Dr. Jay McNamara (a.k.a. Dr. Fish) had spent a considerable amount of time talking to me a couple weeks ago, and I'm still thinking about all of his great points. There are so many psychological themes he applies to bass fishing that also apply to selling! We can certainly gain a lot from his experience in the chair and on the boat! My copy of his book has since arrived in the mail, and I'm really enjoying it! It's really a blueprint for becoming better at almost any aspect in your life.
Here are some of the things Jay had to say about becoming a Top Performer...
What separates the top performers from the rest of the pack?
According to Jay “the distance [between the top performers and the rest of the pack] is small, but made up of a lot of little things. Take LeBron, for example. He and Ben Wallace may not have a lot of measurable differences [height and weight], but LeBron can do a lot of little things better than Ben Wallace and cumulatively that adds up… some of those things we have control over. In sales, the guy who calls a customer back within an hour versus the guy who calls back within a day… or three hours. Over time that makes a difference.
To become a top performer Jay recommends the following exercise:
Pick 6 people who know their work and ask them to suggest 3 things you could do better. Of those 18 responses pick 5 and commit to work on them. Over time those little improvements will add up! Put the plan in place and you will be significantly better in twelve months.
"Salespeople can get feedback easily from their peers and managers," but as Jay mentioned “Fishing Pro’s don’t [get feedback] but need to!” Ahh… maybe that’s why Jay’s in such demand now!
According to Jay “the distance [between the top performers and the rest of the pack] is small, but made up of a lot of little things. Take LeBron, for example. He and Ben Wallace may not have a lot of measurable differences [height and weight], but LeBron can do a lot of little things better than Ben Wallace and cumulatively that adds up… some of those things we have control over. In sales, the guy who calls a customer back within an hour versus the guy who calls back within a day… or three hours. Over time that makes a difference.
To become a top performer Jay recommends the following exercise:
Pick 6 people who know their work and ask them to suggest 3 things you could do better. Of those 18 responses pick 5 and commit to work on them. Over time those little improvements will add up! Put the plan in place and you will be significantly better in twelve months.
"Salespeople can get feedback easily from their peers and managers," but as Jay mentioned “Fishing Pro’s don’t [get feedback] but need to!” Ahh… maybe that’s why Jay’s in such demand now!
I might agree with Jay that salespeople can get feedback easily from peers and managers, but argue that they often don't! I know many a sales rep that knows everything already (of course I am always open minded and accepting of critical feedback- okay maybe that's a stretch!).
What type of mentality do top performing salespeople need to have?
According to Jay (and, after all, he does pre-employment psychology screening for sales reps) he says there are two key dimensions.
“First, poise under pressure… Resilience in the face of adversity…the understanding that ‘no’ means ‘not now.’ Think about the bass pros. They cast maybe two-to-three thousand times a day for maybe eight bites! It’s the same in sales… handling that constant rejection. That resilience… you either have it or not.”
Back to his win at Minnetonka, Jay caught ½ of his limit in the first half hour of the tournament, and then went 6 ½ hours without a thing. In the final hour of the tournament he caught the rest of his limit. How often have you made a bunch of sales and then nothing? It can feel like an eternity and pressure begins to mount! That resilience is necessary for a top fisherman or salesman!
“The second dimension is an openness to learning. A drive to improve. You have to be passionate about learning. Think about Tiger Woods. He’s already the best in the world, but look at what he does in the off season. He’s constantly trying to make himself better.”
What’s the one thing that every salesperson and bass pro should do to be successful?
Keep calling. Keep casting.
The biggest mistake Bass Pros make?
The biggest mistake people make is “they overestimate what they’ve got. They exaggerate their skill set… their knowledge. Most of the top guys are pretty humble, Like Kevin Van Dam. They don’t act like they know more than they know… there is difference between being confident in who you are and thinking you can do anything.”
The risk, Jay continues “is that if you overestimate what you’ve got, it shuts off your brain and stops your thinking. If you’re sure you can do it, you’re not open to what’s around you.”
The top guys are confident, but remain open to the possibilities around them.
What type of mentality do top performing salespeople need to have?
According to Jay (and, after all, he does pre-employment psychology screening for sales reps) he says there are two key dimensions.
“First, poise under pressure… Resilience in the face of adversity…the understanding that ‘no’ means ‘not now.’ Think about the bass pros. They cast maybe two-to-three thousand times a day for maybe eight bites! It’s the same in sales… handling that constant rejection. That resilience… you either have it or not.”
Back to his win at Minnetonka, Jay caught ½ of his limit in the first half hour of the tournament, and then went 6 ½ hours without a thing. In the final hour of the tournament he caught the rest of his limit. How often have you made a bunch of sales and then nothing? It can feel like an eternity and pressure begins to mount! That resilience is necessary for a top fisherman or salesman!
“The second dimension is an openness to learning. A drive to improve. You have to be passionate about learning. Think about Tiger Woods. He’s already the best in the world, but look at what he does in the off season. He’s constantly trying to make himself better.”
What’s the one thing that every salesperson and bass pro should do to be successful?
Keep calling. Keep casting.
The biggest mistake Bass Pros make?
The biggest mistake people make is “they overestimate what they’ve got. They exaggerate their skill set… their knowledge. Most of the top guys are pretty humble, Like Kevin Van Dam. They don’t act like they know more than they know… there is difference between being confident in who you are and thinking you can do anything.”
The risk, Jay continues “is that if you overestimate what you’ve got, it shuts off your brain and stops your thinking. If you’re sure you can do it, you’re not open to what’s around you.”
The top guys are confident, but remain open to the possibilities around them.
In conclusion...
My conversation with Jay was awesome, and I think these themes are pretty important to bettering ourselves professionally and personally. If we have an openness to learning then we can accept some feedback and choose a few little things to work on. Over time those things will yield great(er) success for us. But if we think we know it all already, we run the risk of shutting our brains down and not seizing an opportunity to learn a new valuable skill.
Remember, Carpe Diem is not "Fish of the Day." Take advantage of this day, seize this opportunity to become better, and you will enjoy long and prosperous adventures on and off the boat!
To order Jay's book, visit www.bassedge.com or call 888-390-8780.
B.A.S.S. Federation Nation members can get a discount on five or more books by e-mailing jay.drfish@gmail.com
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