Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching
Taking Flight
The baby bird was getting ready to fly. For the past few weeks, we watched nature take its course, and now the time had come. As we drank our morning coffee, our eyes were glued to the nest.
The bird peered over the edge of the nest (which was on top of one of our patio pillars). It was a long way down. The half way point was our patio table, where the bird would make its first stop. After some mental preparation the bird left the nest for the table. It was a semi-crash landing, but the bird quickly popped up and jumped to a nearby chair. The mother bird, who was carefully watching from the distance, flew over to the baby and appeared to further encourage the baby bird to fly. The mother even demonstrated a take-off and returned back to the baby as if to say "now you try it". This was very fascinating…
Several minutes passed as the bird seemed to calculate its options. It seemed that short range flights were a good way to practice, and that's what the bird did. These short flights were just a few feet at a time, but it gave the bird confidence. Then suddenly, with the mother bird intently watching, the baby bird took off. The first real flight was about 20 feet long. The mother bird flew over to the baby as if to congratulate it, and then they went airborne and left the yard together.
What we observed: getting ready to leave the comfort zone (the nest), fear, planning, more fear, revised planning, encouragement (coaching), crash landing, re-grouping, re-positioning, more fear, more coaching, short range goal execution, and then long-range goal execution - translating into success.
Witnessing this event has given me a new-found respect for birds - at least until they make their next aerial assault on my patio furniture.
Have a great sales week!