The energy in the Zoom was a little off.
I had just wrapped a call, and you could feel it. Lower morale, builder in a bit of a slump. It’s that time of year again. Sure, seasonality plays a role, but this was something more. Year-over-year leads are down, sales are a little off, and everyone’s feeling it.
We started discussing prospecting, specifically with someone who struggles to stay consistent with it. We’d already done the therapy session: "Why is it hard for you?" "Where do you get stuck?" We'd explored the mental blocks and emphasized the importance of doing it even when it’s hard.
But now? Now it was time for UMM - Uncle Mike Mode.
I told them, “This is THE job. This. Right here. Making the calls. Sending the emails. Following up with the texts. Creating those communication loops, that’s the gig. That’s the work.”
And that’s when this analogy came to mind.
Ten Seconds
My son, Nate, wants to play basketball in college, and the recruiting process has just started for him. Recently, he played in a tournament and got a call from a college coach afterward.
The coach asked him, “How do you think you did, Nate?”
Nate said, “I did okay, but my shot was off that game you saw. I went one for six from the three-point line. That was terrible.”
The coach paused and asked, “How long do you think it takes to shoot one of those threes?”
Nate thought for a second and said, “I don’t know, maybe two seconds?”
“Okay,” the coach said. “So you missed five of them. That’s, what - about ten seconds total?”
And then the coach said something that Nate said was “really good”:
“What you do in those other 28 minutes and 50 seconds - that’s where your impact is, even when you don’t make your shots.”
Boom.
Prospecting Isn’t Perfection, It’s Connection
The same holds true with prospecting. We get hung up on the five missed shots - “They didn’t answer,” “They told me no,” “They already bought.” “The number was inactive.” “Their voicemail was full.”
But that’s not the whole game.
The real value? It’s in the effort. It's in staying in front of the customer, showing up, and making that impact over time. You might not book the appointment every time. That’s okay. Your job is to take the shot.
Because, like that coach told Nate: “It’s not about the result of every shot - it’s about the process of shooting. Are you setting up your shot correctly? Are you staying confident?”
And if you're a shooter? You’re going to make them. Maybe not all in one game. But the next one? You’ll hit.
Time to Get to Work
So yeah, I think we’re moving into a new phase. Less cheerleader, more coach. Less “Great try!” and more “Get your butt in gear.”
Because this is the job.
It’s not about being perfect.
It’s about making the effort, staying in the game, and trusting the process.
Just keep shooting.
