Posts tagged 'Success'

We're all in sales essentially all the time. We're selling ourselves, we're selling ideas, we're selling to the boss, and the boss is selling to us. We're selling to the bank to get more capital. The banks are selling to us to get our business. We're essentially all in sales. Which means we all need to have a deeper understanding of how to sell.

John Asher, author of the Neuroscience of Selling, developer of 15 different sales-related training manuals and CEO of Asher Strategies, delves into the science behind selling and how you can use what we’ve learned to become better at selling.

What can neuroscience teach us about sales?

[There is a] new understanding from this worldwide forum of neuroscientists studying decision-making and other aspects of neuroscience that relate to sales and totally disrupts what we thought was the right thing to do.

[These studies are showing that] it's all about the logic. We know that there are three main parts [of the brain]: The reptilian brain of 500 million years ago that started with early fish; the mammalian brain [that developed] when the dinosaurs were wiped out and some of those small animals went into the sea; and then about 2 million years ago the hominid brain [that developed] with the early primates that have morphed into humans.

To simplify it, the reptilian brain is all about focus on ourselves. The mammalian brain is all about emotion, excitement and engagement. And the hominid brain is all about logic. If you lump those two much older brains (the mammalian and the reptilian brain) together, you can call them the ancient brain. The hominoid brain is the rational brain – the new brain.

We know from all these neuroscience studies that about 97% of our decisions come from the ancient brain, and very few are driven by the rational brain.

When is logic involved in decision-making?

[Let’s look at two examples. First, think about] three companies after a big opportunity. All three companies have good experience, good quality, good service, and reasonable prices. In the buyer's mind, all three companies are essentially tied for first. So which one would the buyer choose? Well, they're going to choose the one where they've liked the salesperson the best – the salesperson who's made the best emotional connection and who's built the best rapport. That's where the emotional connection overrides the rational.

Here's where the rational comes into play. Let's say there are three different companies going after a different procurement. In the buyer's mind, two of the companies are tied for first in every respect: experience, quality, service, and prices. And then there's a third company that's just average. So even though the buyer may like the salesperson from the average company the best, they're not choosing them because they don't have the logic to justify that emotional buy.

Those emotional decisions apply to all of us essentially all the time. Which car do we buy? What mate do we choose? What do we eat for breakfast? These are almost all emotional decisions.That's the first disruption in understanding – that most decisions come from the ancient brain.

How can we tap into the ancient brain when selling?

They are a number of activators, ways to stimulate the other person's ancient brain. It doesn't matter what you're selling – trying to get them to join your company, trying to up and cross-sell to them as a current customer, trying to sell to them as a new prospect, etc. It's all essentially the same.

We are all focused on ourselves. You could call it “me, me, me” focus. That is by necessity for species to survive – we've got to be mainly worried about our own safety, our own success, and our own happiness. When you understand that, you can apply that easily to sales.

-John Asher

To learn more about how buyers think, check out John’s book The Neuroscience of Selling>>

Getting easily distracted at work and at home takes a toll on productivity. Our failure to practice attention management makes it harder and harder to live a life of choice, rather than a life of reaction.

Distractions are abundant in our lives, both at work and at home. In our modern, technological world, there is always someone or something trying to steal our attention away from the task at hand: email, text messages, relentless push notifications, other people, and our own “busy” brain reminding us not to forget everything we have to do. It’s important to control our attention so that we can be productive and achieve the results that are most significant to us.

Are You Easily Distracted? Attention Management Can Help

Your attention determines the experiences you have, and the experiences you have determine the life you live. Or, said another way: you must control your attention to control your life. Today, in a world where so many experiences are blended together—where distraction is rarely more than a few minutes away—has that ever been more true?

However, it’s possible to develop and strengthen good attention management skills. By managing your attention, you are more readily able to increase your productivity, and to focus on the things in life that matter the most to you.

Control Your Technology

The first step to keep you from getting easily distracted is to control your technology. Remember that we purchase our technology tools for our convenience, not so everyone in the world can interrupt us at any time! Start by turning off those notifications. As often as possible and especially when you’re working, keep your phone silent and out of sight. Constant alerts and notifications have accustomed you to distraction, and this is chipping away at your attention span, your patience, and your ability to apply your brain power in a meaningful way.

Control Your Environment

Second, you have more control over your environment than you might think, and it’s time to exercise some of that control. Even if you work in an open-office setting, you can set some boundaries. For example, find ways to communicate to coworkers when you don’t want to be disturbed. Make a “Do Not Disturb” sign to hang on your office door, the back of your chair, or a cubicle wall when you are trying to focus, so you can get deeply engaged in your work without someone interrupting to ask, “Got a minute?”

