Single-Minded Focus

They came again, last night, and ate most of the chrysanthemums that we had planted this fall. What kind of visitors would eat our flowers, you might ask? Deer, of course! They still come regularly, sometimes one or two at a time, and sometimes as many as ten. They forage on our property and graze freely, but with no particular purpose or pattern. They sample everything and have no preference except flowers in full bloom.

For many years, we had a garden pond filled with gold fish. The fish were beautiful in color and we enjoyed watching them as they flashed in the sunlight. We were not alone in watching the flashing colors of those fish! We started noticing fewer fish but never found any dead ones. One day, the answer to this mystery came on wings. A Great Blue Heron was visiting and systematically catching and eating our fish.  We began the spring with 22 fish and by winter, we had only one left. The following spring, the heron was back. He remembered that there was one fish left, and he came back to get it. One day, we looked out the office window and there he was standing among the trees, about twenty feet from the pond. We never saw him advance, but the next time I looked out, he was five feet from the pond, standing very still, statue-like. In a flash of movement, he caught our last fish and was gone. We did not replace the fish and we never saw the heron again.

Now, why this long story . . . simply to point out the difference between random foraging and a single-minded focus. Deer wander around until they find something that might be edible. They spend a lot of time looking, but without a clear objective, other than to graze. The heron, on the other hand, was a focused hunter. He knew exactly what he wanted, where to find it, and how to accomplish his objective. He had a system, a process, and an action plan that worked every time for him. He was unstoppable!

Some salespeople forage, like deer, forage, looking for low-hanging fruit and take whatever they can find. They have no clearly defined target market, no system, or process, not even an action plan. They simply want to make a sale, any kind will do. This method will not help them achieve their full potential, but it will result in inconsistent and lower income. Top producers are like the Great Blue Heron: skilled, methodical hunters, with a single-minded, sustainable focus. They have clearly defined target markets and action plans that produce the desired results. Therefore, they are more likely to achieve their full potential: more enjoyment in their careers, attain higher levels of performance , and greater income.

Which are you, a “forager”, merely groping for business, or a “skilled hunter” with a specific target market and a defined action plan?