This week I had a few clients who were feeling down about some things that had transpired in their business lately: Transactions that fell through at the last minute, past clients who didn’t refer business, and the inconsistent nature of this business in terms of income were all weighing heavily on them.

In fact, not only was this weighing heavily on their outlook, but worry and anxiety were causing their confidence to take a nosedive. As salespeople, confidence is paramount to their interactions with others. When a salesperson loses their mojo, it can cause them to draw away from their business and their clients which just intensifies the problem.

When I have a client with a challenge like this, I remind them of the importance of focusing on the action … not on the results.

Focusing on the results is part of human nature. When the results aren’t what we expect, we mistrust the course of action we are taking. This mistrust provides justification for abandoning an otherwise-effective course of action!

This mindset is everywhere, from diets and exercise programs to relationships and business. When results lag, when diets plateau, when business success is not where you want it to be many people get discouraged and quit rather than trusting that the action will produce the results. Perhaps a slight tweak is necessary, but abandoning the entire action plan can do more damage than good. After all, you have invested your time and perhaps your hard-earned money in your action plan. Abandoning it after a few missteps not only causes you to lose that investment, but you also lose confidence.

Let’s look at that agent whose transaction fell through. Sure this agent was discouraged not only for her clients, but she was probably also counting on that commission. Not one, but two sets of results that would now not come to fruition.

Focusing on the action in this case would also be two-fold – focusing on the action of consoling your client who has just been devastated by this change in events and implementing consistent past client follow-up and pipeline-filling lead generation systems so you don’t have to worry when something falls through.

Think about how this can work in personal lives as well. Say you have a personal goal of putting an additional $10,000 in your emergency fund this year. To make this goal, you are putting $850 per month into your account. However, unexpected expenses such as needing new tires or fixing the furnace siphon off your months of work and can threaten to derail the plan. If you see the balance in the savings account go down instead of up, you may feel that your action isn’t working. But sticking with the action will get you closer to achieving the goal. Goals shouldn’t be all-or-nothing.

The next time you feel discouraged about lack of progress, take a step back and instead focus on the positive of taking action. Trying to run a marathon and focusing on the full 26.2 miles would be overwhelming. The goal is too monumental for most people! For success, runners have to focus on the action of putting one foot in front of the other mile by mile.

Think about a goal you have right now. Are you taking the necessary action to obtain it?

If you need help determining the action items in your business that is where our Mastery program can help! Schedule some free time to talk about the goals you have in your business and we can help you formulate a plan for achievement. Register for our next webinar or make an appointment with us. You can reach us at (360) 527-8904 or send an email to Nick@TheLonesGroup.com.