Problems. Challenges. We all have them in sales.
The key to adopting the challenge response when facing a daunting task is to “reframe” the problem. A great metaphor to use is going from a close-up to a long-shot in cinematography. A close-up places a tight, narrow frame around the scene, often engrossing the viewer in a single face, object, or action.
When you pull back or “re-frame” the scene, however, the viewer immediately glimpses the wider, more comprehensive perspective. This week’s habit looks at how top performers use “reframing” to put challenges in a larger perspective.
Often, our focus on the big challenges that face us has us lose sight of the bigger picture. Here are three ways to take those big challenges and knock them down to size:
1. Ask yourself, “How important will this problem be a month from now or a year from now.” Seeing your tasks or challenges as a minor episode in your overall plan of life releases you from many of the anxieties and worries and opens up new possibilities.
2. Compare it to another situation in your life. Remembering other trials or adversity you’ve come through can help you realize that you’re capable of handling difficult situations. Pat O’Donnell, the CEO of Aspen Skiing Company, often attributes his ability to stay calm and focused in a tough meeting to his rock-climbing experiences many years ago. “When things get really frenetic, ” O’Donnell says, “I think back to being out on the face of El Capitan about 2,000 feet up when my feet were slipping on a piece of glasslike rock. You have to stay there and relax until you get yourself under control.”
3. Consciously consider the ways this problem will contribute, in the long run, to your skills and personal development. In the book The Lessons of Experience, the authors show that people overwhelmingly report that there is no better teacher than a difficult problem. The tougher the assignment, the steeper the learning curve, the more knowledgeable, confident and competent you will emerge.
This post is from our “Weekly Sales Habit” e-newsletter. To subscribe, go to www.winningsaleshabits.com.
Tags: challenges, change, jeffrey howard, motivational speaker, peter mclaughlin, sales speaker, Sales Training, weekly Sales Habit, Winning Sales Habits
