Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

AdvisorBlast – Quick Tips to Accelerate Your Practice
2014 Olympic Special Edition #3

In this issue: Being nervous before your big event is a good thing.

Remember the last time you tried to convert a prospect to a client and your office was filled with 40,000 screaming people watching your every move and dissecting each word you spoke?

You remember! It was the time when you’d pursued the prospect for 15 years, with you and your family paying thousands of dollars year after year during your pursuit for the single opportunity to clinch the deal. Do you recall that now?

You must remember! You’d worked your whole life for this one meeting, that was only going to last 2 minutes before you knew whether it had been all worth it or not.

Remember how the television camera people jammed their lenses at you as you tried to focus one last time before risking literally breaking your neck while telling the client why they should work with you?

Remember how concerned you were that if that prospect didn’t sign that day, you’d make headlines around the world, claiming you’d choked!

This is what the Olympic athletes you’ve been watching these past couple of weeks are facing on their “big meeting day.” Thankfully, closing a business deal has probably never carried quite that pressure for you.

But, the big meeting day can still be nerve-racking.

Contrary to popular opinion, nerves are good. Being a little nervous just means you care about the outcome. When you have invested a lot of effort in hopes of achieving a positive outcome, you can expect to be nervous. Remember those important high school exams where you were prepped and cared, AND were nervous? We want some nerves before the big performance.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is an inhibitor – something that occurs because the circumstances seem out of control because you haven’t prepared like you know you should have. Remember those important high school exams you weren’t prepared for? Anxiety is bad. We don’t want anxiety.

The next time you feel nervous about an approaching important meeting or event (you might be speaking at a seminar, presenting to a company, or “pitching” to a prospect) remember to keep things in perspective. Consider some of the scenes from Sochi. The right to expect a podium-worthy performance and experience the jubilant feelings of victory and relief doesn’t come without the risk of disappointment, frustration, and tragedy. It’s OK to be nervous.

If it turns out that you don’t reach your desired outcome, do what every great athlete does: learn from the experience, get back up, dust yourself off, refocus on your next objective, and get going. Oh, and remember to be thankful your job doesn’t require you to wear a tight rubber suit and crash helmet every day!

Keep things in perspective,
Paul

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