A fuzzy memory that may or may not have ever happened…
Years ago, the Boston Celtics were playing and forward Rick Carlisle (now an NBA coach) was on
a roll. He couldn’t miss. In fact, he didn’t. He threw in something like 11 shots in a row. For a
brief period of time, the team throughout their playbook and just kept feeding the ball to the
guy with the hot hand, who sank basket after basket. Early in the streak, when they got into a
huddle Larry Bird looked at them and said, “Don’t say a thing. Just shoot.” Afterward, Bird
explained that you don’t question the streak. You don’t analyze it and you don’t discuss it. You
just enjoy it while it lasts.
Golf. Baseball. What ever. It’s all the same.
Sometimes, it happens in sales, too. You might make calls 19 days in a row without any success
on that 20th day, while doing the exact same thing you did the previous 19, it suddenly rains
business.
You are in the zone.
I’ve had this happen myself over the years. It’s a great feeling and I wish you would never end.
But alas, the magic spell is suddenly broken. But for a while, wow!
One of the hardest parts about sales is mustering up the faith that your hard work is moving the
sales needle. I tell my clients about The Streak and no one believes me until it happens to them.
Focus on sales activity. Every day, every day, every day. Don’t worry about the outcome, just
the actions. You might get day after day of rejection that turns into week after week but
then—BAM!!!—it’ll all turn your way.
You’ll see. Your time will come. And when it does, enjoy it!