To control your environment, you also need to manage clutter. A cluttered workspace is a subtle source of stress, and it means that other work and other issues will be distracting you while you are trying to focus on the task at hand. If your desk is messy, at least put the “mess” in a pile, in a box, or in a folder marked “to process.” This will reduce the chances that the clutter will steal your attention. You can do the same with files cluttering your computer desktop, and use your email inbox for receiving messages, not for storing them.

Control Your Habits

The third part is the trickiest: learning to replace your unhelpful habits. When we get distracted every few minutes all day long, distraction becomes a habit, so that every few minutes we get distracted! You can learn to recognize how often you are being distracted so you can let go of that habit of distraction and improve your focus, your attention span, and your patience.

Fight Back Against Distractions with Attention Management

Practicing attention management means fighting back against distractions and creating opportunities throughout your day to support your priorities. Building good attention management habits will help you start to reclaim your life and devote more of yourself to what’s really important to you. Don’t allow distraction to derail your aspirations and intentions. Instead, control your attention to control your life.

-Maura Nevel Thomas

If you want to learn more about Attention Management, click here!

A version of this article previously appeared on MauraThomas.com.

You can preview and purchase the book here>>

If you know about my new book, you have likely been introduced to the term “attention management.” Although the phrase existed before I started using it, it was not used in relation to productivity. In fact, it was not particularly relevant or useful to our everyday lives.

Attention management is at the very heart of my work as a speaker, trainer, and author. Attention management is really just like it sounds—managing your attention.

My definition of it is a little more specific. I define it as the practice of creating the conditions that allow you to intentionally engage the most optimal brain state to achieve your best results in the moment.

A 19th Century Take on Attention Management

A psychologist and philosopher in the 19th century, William James, was an advocate of the ideas behind attention management. He wrote: “[Attention] is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought.”

Here, the key word is “one.” No one can give their attention simultaneously to all of the things that demand it. Attention management allows you to be more proactive than reactive. It means you decide where your attention goes instead of letting outside demands decide it for you.

William James suggested that attention management gives you the ability to maintain control over your thoughts and actions, rather than inadvertently relinquishing this control.

Attention Management Helps You Live a Life of Choice Rather Than a Life of Reaction and Distraction

Today, you can use attention management as a defense against the damage our fast-paced, technology-rich environment does to our mind, body, and soul. It’s also essential for achieving your most significant results daily, so that you can stay in control of your days, and therefore ultimately, your life.

You might wonder if attention management is just “focus.” But you can think of it as the collective practice of a group of behaviors, including focus, concentration, mindfulness, presence, and flow. It offers the ability to consciously direct your attention in any given moment despite distractions, to be more proactive than reactive, and to maintain control over your thoughts, rather than inadvertently relinquishing control.

Attention management is the antidote to everything in our environment that sabotages our attention. We live in a fast-paced, “always-on” society, and that has negative consequences for our ability and efforts to be productive.

Attention management is the key to controlling distractions, maximizing focus, and becoming engaged in “flow.” It helps you to be present in the moment, whether that be at work or at leisure. It helps you to maximize your brain power and your unique skills to bring your best self to the moment—what I call “unleashing your genius.”

Our Attention Determines the Life We Lead

Another quote from William James: “My experience is what I agree to attend to.” Your attention determines the experiences you have, and the experiences you have determine the life you live. This implies that you must control your attention to control your life. Productivity is basically about directing your activities to do more of the things that are important to you. Attention management is the logical path to get you there.

Being able to control your attention requires practice. You’ll be more successful on some days than on others. Managing your attention depends on several factors. It’s not just about distraction.

While attention management is a skill to be developed, there are also physiological factors. Sleep, nutrition, and hydration play an important part in your ability to control your attention, also. When these important elements are neglected, your focus, productivity level, and ability to avoid distractions will also suffer.

Single Focus Instead of Multi-Task to Increase Effectiveness

Attention management is the idea that how you spend your time is relevant only to the extent that you also devote your attention, because time spent on a task with divided attention is much less effective than time spent focused on the task without interruption.

To be sure, traditional “time management” theory still contains useful concepts, such as making lists, setting goals, and prioritizing tasks. It’s the practical application of these ideas that fail the test of time, and most time management training has not been updated to keep up with modern technology and the increasing pace of business. Distraction is the single biggest problem for knowledge workers today. Attention management is the skill we need in our modern, technology-driven society.

-Maura Nevel Thomas

If you want to learn more about Attention Management, click here!

A version of this article originally appeared on maurathomas.com.

You can preview and purchase the book here>>