As we head into the 4th quarter, and the final sprint of the year, I thought I’d share some actionable performance concepts we used with basketball’s elite that you can leverage to level up your business performance.
Being at our best requires us to place our attention and energy into the present moment.Whether that’s in sales, in sports or in leadership the present moment is the only place we can create our future. The challenge is that we are living through an era where we have to deal with a hurricane of emotions, constant distractions, and rapid change — all of which fragment our attention.
Even though our primary focus was on the technical skills like shooting, dribbling, and passing, we knew these would only take you so far. You had to master the internal game — the mindsets, beliefs, and mental toughness — in order to give yourself an edge. These are 3 concepts we used to help the numerous NCAA D1 and NBA players, like NBA All-Star Joel Embiid, elevate their game. Concepts you can also use to take your sales performance to the next level.
1 for 1
When putting players through shooting drills I could tell by body language how much player’s focus would drift. They’d miss a couple of shots and their focus would be on the past. They’d hit a few in a row and their focus would be worrying about missing the next shot because they wanted to keep their streak going. But the present moment is the only place we can focus on the process. The only place we can do the work. So I came up with this mantra “1 for 1” to help players lock in on one shot at a time. We’d repeat it over and over again during a workout as a reminder for them to focus on the shot that they were taking. Ray Allen, one of the greatest shooters in NBA history once said, “I don’t take 500 shots in a workout. I take one shot, 500 times.”
In sales, we can only make the most out of that phone call, that connection, or that conversation if we are fully there. This is a concept you can take into that next set of 50 calls. You’re not making 50 calls. You’re making one call, 50 times.
1-0
The 1-0 concept I got from my college basketball coach to try and get us to focus on the game that was right in front of us. This is especially powerful when you’ve been on a winning streak or playing a team that maybe you beat by 30 points a few weeks prior. The journey of a season with its adversity, unexpected turns, and unpredictability can be draining on your energy. But like so many other aspects of business, we don’t get drained because of what we are doing. We get drained because our attention is constantly fragmented into the past and the future. This phrase can be a simple reminder to “win the day”. We aren’t focusing on the entire season. We aren’t focusing on the sales goals for the quarter. We are focusing on doing what we can do to win this day. This single day. The only one that actually exists.
Next Play
Next Play is a coaching phrase that was popularized by iconic Duke Men’s Basketball Coach, Mike Krzyzewski or Coach K as he is famously known. He started using this phrase when he saw his players lose their focus on the present moment because of mistakes they had committed in the past. Maybe they missed a shot and didn’t get back on defense or they missed an assignment on defense where the other team scored. He used this phrase to help players’ bring their focus back to the only place where they could focus on the “Next Play”, which was the present moment. When we lose a big contract, reach out to a potential prospect for the 10th time without a response, or simply feel like we are in a rut, our attention is most likely in the past. While reflecting on the past can be helpful, we don’t want to dwell there. When we focus on our “Next Play” — our next call, next meeting, next prospect — we can place our attention on the present moment.
Let’s Get To The Next Level. Together.
These are three simple, actionable concepts you can put into place immediately to level up your sales performance. If you’re looking to dive deeper my Locked In workshop or keynote, or our coaching program, might be your ideal next step. Drop us a note to see if we’d be a good fit to help you take you or your team’s performance to the next level.
