Good salespeople are always on the lookout for new lines and for new ways to deliver their messages, but there is one word that many should consider using more often. That word is ‘No’.
People-pleasing salespeople are too quick to say ‘yes’, and doing so causes them to agree to actions that are, or should be, of a lower priority.
Beware of questions that begin with:
- “Got a minute?” It never is just a minute. If you don’t believe me, time the next interruption that begins with this question. Most of these interruptions are from unfocused or disorganised people who want to look busy, and they’re using you to do it.
- “Would you give me a hand with…?” could involve you in a task taking ten minutes or more. Ten minutes might not sound like much time, but anything that takes you away from the pursuit of results is something you should not get involved in, UNTIL you have achieved your results for the day.
- “Can you just…?” The task you are about to get roped into doesn’t sound like much because it’s softened by the word ‘just’, but as with the previous two questions, the task is about to take you off track, away from results.
These are examples and no doubt you can think of other ‘danger questions’. Answering ‘Yes’ to such questions without clarifying what the asker wants can cost you valuable time. This is time that you will never get back, leaving you with less time to achieve your goals.
Flow
When we focus on the one task for any length of time, we can enter a state called ‘flow’. You might also know it as being ‘in the zone’. Flow is a highly-focused state during which you accomplish much more.
It takes a while to get into flow, but it can be broken in seconds.
It is never wise to allow interruptions when you are concentrating on important tasks. It breaks ‘flow’.
Choose
I am not asking you to be unhelpful. I am suggesting that you pick your moments and not dance to somebody else’s tune.
When you are pursuing results, nothing except real emergencies should take you off track. There is plenty of time to help people with tasks, or for those ‘got a minute?’ requests, but for winners, results come first.
Choose the people to whom you will give your time. Choose your tasks carefully. Distractions can cost you time, loss of focus, and income.