Immediately after Rory McIlroy won the 2014 British Open, he was asked about the key to his victory. Without hesitation, he stated that he repeated two words to himself throughout the tournament: “ball” and “process”. He went on to explain that he had to trust his process, and that It was all about his current shot and the ball in that moment. If he tried to do too much with any shot, then he wouldn’t succeed.
Many of you are entering the fourth quarter of your fiscal year today. (I know that some of you have off-calendar fiscal years, but today is still a good post for you – keep reading.) Are you feeling like you need to do something special this quarter? Are you behind and need to make up for a lack of sales in the first nine months of the year? Are you ahead and have a commission accelerator in place? Either way, you’re likely viewing the next three months as special – as a time when it’s necessary to get outside your process and bring it home. My advice …
Don’t do it. Follow Sales Strategy #1 for the fourth quarter: Stay focused on your process.
If your boss is telling you to “bring it home” or “close, close, close” this quarter, nod your head, throw out the high fives, or whatever else works in your office. However, don’t go outside your process. Stay focused on what works and you’ll succeed this quarter. More important, and the dynamic no one is thinking about right now … 2017 will look great to you after following your process for the next few months.
Remember, “ball” and “process”… and look for the next two strategies tomorrow and Wednesday.
