Recently, I was able to vacation in beautiful St. Kitts in the Caribbean. I have visited before and the more I go, the more I want to return. This time, we went with another couple who introduced us to St. Kitts 4 years ago. Although now, they had a new member of the family to bring along - a 2 1/2 year-old named Max, who provided great inspiration for this post.
Max, his Dad and I swam out to a floating dock together and then had a blast as Max jumped into our arms off the dock. The beautiful aqua water was warm, relatively shallow and very safe. Then Max's mother arrived and, as mothers oftentimes are, she was nervous about this activity. Next thing you know, Max wasn't jumping. In fact, he was scared and then he started crying! Why? What changed?
Clearly, Max had picked up on his mother's fear which enveloped and crushed his feelings of fun and adventure. Interestingly, nothing was really said by his mother, but he could just sense the concern, trepidation, nervousness and anxiety. As a result, he responded to this change in kind.
This offers a profound lesson for sales professionals everywhere.
What happens when your prospects sense that you are unsure, nervous, scared or backing down on a non-negotiable? What happens when your sales team senses that, as their sales manager, you lack confidence in them or in the organization? What happens when, as a CEO, your sales organization senses that you are not entirely committed to their success?
And just like Max's mom, sometimes you don't need to say anything, just think it, feel it or give off the vibe.
They respond appropriately, don't they?
The best of the best are able to maintain composure under pressure and their confidence is real and not merely a tactic that they attempt to put on. Max's mom tried to sound confident, but inside she was a nervous wreck probably thinking, "What if he bangs his head? What if he swallows water? What if there's a jelly fish?" Whether leading a prospect or an entire company you cannot be afraid of what you have to say and you have to believe and embrace everything before you can effectively get others to do so.