to create a story… our story. And our story is just one of many which cross paths with others to create a rich tapestry of activity. My point in all this? Nothing sits in isolation. Once you know you are catastrophizing and the enemy is creating the images of a false future in your mind, you next need to know where you are in this storyline. Plot your location by noticing what brought you to this place. Then, from this point, you can plan a logical future and avoid the false future catastrophizing created.

Sales Solution: Both buying and selling occurs as a process. This process can happen in a matter of seconds or take 18 months to complete. Figure out where you are in your sales process and where your buyer is in their process. Then you’ll know your options for next steps. If they’re focused on satisfying their needs or the specifics of your solution, you are early in the sales process. If they’re focused on your price or the risks of saying yes/no, then you are near the end of the process.
Leader Solution: Leaders, by definition, are going somewhere. Think about it. If the team is going nowhere, you don’t need a leader. Go back to the original starting place and the new destination you set. From there, you created a plan to move toward that destination. If you never created milestone goals along the way, do that now. Your team needs to see small victories and progress along the way. Cort Dial, leadership consultant and author of Heretics to Heroes, points out that transparency from the leader in communicating progress will keep the team focused on success.

Step 3: Gather More Information

In business, information has the same shelf-life as lettuce. In two weeks it’s gone bad. If you’re not gathering new information on a regular basis, you’ll end up making decisions based on yesterday’s situation, not today’s.

Sales Solution: As a sales professional, call on all of your contacts to update your information. If something has changed, you can adjust your sails. If nothing has changed but your sale has stalled out on the final decision, they are most likely stuck on the evaluation of risk. Remind them of the project objectives and your delivery assurances. They want to avoid their own catastrophizing and they need you to help eliminate risk.
Leader Solution: Share new information with your team as you are able. Without consistent and complete updates, the team will naturally begin to speculate the future based on what they know. As Pressfield points out, we have a real enemy we are fighting. Resistance will always appear to slow you down and leading your team toward catastrophizing is one of his favorite tactics.

“	Catastrophizing is like striking out before you ever get to the plate. —RUSS PETERSON JR.

This is just the first of four mental hurdles, but it all starts with this one. you already know this is true. We will never make any attempt to change if we are not aware of what we’re doing. Recognize the enemy… the enemy of RESISTANCE!

See you next week,
Russ

The 4-Part Series – C.R.A.P.

Books mentioned in this post:

Do the Work, by Steven Pressfield

Heretics to Heroes: A Memoir of Modern Leadership, by Cort Dial

Cut the C.R.A.P. and Make the Sale, by Russ Peterson Jr.

Claim your copy of my FREE eBook on Sales and Leadership Inspiration.

The post 3 Steps to Overcoming Catastrophizing first appeared on Russ Peterson Jr..

4 Mental Hurdles Preventing Your Success

RPjr — Sun, 14 May 2017 06:14:49 +0000

And how to overcome them!

I was introduced to Don Sanders through a mutual friend at lunch one day. Don and his co-author had written a book called Cut the C.R.A.P. and Resolve Your Problems. Kinda catchy, isn’t it! As psychologists they found that many of their patients could solve their own problems if they could just get beyond 4 mental hurdles… the CRAP in their minds.

In 2003, after several lunches and conversations, Don asked if I thought their methodology could be applied to the professional sales process. After reading their book, I could see how these same hurdles torment the struggling sales professional. The publisher wanted to create a series of books based on a Cut the C.R.A.P. and ________________ model. They already had the second book title in mind. It would be called Cut the C.R.A.P. and Make the Sale. Don asked if I’d be willing to write this sequel and I agreed.

What are the 4 mental hurdles?

All of us struggle with these four hurdles at one time or another. Each of these can rear it’s ugly head and absolutely kill our forward momentum.

Catastrophizing

I honestly think Don made this word up, but it holds so much truth in it. This is a form of chronophobia, or fear of the future. This is when you assume a future catastrophe is likely or even imminent if you proceed on your current course of action. The sheer anxiety of the potential future state stops you in your tracks.

Rationalizing

This one really is a word. I checked. The layman’s term for this is “making excuses.” After we make a decision to act or not act, we justify our decision in our mind. For sales professionals and leaders, supporting your poor behavior or actions with rationalized excuses will erode your success.

Agonizing

This hurdle creates a type of apathy or inertia. There is no movement. The mental anguish of the internal struggle prevents you from making a decision. The major struggle is with risk. If the risks are seen as too great, it becomes safer to just not decide. As a result, nothing happens and agonizing over the decision continues.

Procrastinating

Anyone else familiar with this one? It’s okay – you can put your hands down now. Me too, by the way. I’m not going to tell you when I’m writing this post. Most of us are very familiar with putting off something until later. A better question is how can we overcome this hurdle so that important items don’t get left until the very last minute?

How can I overcome each hurdle?

Over the next four weeks I’m going to address each of the mental hurdles, one per week. I guess I could have said, over the next four weeks I’ll be giving you a bunch of CRAP. But, for some reason that didn’t sound so good. I do have a marketing degree and I think I just put it to good use with that judgement call.

Anyway, next week we will address the first hurdle. The one with the non-word label: Catastrophizing. See you next week!

The 4-Part Series – C.R.A.P.