Did you set sky-high revenue goals at the beginning of this week, this month or this year? Take a moment and think about the number you put down on paper as compared to the number currently in your bank account. So how are those goals working out for you?
If you gulped and said, “Uh….” with your heart pounding so loud that it’s ringing in your ears, you’re not alone. No judgment.
Everyone has revenue goals. They’re so commonplace that the word itself has become an overused hashtag. But be honest: how many times do your goals fizzle out, no matter how much you THINK you want to reach them?
Sometimes even the sound of the word “goal” makes a person feel nervous, stressed out, and inadequate. Not the mentality that produces smashing results, right?
Why does this happen? And how much does the stigma of “goals” affect your entrepreneurial sales mindset?
My friend and colleague, Master Sales Coach and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner Gretchen Mall, offers some insight into why goals are often doomed before they start.
It starts with a simple fact: “Our brains are lazy.” says Gretchen.
Our brains tend to get accustomed to things being a certain way. They recognize patterns, those patterns get wired-in tightly, and we hit the “repeat” button. Whether we know it or not.
“When you set a goal and you’ve not hit it over and over again, your brain says, ‘Oh, THIS is how it’s gonna go. We’re not gonna hit this goal.’ ” Gretchen shares. “And whether you consciously know it or not, you sabotage yourself.”
Then there’s the flip side: revenue goals that are not too strict but too vague.
“We’re also used to goals not meaning anything. You pull one out of thin air, and you don’t have a plan,” says Gretchen. No tangible idea, no concrete results.
So whether your brain has gotten used to aiming for an ironclad number and missing, or the goal is so vague that you aren’t even sure what you’re aiming for, the result is the same.
Our brains become conditioned to NOT hit goals.
But does this mean that we’re all doomed to repeat the patterns that are already set? Is setting revenue goals worthless? And if so, what do we do instead?
Gretchen gives us a breakdown of our brains from perspective of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) that might shed some light on the subject.
NLP is all about that brain and how it has become conditioned since day one.
“The oldest part of your brain is the amygdala. It’s the part that keeps you alive when a lion is chasing you.” She shares.
The amygdala is the part of your brain that determines whether you find things exciting, dangerous, fascinating, or boring. It’s the part that responds to stimuli and makes snap decisions.
Then there’s your middle brain. It’s the place where your sense of morality and emotions live. It doesn’t have the capacity for language and relies primarily on feelings. “If you’ve ever said, ‘this doesn’t FEEL right,’ that came from your middle brain,” says Gretchen.
Finally, thinking, deductive reasoning, and logic come from the neocortex of your brain. It’s the part that communicates new information in a “real-world” way, like a teacher in a classroom.
But if you’ve ever been the one who fell asleep in class, you’ll know that it takes more than facts, logic, and thinking-talk to keep you interested.
It’s that amygdala that initially decides if what you’re seeing if it is worth your attention. Whether the motivation comes from the hope of gain or fear of loss, your amygdala dictates whether or not you care about what you’re seeing. And whether or not you take action.
And if a number on a page, like revenue goals in a dollar amount, isn’t enough to get that primitive part of your brain on board, that goal will probably stay a #goal.
In other words, “willpower” has NO power at this point.
So what does this study of the brain mean to entrepreneurial sales mindset? Gretchen explains further where the mighty amygdala plays such a role in our results.
“Every time you take an action, it’s either in pain or pleasure. The hope of gain, fear of loss. And if you can change your mindset from ‘this is a painful experience’ to ‘this is a pleasurable experience,’ you’re tricking your amygdala,” says Gretchen.
Now put that in terms of sales calls. If you’re panicked that you’re not going to make rent or meet payroll if you don’t make a sale, what energy are you bringing to your sales conversations?
Yep, you guessed it. Fear. Desperation. Scarcity mentality. And worst of all, you put the focus (and the pressure) on yourself rather than on serving your client.
It’s a recipe for a goal-centric MELTDOWN. And needless to say, you’re not going to get the results that you want.
It’s all because your primitive brain is stuck in a pattern of pain-avoidance. And it causes you to show up on sales calls from a place of FEAR rather than a place of LOVE.
I don’t mean fear of being eaten by a saber-toothed tiger or hearts-and-flowers or romantic love. On a sales call, FEAR is making the outcome about YOU. But LOVE is showing up in genuine, honest-to-God SERVICE. It’s about putting the focus back on your clients.
Gretchen agrees, “If you come from fear, it’s all about you. It’s like, ‘What are they gonna say about me, what are they gonna think about me?’ But when you’re coming from a place of love, it’s more like, ‘I’m going to help them keep more money in their business,” or, “I’m gonna help them live healthier lives.’ It’s about THEM.”
Easier said than done, of course! So what would be an NLP-based hack that could take you from panic to service just before jumping on a sales call? How do you trick your amygdala into supporting you rather than stopping you?
Gretchen swears by setting an “anchor” before any sales-related activity. Something to get you out of your head, into your body, and ready for action.
“I close my eyes and imagine the speedometer in my car. Then I set my intuition to 100 and my ego to zero,” says Gretchen.
What does this practical visualization do for you?
“I’m trusting that the outcome is not about me, it’s about my prospect. Whatever needs to be said on that call, it’s going to come to me. I’m gonna know it. That gets rid of the self-doubt.”
It puts you back in the driver’s seat, keeping tabs on what you can control while letting go of the outcome.
“You want to do what’s best for the client. But at the same time, you want to have the words and find the courage in yourself to say, ‘You know what? I think I can really benefit your life.’”
Shifting the focus of your sales activities from fear to love, trains your primitive brain to see them with excitement rather than pain. It’s tricking that amygdala to stop dreading the action steps, see the point in potential risks, and find the fun in the process.
Getting your head in the game is more than just affirmations, happy thoughts, and hard-line goals. It’s about working WITH the nature of your brain rather than attempting to overpower it with arbitrary numbers and wavering willpower.
It’s about understanding what goes wrong with old-school revenue goals. And putting both science and strategy to work for you.
Most of all, it’s returning to your mission rather than staying stuck in your ego. And the magic of NLP-based mindset hacks makes that transition doable!
Want to learn a few NLP Ninja hacks that’ll help make your sales goals possible? Start rewiring your noggin to serve you and trip your amygdala into taking REAL action starting TODAY!
Join me and Gretchen for our NEW Mini-Workshop, “NLP To ROCK Your Revenue: How To REVOLUTIONIZE Your Entrepreneurial Sales Mindset” and let the magic of NLP mindset hacks change YOUR revenue results!
