Southwestern Sales Talk

Vince Young had struggled, throwing 12 completions for 110 yards and two key interceptions-one resulting in a Jaguar touchdown.  After the second major error, and an injury to his knee, Vince’s body language told the story.  He was down, frustrated and mentally shot.  The crowd, uncharacteristically & unsympathetically booed him. He threw his helmet on the sideline.  After the game, he was carted to the locker room in front of us, head down. 

So everyone was speculating about Vince Young–what was wrong with him?  He was voted rookie of the year two years ago!  One fellow fan had heard he didn’t have the “mentality to be a pro”; another speculated that the coaches were trying to overhaul his fundamentals and he was out of sync. 

I thought: “He has lost his confidence.”   

If your mental state is determined by 1) what you choose to focus on and 2) the way you use your physiology, wow-it was easy to see that Vince Young was focusing on his failures and frustrations–his body language confirmed it. 

This isn’t a sports blog, so what’s the application?  If you’re in a sales or recruiting slump, you have to guard your thoughts, and force yourself to maintain positive self-talk (prayer is not a bad idea either).  Are you focused on your failures and setbacks, or are you focused on catching yourself doing things right?  (Despite the boos from your internal crowd.) 

Even though you blew the sale, are you building yourself up?  Ask, “What do I want to happen?  What did I do well?  How can I improve?”   

In addition, watch your posture, your physiology.  We hear encouragers tell us, “Keep your chin up.”  It sounds trite but there’s a grain of truth to it.  Our physiology determines our state and our subsequent behavior. 

I doubt that Vince Young spends much time reading my blog, but if he did, I’d encourage him to be his own cheerleader-head up, shoulders back…perhaps he should attend The Southwestern Company’s Sales School.

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