Well… are you on autopilot?
I’ve talked before about how it is important to have a plan, and have a process to go with that plan.
Routine, in general, is good for many reasons. When we get accustomed to doing same or similar things, it takes the guesswork out of things. When there is less guesswork or decision making it’s been proven to improve your mood. And when you are upbeat, have a good mood you accomplish more and you accomplish those tasks well. WHY? Because we have an idea of what to expect.
Taking off on that, when you know what to expect it removes fear. It removes fear simply because we know what is coming next, or what should come next… so we just go
Here is an example when it comes to automotive sales:
When customers finally decide to come into a car lot – in most cases customer approach with fear and anxiety. They want to find someone they can trust, they want a good deal etc. Know how to remove the fear – tell customers what’s going to happen. Steps them through your process that you have done hundreds or thousands of times with other people. It doesn’t mean it has to be identical, that their situation is not unique, but just give a general idea of expectation and it will take the fear out of it.
On the flip side of that discussion, too much routine and of the same can create complacency. As salespeople, just like in my last example, the pitfall is that we DO start to treat every situation the same. So it becomes a balancing act.
We can become absorbed with things that are the same, we become numb, and tasks that once invigorated us become mundane.
My podcast, for example, for the last 99 videos I have done, they have been recorded. During previous episodes, I have had the opportunity to mess up, and then edit things – the video production itself is a higher quality which I think comes off better. That was my comfort zone.
So the last few episodes, I’ve changed it and gone live with the message. One of the biggest benefits that I see there, is the interaction of other people, which is excellent.
Here is another practical and real-life example. Of those of you watching that drive to work, or an office, school, church or other same spot everyday – Do you remember the drive on Friday morning? No, most of us don’t. Like, sometimes we’ll snap out of it and question… was that light green? Or was it red? Did I just blow through an intersection? Because over time, our brain goes form noticing individual things to lumping them together into one activity. See, we no longer see the individual lights, streets, or intersections – we just see “the drive.” It’s how learning (or chunking) even works.
Here is my challenge to you this week. GET OFF YOUR AUTOPILOT! Go out of your way to try a new sales technique, take an alternate route to work, see different scenery. If you have become acclimated to emailing or texting customers, pick up a phone. And vice versa… if you are a phone person, try to think through what would be a good text script.
As you do those things – enlist the help and expertise of other people. You will likely be surprised at two things.
- The amount of stuff you can learn when you get off autopilot.
- How awesome it is to connect to other people. Like really connect, not just superficial social.
So that’s it this week, it’s really good to have a plan and a process, but if or when you want to grow even more, you have to get out of your comfort zone. Turn off the autopilot and start trying out new things.
Thanks!
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