Hooked On Chaos
You can find more
resources on sales coaching, executive coaching, sales training,
time management, cold calling, prospecting and career coaching
from New York Sales and Leadership Coach Keith Rosen MCC at
http://www.profitbulders.com.
You may have a drug problem. Many people today are hooked on a
commonly abused, yet elusive drug whose widespread use seems to
be flying under our radar. That drug of choice is adrenaline.
The classic symptoms? Saying "Yes" when you mean "No."
Overcommiting or overbooking your schedule, then finding it
difficult to deliver on deadlines or complete tasks.
Procrastinating until the last moment. Believing you, "Work best
under pressure." Being easily distracted.
Consider that an adrenaline addiction may be creating many of
the problems, employee challenges and obstacles to a sale that
you want to avoid. Tolerating stress, chaos, disorganization,
poor planning, lackluster team performance or undesirable
customers create situations that provide the adrenaline rush
associated when working on overdrive.
Like any drug, adrenaline has its rewards. On the surface, it
may appear that this legal, seductive drug provides a burst of
energy to get something done, tackle a project or meet a
deadline. Being superhuman enables you to accomplish more than
what a mere mortal is capable of producing.
However, it's more dangerous than we realize. The body produces
adrenaline when stressed, in pain or to protect us from imminent
danger. While used to handle a crisis, you don't want the drug
to control you and dominate your lifestyle. After a day of
riding the adrenaline roller coaster, you crash.
Too much adrenaline from other sources (nicotine, chocolate,
caffeine, etc.) can also lead to stomach and heart problems,
high blood pressure and anxiety. Aside from feeling drained,
burnt out and exhausted, adrenaline lowers your productivity
level and sets you up for failure. If you thrive on chaos, it's
difficult to maintain your focus, concentration, peace of mind
or mental clarity. If you're a salesperson, a congested mind
does not allow for the space to create the best solutions for
your customers during a sales call.
If you're overwhelmed with a pile of tasks, then you can't be
"present" with or listening to your customers. This affects your
ability to follow a sales process, ask the right questions,
uncover your customer's needs and even create or recognize a
selling opportunity, creating holes in your selling approach
that many promising sales fall through.
To kick the habit, prevent sporadic results and get off the
adrenaline train, shift away from using adrenaline and start
creating the momentum that produces consistent, long lasting
results.
1. Just Say No. Are you a "Yesaholic?" Do you instinctively say,
"Yes" first without considering if you can realistically
deliver? The irony is, saying "Yes" and not following through
creates what we wanted to avoid. That is, letting others down by
over committing and not delivering, costing you frustration,
happy employees, new or future business, a satisfied customer,
even referrals.
Before you respond with a start/delivery date on a project or
proposal, ask yourself, "Is this something I want to be doing?"
"Do I have the time for it and if so, when?" In other words,
"Are there activities that I've already committed to that take
priority?" I'm sure your family would appreciate (be shocked?)
if you made it home for dinner.
2. Develop A Healthy Relationship With Time - Underpromise.
Adrenaline junkies often force the end result into an
unrealistic timeframe. Instead, increase (even double) the
timeline you've allocated for each task by considering the
worst-case scenario. This provides a buffer of time when
completing tasks even if you experience some bumps along the
way. One client said, "If I add 50% to each activity timeline,
my day would end at midnight rather than 5pm!" Herein lies the
greatest lesson. You're overcommiting!
3. Do Complete Work. "I've always been a great self- starter but
not a good finisher." Sound familiar? Keeping incomplete
projects alive becomes another source of adrenaline. Instead of
continually stopping and starting something new, commit to
seeing each task through to completion before taking on the next
one. Once you've cleared out some space as a result of
completing one task, you can add another in its place.
Like kicking any drug habit you'll experience withdrawals, so
take the time to get ahead of the curve and catch up on all of
the overcommitments you've already made. You'll reduce your
stress level, experience more peace and calmness, create more
time, become incredibly productive and enjoy a healthier energy
source. You'll then be able to choose to redesign your life and
career the way you really want. Take it from a recovered
adrenaline junkie.