Justin Cobb On Setting The Pace In Everything You Do

If you are in a position of leadership, maybe you’re a coach, an example or a mentor, you understand that you have to lead from the front at all times and that you are a byproduct of your success. So when setting the right example you are projecting the actions that you want to see back from your team, Justin Cobb shares his best advice on setting the pace, the right way.

‘Setting The Pace,’ the expression comes from racing, where it is said of a horse that passes the others and leads the field. It was transferred to other activities in the early 1900s. In business, leading from the front entails setting the pace for many variables like, attitude, results, work ethic, gratitude, punctuality and the list goes on, as a pacesetter and an example, you should always be mindful of the actions which you project to your mentees and team. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to find a way to win, by doing that you add value to those involved and to yourself, and change the preconceived belief that the obstacles presented could not be overcome and you would find yourself at a loss.

These kinds of obstacles present themselves on a daily basis, in sales and marketing we refer to them as objections: a reason for disagreeing with an idea or a scenario. For example, your team member might say that the reason they didn’t win today was because not one of their customers wanted to buy the product he or she was selling. So how do we look at this objection, and overcome it? We have to first understand what we can and cannot control in this situation. For example, make them realize that only they can control their attitude, as well as their incorrect belief that it’s the customer’s fault that they didn’t buy.  So as the example you need to set the pace, you need to explain that they can overcome those objections by taking control, and more importantly, you have to show them this. Visit another customer with them, and by winning the sale, you encourage them to change their belief system and make them a winner again.

As a manager or CEO of a team, every day you have to presume that all of your mentees need inspiring. Believe that they need motivating, and they need to be lead, so be on your best form when present with them, act as if it’s their first day and that the risk is high of them throwing away their opportunity if not adequately shown the way.