What Does ‘The Peaceful Warrior’ have to do with Business?
‘The Peaceful Warrior’, a book and movie about a talented gymnast on the verge of losing it all, is a powerful guide to help us realize the nature of business relationships, and help us communicate to make the sale or to get through to someone we manage. By understanding the nature of our relationships we can increase our profits and we can ensure that the needs of our customers’ and team members’ are completely met.
Coach Nick’s Six Business & Life Lessons from “The Peaceful Warrior:”
Be in the Service of Others
The nature of relationships is like that of a bank – there are deposits and withdrawals for all interactions with the other person. Make Deposits? What does that mean Coach? So just how do you go about making deposits into others?
For example, to add a deposit, you can listen to your clients’ challenges and opportunities, add value to your contacts life outside of the sale, make a donation to their favorite charity, introduce them to someone else you know or even go have dinner with them. Alternatively, you may make withdrawals from their relationship ‘account’ when you don’t call them in a timely fashion, or if you forget a birthday (Yes, you should know the birthdates of all your clients, contacts and people you manage). Often, people feel that they only get deposits when someone wants something from them – like a sale.
In order to stand out from your competition you need to be there, professionally and personally, and make deposits in their bank without expecting anything in return. This is a powerful lesson. In fact, price starts to become less of a factor in their buying decision as you make more and more deposits – instead, the amount and the frequency of the deposits start to dictate their reason for buying. How cool is it when price becomes less of a factor for buying?! Right.
How To Win Friends & Influence People is a great book about the strategy of making other people the point of everything you do - not you or your needs. Be outwardly focused rather than inwardly focused. When you attach this strategy to your everyday life, you’ll find that your business will succeed and your personal relationships will flourish as well.
You Don’t Have Control
In one of my recent blog postings, we discussed, “Avoid fighting the river” as a metaphor for business. Let your intention to have your vision (e.g. generate a certain amount of revenue) occur carry you to your desired results. We often fight the river (or life) because we are set on the way (the steps) that we are supposed to reach our vision or goal. We get stuck on the “way it’s supposed to look.” Instead, stay focused on your goal, be present, embrace the ride down the river and trust that the universe will support you in reaching your destination regardless if the steps taken to get there were completely different than you expected. You can always count on the universe to get you to your destination when you are clear about your intention – as people, we always figure out the “doing” part (the steps) when we are clear about the intention.
A year ago, I signed up for a service called Speaker Match and made a profile. Each time a company posted a speaking engagement request in my niche, I submitted my information for their review. Time after time I submitted my information, but I never got any results from it. Frustrated, I quit the service, never getting any speaking engagements.
I was so attached to the outcome (the way that you are supposed to get business from this site) that I wasn’t willing to look for alternate ways to leverage the site. Since I was looking for business a certain way I quit because I didn’t see that happening. However, I was actually doing something right: I was contacting people outside their postings. I was connecting with people outside of the site to stay on their radar – through handwritten notes (see our www.sendoutcards.com/21544), emails and calls. Finally, a year later, one of those postings has become a training client.
As with the river, I had to realize that I didn’t really have control on what kind (or how it happened) of business I received from Speaker Match. While I wanted to get a speaking engagement from a posting, there were other business opportunities available to me to pursue. I just wasn’t willing to look at them initially, because I was attached to a specific outcome.
I now realize that I don’t have control over what kind of business comes my way – while I may want speaking or consulting projects, I may get training projects, and that’s okay. I’ve realized that I just need to declare that “I want business” and be present to see the opportunities that are coming my way – and not attach myself to the one way that I believe it’s going to happen – there are a multitude of ways to generate the business that I desire. Control is an illusion! Be trusting, present and clear about your intended results – it will happen for you.
Be Present
Imagine you’re in a sales call with someone you know well. While you’re talking to them, your mind drifts – you think about your plans for the evening, your next meeting, etc. When you’re in your head like this, you’re not present – you’re not available in the moment to give insight and ideas ‘on the fly.’ You’re missing the vital cues to ask important questions – you’re not available to support the other person. How can you make someone feel important when you are disconnected? How can you hear for “things that are not being said” when you are anything but present? Right. The person will feel unimportant.
However, when you operate from your heart, you’re present and engaged with the other person. You’re available to give those insights and ideas, and you’ll meet their needs – you’ll make the sale and more because you’ve made they feel important.
The Paradox of Humor and Change
Many of us have challenges with change – and this is another control issue. Remember what the Coach said about control? Right again, it’s an illusion! You need to focus on the things you want by visualizing the things you want, and then believing and expecting those things to come – declare, visualize & believe. Don’t waste time on figuring out why it does or doesn’t happen – there’s a reason for everything and you don’t really need an explanation.
In your company you should celebrate more. Often in business, we take everything so seriously that we need to balance it with celebration. Change is going to happen, how can you really control it? Let go of the control – celebrate your team’s successes. Catch yourself and your team when they do “something well and right.” They’ll go the distance for you when they you make them feel important in this way. Got it? Great!
In sales it’s important to keep up on technology to be efficient – use technology to look for new ways to enhance relationships with clients because things are always changing (see our www.sendoutcards.com/21544 to enhance relationships). Find a better way to do things to stay ahead – embrace technology!
Be Forgiving
In business, there are many people you deal with daily – from programmers to shippers, production people to account managers - and we all make mistakes. We all do things differently. Be forgiving of that.
Sometimes, we get angry when all we need is be sympathetic, and instead you fight back which often worsens the situation. Instead, stop – don’t take things so personally. Luckily, you have nothing to do with it, and you can’t change it – once again, you cannot control others. However, you can control your reaction to the situation – and be loving and forgiving. They’ll remember your reaction and they will reciprocate with the same reaction you had towards them when you make a mistake – you choose your reaction. Choose forgiveness and they will do the same towards you when its your turn!
Enjoy the Journey
There are no ordinary moments – every moment is extraordinary. In the movie, the main character was going to climb a mountain with a character called Socrates. After several weeks of build-up, they finally took the trip and climbed the mountain. At the top, they pick up a rock. The main character was really upset – it was just a rock! However, the rock could be any number of things – it could be an amazing rock, something that could teach him about himself.
This applies to sales, too. If you’re standing in the lobby of your client, go and talk to someone, avoid just staying there idly. Joe DiMaggio famously said, “There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best every time I take the field.” There are no ordinary moments – every moment is extraordinary. Even Joltin' Joe agrees with this philosophy. You owe the best to your clients as well, there’s no ordinary moment. There is no ordinary moment during a sales call, during the sales process and during a coaching session with your top person, make the best of everything you do. Remember what we say here at our firm, “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
It’s important as a sales professional and sales leader to be constantly learning – always be learning! It’s important to be evolved and constantly looking for ways to improve your business, to give your clients and team member’s useful tools and resources. This movie and book helps to demonstrate that to you – it’s critical to make others feel important in business – as people will buy, follow or listen to you if they feel important. This is the “Way of The Peaceful Warriorr.”
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