Can you think of a time when you expected something to happen and it didn’t? How did you feel?
Probably not great.
Can you think of a time when you expected something to happen, and it did? In fact, it happened exactly as you had hoped. Think back to that moment to remember how great it actually felt. And what I really want you to notice is how your expectation about what was going to happen impacted your actual success.
A client recently shared with me how powerful her expectations were on an ultimate result that she achieved. And believe me, it was no small feat! She held onto her positive belief for months and then out of the blue, she found out that she had won—and she wasn’t surprised. I asked her why she wasn’t surprised and she replied, “Because I knew that I was going to win that opportunity.”
She just knew.
When you “just know,” it’s amazing what can happen. Later, she was working on another large client opportunity but had some fear around whether or not it would happen. She was preparing for the client meeting the next day and I said to her, “Remember how you felt when you landed that last massive opportunity?”
She thought for a moment and then said, “Yes, I remember.”
I then replied, “That’s the same feeling and expectation I want you to take into this client appointment.”
She said, “Okay! I got it!” She took that feeling and expectation with her to the prospect meeting.
And guess what?
She landed the deal!
Greg Kuhn, in his book “Why Quantum Physicists Do Not Fail” writes, “I have explained, of course, that your beliefs create your expectations, and that your expectations create your physical experiences. Your beliefs are powerful and necessary things for the human experience. They are the internal ‘drivers’ of your expectations that you will now learn to change and, when changed, will create a new universe for you to see.”
So if our expectations really do impact our beliefs, why don’t we pay more attention to them? In my experience, having coached hundreds of entrepreneurs and sales professionals over the years, it’s because we just don’t know. We don’t pay attention to our beliefs and expectations on a regular basis, or even have the slightest understanding of how they directly impact our reality. Even more, our beliefs directly impact the intentions and goals we choose, from the beginning. If we don’t believe something is possible, and no one ever challenges that belief, then we can’t choose a powerful belief or expectation that will actually take us to the next level.
Are you curious about your beliefs and expectations and how they are impacting your ultimate success? The simple way to discover how they are impacting your success is to think about your sales stretch goal. When you think about your sales stretch goal, what comes up for you? What do you believe about that goal? Do you expect it to happen? Again, just notice your answers to these questions and you can quickly see what your beliefs are in this area and how they might be affecting you.
For example, perhaps you’ve been averaging $10,000 per month in your business and you’d like to get to $20,000 per month. When you check in with yourself, you realize that your beliefs are: 1.) I don’t know where I would find these clients and 2.) I don’t believe there are enough clients out there. Bingo! Notice that if those are your beliefs and expectations, there’s no way you are going to reach that stretch goal. It’s a big red flag to show you that it is time to check on your beliefs and expectations and get them into alignment with your stretch goals.
How do you do that? There’s a simple five-step process that can help you realign your sales stretch goals with your beliefs and expectations.
5 Steps to Realign your Beliefs and Expectations with Your Sales Stretch Goal
- Choose your sales stretch goal. Remember, your goal should feel like a stretch but still be believable.
- Assess your beliefs. When you think about your sales stretch goal, what comes up for you? What do you believe about that goal? Do you expect it to happen? Again, just notice your answers to these questions and you can quickly see what your beliefs are in this area and how they might be affecting you.
- Write down your top two limiting beliefs in this area.
- Next to your top two limiting beliefs, write down three things that aren’t true about each belief. Notice how this makes the belief begin to feel like it is dissolving.
EXAMPLE:
I don’t know where I would find these clients.
- The possibilities are endless with 6 billion people on the planet.
- Maybe I don’t have to “find” them. It might be possible that I’ve already met them or someone could refer them.
- The more speaking and networking I do, the more likely it is they will just find me.
- I don’t believe there are enough clients out there.
- I have seen evidence of other people who are in a similar business as mine that there are more than enough clients out there.
- I’ve had some success already getting new clients. There’s no reason I can’t do more of this.
- When I have faith and write my sales stretch goals down, more clients just seem to show up. There’s no reason this won’t work on a larger scale.
5. Write down what you would like your new achieving belief to be about this sales stretch goal.
EXAMPLE:
There are more than enough clients that I can serve and I can easily exceed my sales stretch goal this month.
Notice how you feel after you go through this exercise. Do you feel a sense of relief and possibility?
The next step is to write your new achieving belief down every day at least 10 times. Also, keep your sales stretch goals in front of you so you can easily review them. Watch what happens!
If you are ready to get serious about reaching your sales stretch goals, then it’s time to get in touch with your beliefs and expectations. As you’ve seen, your limiting beliefs and expectations can easily be revealed when you ask yourself key questions about what you really believe in these areas. It’s not difficult to change limiting beliefs, but you need to recognize what they are first. When you change them, you can shift to positive expectations and beliefs about what is really possible in your sales success!
