“Let it go.” One of the hardest things to do is also one of the most common pieces of advice that salespeople receive. Salespeople are constantly being pulled in various directions, asked to do anything necessary to keep customers and potential customers happy, and often given harsh feedback and rejection. If we don’t “let it go”, then we’ll be incessantly trying to control every outcome and wasting a ton of time and energy.
Some examples:
You just lost a sale that you worked tirelessly on for months. “Let it go.”
Your boss just criticized you unfairly in front of the team. “Let it go.”
- A customer received back service and is taking it out on you. “Let it go.”
My question has always been “How?” I know that I should let these things go, but as a salesperson, I am naturally competitive and used to controlling outcomes. I can’t just let it go. I wish I could, but I can’t.
About two years ago I learned that I didn’t have to. I could do something else that would shift me out of being a control-freak and focus my energy on more productive things in my life. It’s really simple. Instead of trying to let go of something, focus on something else.
This sounds unrealistic, and I doubt you’re impressed, but this idea has made an amazing impact on my life.
I’ve got three areas of focus:
1. Being a great husband and father;
2. Growing Vector Firm; and
3. Achieving The Peterson (this is a physical and athletic test I give myself every year).
That’s it. When someone isn’t responding to me, or a customer has decided not to engage in a project, or an airline decided not to reimburse me for expenses from delayed baggage, I don’t try to “let it go”. I can’t. When I try to let these types of things go, I just get pissed and want to hold onto more control. I lose perspective and forget about the important things. Today, instead of trying to let it go, I remind myself of my three priorities and that everything else is just noise. I then get focused on my workout, or writing an article, or planning a Saturday dinner for my family, or whatever … the key factor is to take action.
To be transparent, the easiest of these three areas is work-related because it requires so much time of the week. That’s ok. When our air conditioner leaks, I just remember to focus on my work that day because the expense to fix it is nothing compared to the revenue we can generate. When I lose a sale, I think about the huge things we’ll be doing over the next few years, and then I get to work. After a few minutes, I forget about the loss.
When I’m working out, my focus delivers a physiological change because of the effect exercise has on us. At the end of a workout, I forget about the idiotic Instagram post from a high school friend and no longer need to let it go … or comment on it.
And of course, focusing on my wife and daughter supersedes all of it. Knowing that they are my purpose helps keep me grounded. However, thinking about them alone doesn’t help me let things go. I need to do something with them or for them.
Some things require attention and shouldn’t be let go. However, more than 95% of the things that grab a salesperson’s attention throughout the day are timewasters. Don’t try to control these things. Don’t try to let them go. Focus on something else and you’ll naturally let it go.
