Hi Friends, Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world,...
Hi Friends,
Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world, what I’m thinking about, and what I’m learning about. Forward anything that you feel inspired to share. If this was forwarded to you and you found value, subscribe here for a weekly edition!
What I’m Hearing From Sales Leaders/Professionals
We are now in the groove. The excitement of the new year has started to dissipate, and work is work again. This week, I had multiple conversations with AEs about how to keep up their energy and momentum (lots of wins and movements in their deals) throughout the year.
This is a really important topic and one that all professionals who seek to have stellar outcomes should proactively think about right now! The reality is that you cannot be all gas and no brakes all day every day—at some point, you will need to slow down. Now, I am not saying it is not sustainable for a year or two, but at some point, you have to think about how you rest and recharge.
Are there people in this world that can do it? Yes. Just look at the screenshot below about Suziki Ichiro and what he’s done since he was a child. But the reality is, that level of discipline, stamina, commitment, and energy is extremely rare. So, what do we mere mortals do? Well, we have to assess and plan.
The problem we often have as sales professionals in trying to maintain our momentum is that we don’t know what started it in the first place. We assign too much to outside factors and not enough to how our instincts, experiences, and knowledge guide our reactions to those factors.
This week, I explained this to a few people and told them to go back and revisit deals that they won and lost during the times when they thought they were most in their groove. If they had calls, I told them to watch those calls and look for patterns. In the deals that they won, identify the things that they were doing repeatedly on those calls. In the deals that they lost, look for the variances from the ones that they won (wins and losses exist in the margins).
Creating new behaviors or processes by studying themselves at their best and worst (wins and losses) would give them an edge in maintaining “momentum.” This is how professionals improve. They never stop working on self-improvement. This is also how you maintain energy. By making the things that work into habits, you conserve energy. It becomes easier to work—almost second nature.
We exhaust ourselves by trying to think about what to do next or reinventing the wheel. The reality is, if we just made habits out of the things that we know work, then we would not get so tired trying to create momentum.
As for the planning part, I told them to think about the days on their calendar when they could rest or relax and plan for that. For example, my first real day of rest and relaxation in 2025 will be the first day of the NCCA Tournament (fair warning clients!!!!).
It has been a tradition of mine to stop my day at noon since 1992 (sorry, Dad, but I was skipping school during the 4 years of high school). It gives me something to look forward to and a reward for all the effort over the first few weeks of the year.
I am also proactively planning days to rest and relax in Q3 and Q4 (sorry, Q2, but there is no time to rest during you). This, again, gives me a goal/treat/reward for all of my hard work and motivates me. It also does not make it seem like life is a never-ending cycle of the same thing! The reality is that I am not Ichiro, and likely neither are you. Don’t believe me? As promised, below is his schedule since he was a child:
What Made Me Laugh
I love Zoom. It makes people think I have hair. Anyway, this meme really captures me in the meetings that my Maestro teammates are leading (they rock, and there is not much I can add).
This Week’s 40/20
For every 40 hours of work, I believe you should spend 20 (additional) hours mastering your craft. This is how I spent some of my 20 hours this week.
I, like many in my generation, was first introduced to Chuck Berry while watching Back to the Future. Since that time, I have been a fan. I am also a fan of Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Little Richard, etc. I ran across a tweet that mentioned an artist that I had never heard of, Sister Rosetta Thorpe. Some call her “The Godmother of Rock and Roll.” Some say she never was given that nickname. Who cares? She is a badass, and I cannot even imagine what it felt like to listen to her, or even rock and roll, for the first time. I imagine we would all have had a reaction similar to the ones in this clip.
Potpourri for 800
Potpourri (shoutout to Jeopardy!) is a category that covers a variety of topics.
I am about to change your life. Well, not really, but I am going to turn you on to my favorite deal aggregator on the web—Brad’s Deals. They do a fantastic job of scouring the internet to find the best deals from the retailers and brands you love.
I love Brad’s Deals so much that my niece, Eleni, made me a shirt for Father’s Day one year that said, “Brad’s Deals, shipped!” If you hang out with me (and you will get a chance at our annual conference in March), it is highly likely that something I am wearing I got from Brad’s Deals. They are also fantastic if you have growing children whose sizes change often. Anyway, enjoy, and let me know the best deal you found when you see me at our conference in March!
Quote for My Son
Every day, I leave my son a note with a quote. This was my favorite from this past week:
This past week my son tried out for a team that he thought he had a shot at making but not a guarantee. He didn’t make it. I was proud of him for taking the opportunity to try. I texted him this: Continue to be courageous and willing to put opportunity over ego – Will Fuentes
You can get weekly helpful information for sales professionals by following my company’s Maestro Mastery blog here.
Let me know what you think about this week’s edition of Fuentes Fridays. Which section was your favorite? How can I make this better? Shoot me a message on LinkedIn @willfuentes.
Until next week!
Thanks,
