Sales Tip 1839: Resetting Your Mind in 90 Seconds – Chris Hatfield

Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip comes from Chris Hatfield. He is the Founder and Coach at Sales Psyche, and has spent 15 years in sales, leadership and coaching roles. He is also author of Sales Psyche: A Guide to Mastering a Healthy & High-Performing Mind. Listen to this:

There’s a lot in sales we can’t control, but we can always control how we respond to it. But more often than not, this is a reaction, you know, after an unexpected email, a call that doesn’t go to plan, a deal that gets pushed back into the next quarter. These points can cause our mind to spiral. This negative self talk, this increased stress, this anxiety. So what I want to talk to you today about is a tip designed to help improve your self regulation and how to reset yourself throughout your day to avoid these things not just sabotaging your potential success, but also your wellbeing. Because I think we can have these moments and we can then take it into the next call, the next day, the week, the weekend. And this is linked to something called the 90 second window. Studies have shown that in 90 seconds, our minds can reset themselves and our bodies from a stressful state to a neutral one.

Now, it’s often our reaction that justifies this stress lingering. When we have these things happen, that email comes in, that call doesn’t go to plan, it triggers our stress response. We have this physiological dumpage of chemicals that come through our system. It’s a bit like bouncers thinking they’ve heard a glass smash in a club. They’ll come running in thinking what’s going on. And because we often react, maybe out loud to someone else or even send back a snappy email or say something to ourselves like, you know, my quarter’s ruined, I’m never going to hit target, we justify that stress lingering and put ourselves into a stressful state for longer. Now, if we can find a way to refocus our mind, our rational mind, and give ourselves something to focus on, not distracting, we can give ourselves that 90 seconds to reset ourselves. A tool to really help with this is something known as the five senses exercise.

So what I’d like to do is just sit comfortably, make sure you’re not doing anything else before you try this. All I want you to do, first of all is to notice five things that you can see around you in the room or space you’re in that you don’t always pay attention to. You don’t need to write them down, don’t need to say them out loud, but five things that you don’t always pay attention to that you can see around you and feel free at any point. If you need to pause me for a bit more time. Now, I want you to close your eyes, if it’s safe to do so, and notice four things that you can feel that are touching your body somewhere. So it could be what’s in your hands, on your feet, your clothes, what’s on your heads, but four distinct feelings with your eyes closed, if safe to do so. Now I want you to notice three distinct sounds, three things you can hear around you. Pay attention to even the smallest of sounds here.

Now, two things that you can smell. So maybe have a smell of your wrist or your clothing to help with that, but still with your eyes closed, if safe to do so. And finally, one thing you can taste. If you were to describe the taste in your mouth to your mind, what that would be and open your eyes if you had them closed, pay attention to how you feel right now. If you were to sum it up in one or two words, what would that be? Perhaps calm, relaxed, present. What you’re doing here is you’re engaging the rational part of your brain by using your senses. You’re making yourself feel more present and you’re disrupting that primal part of your brain which is where all that irrational thoughts and emotions sit. And this tool is such a powerful way to reset yourself throughout the day, and not only reset yourself, but to use proactively.

You know, when you look at any tool that we have, the more proactive we are with it, the less reactive we’ll need to be. And when we do need it, we’re more likely to use it because it’s become a habit. So you can even use this before a call, before going into work for the day. At the end of the day, when you want to feel present. But practicing something as simple as this, the five senses exercise over time. What it does, it puts you in control. You might still say the same thing you were going to before, you might still do the same thing, but you’re doing it with more intention. And this avoids those moments throughout your day, sabotaging your success and your wellbeing.

So if you’ve given this a try, feel free to reach out and let me know how you found it. But stay mindful.

Scott Ingram: To learn more about Chris, his book and Sales Psyche, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1839 Once you’ve done that, be sure to come back for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!