Somatic
Business Coaching in Action
Ava Tops Her Own Sales Record,
Moves to the Sales Career of Her Dreams
After several months' coaching, Ava declared her best
sales quarter ever. Her success was even more dramatic when viewed against
the backdrop of a depressed economy in which most of her colleagues
experienced flat or reduced sales.
Ava's new goal was to shift from selling big ticket, high tech products and
services to "enrolling" people into educational products and
services about which she herself cared deeply. The change would require her
to hold conversations with many more potential clients, manage more
conversations about different programs simultaneously, and listen to people
more deeply.
As a master salesperson, Ava was an expert at tracking and managing
contacts. To become a master "enroller," she would have to learn
how to "hold" many open conversations at once and over time. In
somatic terms, she had to develop greater "width" without
sacrificing "length" or "depth".
Ava pinpointed a major problem. "When I listen with full
attention," she said, "my first impulse is to get defensive
whenever someone gives me a negative assessment. This is particularly true
with people that I give authority to, like teachers, my coach, and friends.
How can I stay more open in these situations?"
To help Ava begin answering her question, I asked her to notice her body's
reaction in one of these conversations. She saw that when she imagined
others assessing her negatively, her shoulders dropped, her chest caved in,
and her mind filled with negative chatter. She said this was the first time
she could actually see how her automatic defensive mode works on her.
To help her stay more open and able to choose her response to a negative
assessment, I asked her to stand with her feet shoulder width apart, arms
out as though wrapped around a gigantic ball, and from there extend her
energy out through her arms. While she did this, I had one hand on her
sternum and the other on her mid to lower back to help her stay present in
her body, keep her energy extending, and anchor ("ground") this
new, more open stance.
This was not an easy practice for Ava. A rush of energy made her feel very
vulnerable. "It's hard to stay present in my body for more than a few
seconds," she said.
I explained that emotionally and mentally "leaving" the body is
common. Children instinctually learn that "leaving" the body is
one way to protect themselves against the pain of trauma. When
"leaving" becomes an unconscious habit, the person can be
uncomfortable being more fully alive and present.
I asked Ava to walk with raising one knee to the opposite hand until she
was back into her body and grounded. We continued the extension practice,
this time without my hands on her, but with both of us observing, and me
coaching by asking what she sensed as she extended her energy.
After a few times, Ava could do the practice without "leaving".
She felt more peaceful, more open to inquiry about what she was sensing and
feeling. She had increased confidence in her capacity to manage all the
conversations she had in her sales pipeline for multiple programs.
I asked her to continue the extension practice daily until our next
meeting. With continuous practice, Ava learned a different way to
"sell" and built her capacity to be able to manage her responses
differently so she could be successful in her new environment.
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