Is It Really About The Ducks?
Photo by Andrew Wulf on Unsplash
One of the most common conversations you’ll have, as someone who manages others, is the conversation about goal achievement.
That is, what will it take to achieve our goals? What needs to be in place for us to get there? It’s a good discussion (usually) that keeps all of us grounded on the practical steps that should be taken to enable us to get to where we want to go.
The key in these conversations is to be balanced - we need to have the needed tools and templates available but, at the same time, we can’t wait until everything is in place before we move forward. This is certainly the case in Sales, but it’s as true in Marketing, Product Development and any other area of a business.
Because the fact of the matter is that we will never have absolutely everything we need, and so to use that as an excuse, is, well, an excuse.
This is important to help set the stage for goal achievement, but it’s especially important when we’re behind on our goals. At those times, it’s tempting to focus on all of the things that, ideally, should be in place for us to be able to do our work. That we need to have all of our ducks in a row, otherwise, we’re just not set up for success.
But is it really the ducks? Or is the issue deeper than that?
A salesperson I worked with when we were a (relative) start up told me that for him to be successful, he needed an online repository that included all work examples and credentials decks that could be dialed up as and when needed during a pitch. Another told me that he couldn’t take any solution to market where we had no exact client credentials in the function and the space, even though we had all of the constituent capabilities to do the work, demonstrated across other clients and industries and functions.
Within a few months, both were gone, having sold a grand total of $0. And, in both cases, the issue was never the “ducks” - the repository, or the credentials, or the references. It was the mindset.
It was the belief that is needed in order to be successful. This belief is in two forms.
The first is the belief in what we’re selling. The idea that we have to offer will make a difference, deliver a result, drive a change for the client. And, of course, that we are able to do it at reasonable value (note that doesn’t mean cheap, it means perceived and realized value). If we have any doubts about what we are selling, it will show through in our conversations.
The other is far more important and that is, a belief in ourselves and our ability to do the job. We have to have confidence in our ability to convince and convey the value. We have to believe in ourselves and that we are, indeed, able to make the big sale and/or move the needle. Without self-belief, we’ve lost the battle before we’ve even started.
These two beliefs cannot be overstated. They are central to our success and, therefore, that of the organization. If we don’t have that, we cannot move forward, no matter how well resourced we might be.
So, in conversations about goals and targets and achievement, the starting point is never about what the organization needs to do to make us a success. That can be part of the conversation, but never the basis.
The starting point must be about what we need to do within ourselves to instill the belief that we can do it. Everything else will follow.
At the end of the day, it’s never about the ducks. It’s always about us and our mindset.
