In The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey describes two opposing views: the scarcity mindset, ruled by a fear of limited resources (you should get your piece of the pie before someone else gets it), and the abundance mindset, in which you believe there’s always enough to go around.
I’ll let you guess which mindset is most common in highly effective people! (Spoiler alert! It’s the abundance mindset.)
Top sales performers usually think they’re living in an abundant mindset. They know they’ll never run out of clients. They know that there’s plenty of money in the world, and the success of another salesperson on their team isn’t a threat, but something to be celebrated. They’ve figured out how to use the abundance mentality in sales.
However, after years of working as a sales coach with top producers, I’ve discovered a few areas where scarcity creeps into a salesperson’s mentality—even when they’re the most successful producers on a team. One of the most common symptoms I see: a salesperson who can’t stop answering their phone. I know you’re thinking, “but Dew, you wrote a post about sales rock stars answering their phone,” but hear me out on this one.
Are You Always Available?
Time and again, I’ve seen top sales performers struggle not to answer their phones after hours, weekends, and on vacation.
It’s often a referral partner calling to send them business late in the evening, but I’ve also watched salespeople standing outside conferences answering calls. They paid thousands of dollars to attend a conference and miss the entire thing because they’re on their phones!
As the mortgage industry market heated up in 2020, many loan officers started working overtime, and they got used to taking calls from real estate agents at all hours. It’s fine to work late hours—sometimes—but you must set limits on your time.
If you’re not willing to clearly define when you’re available and when you’re not, you’re in a scarcity mindset! You’re afraid that you’ll “miss out” on business, and this fear of lost opportunities causes you to give up your personal time. It’s the definition of scarcity, and it’s a quick way to get burnt out.
Set Expectations & Take Back Your Time
I’m always ready for a sales call. But sometimes, that means being ready to reschedule the call for an appropriate time. If your client or referral partner doesn’t like it, move on—there’s an abundant number of other people who will respect the boundaries you set!
When you deepen your relationships with business partners and set expectations with them, they’ll know that even if they can’t reach you at 7 PM, they can trust you’ll be available at 8 o’clock in the morning—and you’ll bring your “A” game.
Embracing abundance gives you the power to say no. Not too long ago, my cell phone rang on a Saturday morning. I answered the unknown number, and it was a woman interested in my coaching. I told her I was about to go for my walk and asked if we could connect the following week. She said no because she had to work during traditional business hours. I immediately knew that she wouldn’t be an ideal fit for me (since my whole team and I only do coaching calls during business hours). So, I kindly told her I would be more than happy to talk to her about coaching when we could find a time that worked for both of us.
Yes, I turn business away because when you’re working with great people, the other party isn’t upset if you’re not available. It gives you the power to be in control of your time, your private life, and how you run your business. When you realize that the world is full of qualified leads, that 9 PM call can go to voicemail!
Until next time—go sell some stuff!
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