Breathe

When I'm working out, my trainer always tells me to breathe. My response is that breathing comes pretty naturally, so why would I stop.

I learned that whenever somebody comes under stress, physically or emotionally, the natural tendency is to take a breath in and hold it; almost as if the mind thinks that it can hold the oxygen for later use. When we hold our breath, our body tenses up and we actually become more vulnerable.

I'm see this happen in sales situations all the time. With more pressure and tighter markets, it is increasingly likely that whenever we encounter an opportunity, we tense up - we hold our "sales breath."

We have thought like, "Don't lose this one," or "What do I need to do to make the customer happy?" When this happens we press, and the likelihood of success decreases markedly.

So, as we continue to gain traction in the emerging recovery, remember to breathe - and let the sales happen.