Thoughts on Pitching for Bankers
Posted by Ned Miller on Thu, Oct 27, 2011 @ 01:41 PM
I’ve been thinking about pitching recently. Not products, baseballs. As a Phillies fan, I’ve lost all interest in the World Series, although for my friend Jim’s sake I hope the Cardinals win the final two games.
What’s had me thinking about our national pastime as November approaches is a book by sports psychologist H.A. Dorfman called “The Mental ABC’s of Pitching.” It has been read and reread by many of the best pitchers in baseball, including Roy Halliday and Tim Lincecum.
If I had had it as a 12 year old Little Leaguer, I probably would have been much more successful on the mound. It wouldn’t have done much to improve the velocity of my fastball, but it would have helped me conquer the mental side of pitching.
Dorfman tells pitchers that they should only worry about the things they can control. We’ve all heard that before. But he goes on to provide a framework for disciplining a pitcher’s thoughts that is applicable to those of us without big league baseball credentials.
Let’s start with the world that a pitcher inhabits. For Dorfman, a pitcher is either on the mound or off the mound. When he’s off the mound, he can get himself ready to compete, work on developing new pitches, and plan how he is going to handle certain batters. But to be successful on the mound a pitcher has to stay focused on three things: which pitch to throw, where to throw it and the catcher’s mitt as his target. Nothing else.
For Dorfman, it’s almost as if the batters aren’t there. A pitcher can’t control whether a batter swings or not. He can’t afford to worry about who’s batting next. His job is to select a pitch from his repertoire and throw it well. If he does that consistently, he’s going to be effective.
How does this apply to bankers who are prospecting? Here are some of the things you can control :
- Which prospects you target
- How much preparation you do before important meetings
- How you leverage your personal network to gain introductions and testimonials
- What questions you ask on calls
- How you follow-up
What you can’t control is also important: whether a prospect will return your call; whether a prospect will agree to meet; whether your prospect decides to stay with his current bank.
I was with a talented banker this week who was frustrated that she couldn’t convince one of her prospects to move. After talking with her for a few minutes, it was clear that she really had done everything possible. I encouraged her to think about what she’s going to do to keep the conversation alive with her prospect and maintain momentum.
While impatience is generally a virtue in salespeople, you can’t get upset about what you can’t control. Hall of Fame hurler Satchel Paige’s advice would also apply to relationship managers: “Don’t look back. Somebody might be gaining on you.”
Sales Leaders: Find out more about our next live webinar on November 21 on “Coaching Commercial RMs in Challenging Times” by going to http://www.eventspan.com/event/2011-11-21-strategies-for-sales-leaders
Can’t make the live session? All webinars are recorded and are available in our archive within 24 hours in the recorded sessions section of our website at https://mzbierlyconsulting.webex.com. If you have questions about our webinars, call Susan Lersch at 610-296-4771.