Strike Zone Focus
GUEST ARTICLE BY
CORY ANDRICHUK
Although I never played organized baseball growing up, I now find myself helping to coach my
nine-year-old son, Caden in his community baseball development team. As my baseball skills
are limited, my wife and I decided to hire local pro, Coach Shawn, to help Caden fine-tune some
of his baseball skills. Coach Shawn is not only a true professional but an exceptional
communicator. One of the key elements of sport he spoke to Caden about was discipline.
A key feature of discipline is the ability to
eliminate distractions. In order to do that,
Caden must practise with a specific purpose in
mind. For example, one purpose might be
to throw his pitches with accuracy.
To achieve this requires
delivering the throw in the strike
zone, which is the invisible
space between the batter's
shoulders and knees. This he
must picture in his mind. The
purpose of this "strike zone
focus" is to eliminate all
distractions and create a reachable target.
After hearing this, it occurred to me as a business
coach that my clients could use this
"strike zone focus" when conversing
with their own clients. The value of
delivering such "strike zone focus" is
priceless as such communication can
determine the difference between
getting the business or not. So, how
do you eliminate distractions
and deliver "strike zone focus"
in your conversations with
clients?
Here are 3 tips to help you:
1. Define your purpose.
2. Ask questions.
3. Actively listen
Before the meeting, decide
what you want to accomplish.
Anticipate your client's needs
and possible objections and
prepare for them.
During the meeting ask closed,
open and meaningful questions
to determine the big picture
and get as many details as
possible. Taking notes is
essential.
Actively listen summarize
and/or paraphrase your client's
conversation after they finish
their sentence or thought. This
will help you clarify their
thoughts and demonstrate you
are on the same page.
Try these tips and I guarantee
you will deepen and grow any
business relationships you
want.
Batter up!