Caution: Do Not Stare At Heater

“Look what I noticed when I was staring at the heater…”

It’s not often a friend sends you a random snap from their day and it turns out to be a decent sales presentation slide image.

Tis from a wintry sleeper carriage on the S African cross-country Shosholoza train. Running just the seven hours late.

When are we distracted by what ought not be distracting us on a deal?

What is it that can eat into our precious time and resource we must turn away from?

Where can we be simply looking at the wrong thing?

My first thought landed on salespeople getting unduly wound up about the ‘competition’. To the point of obsession. And all the while forgetting that the deal is made because of our fit to their problem resolution.

Many other blinkering bright lights can overwhelm. The one person that will not talk to us. The corridor briefings that seek to deliberately undermine us. The one particular feature demand that seems so out of kilter with the overall solution.

Are spotting such traps part of your qualification or progress checks?