Your Sales Swing Thought

Complete Story

06/11/2025

Your Sales Swing Thought

Source: Bill Farquharson, June 9, 2025

BillF

I belong to a local Golf Club and have for several years. I remember driving by on Saturday mornings and watching the old fogies teeing off. There is a group of them that would go out early, and I recall snickering at the site of a bunch of gray-haired guys chasing the ball around.

Now, I'm in that group.

A couple of Saturdays ago one of the players in our foursome stepped up to the first tee, lined up his shot, and just before he hit the ball exclaimed, “Well, I know what not to do.” I laughed at his comment and said, “Nice swing thought, John.”

Most golfers have a swing thought. It's the last thing they think of before they draw the club back and hit the ball. Ordinarily, it's something positive (like “Stripe it down the middle”) or directive (like, “Make sure to keep your head still”). It's designed to get you focused and in the moment.

Salespeople can have a sales “swing” thought, too, as a way of motivating themselves. You could go with a Mel Fisher, “Today’s the day!” That's what he said while he and his crew looked for a sunken ship, The Atocha, off the coast of Key West…a phrase that was repeated daily for 16 years.

Or maybe you’d prefer something more Eckhardt Tollé, like “Stay in the moment.” Tollé wrote, “The purpose of your life is to do what you are doing right now to the best of your ability.”

Or how about a different version of that thought; Don Miguel Ruiz’ “Always do your best;” the fourth of his Four Agreements.

A singular swing thought makes it possible to push away all the ancillary thoughts a golfer has (like, “No, Bill, you’re not old”) and allows them to concentrate on just one piece of advice or instruction. Sales people can borrow that thinking and improve the quality of their work, get more out of the selling day, and stay focused on completing one task before moving on to the next.

Might even help their golf game…unless they’re old.

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The Sales Vault, created by Bill Farquharson, is a subscription-based resource and sales community featuring a calendar packed with live workshops, on-demand sales courses, peer-to-peer discussion groups, and 35+ years of sales training content all searchable by sales challenge. Think of it as a sales conference where the seminars and workshops, full of instantly applicable ideas, are ongoing and more programs are added constantly.

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Bill has been a friend of GMA for many years and is, no doubt, known to our members as a top sales trainer and content creator for the graphic arts.

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