Now that the Super Bowl is over, I'm already going through withdrawal. This actually started when my favorite team, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers missed the playoffs, but now starts the long off season (I hope there's no work stoppage because of the CBA expiring in March...). Even though my Bucs didn't make the playoffs, they had a great season, and there's a great story to it that relates directly to sales, and here's what it is:

In 2009, Raheem Morris became the youngest head coach of the youngest team in football. Everyone knew it would be a rebuilding year, but not many figured it would end as badly as it did. The Bucs record in 2009 - 3-13. While losing thirteen games was hard enough, the real problem seemed to be what it would mean going forward.

In fact, when the predictions came out for the 2010 season, seasoned sports writers like Peter King of Sports Illustrated predicted the Bucs would win even less games. His estimate? 2-14! It's a good thing that he wasn't coaching the team, because Raheem had a different opinion...

Despite how the Bucs finished the 2009 season, Raheem had a vision for a much improved 2010 campaign and stated that vision early. "2010 is going to be a 10 win year for us!" he said to anyone within hearing distance. He wrote 10 wins on signs in the locker room, the training facility, the practice field, and he preached it at all team meetings. His saying was simple: "It's mentality before reality."

Learn To Be Confident

Soon every one of his young players began believing it and, when interviewed, they would repeat what the coach had so confidently predicted - "We're going to win 10 games this season!"

After five months of listening to, repeating and learning to believe in this prediction, the season finally started... They won their first, second, third and fourth game. Ronde Barber, their veteran corner back saw Peter King at their fourth win game and even asked him, "So we've already doubled your prediction, Peter, how do you like that?" Not much was the answer, but the Bucs didn't care. They had a vision.

The season came down to the very last game, a road game against the Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints. This was a game the Saints needed to win, but the Bucs needed it, too. The Bucs record at the time? 9-6. If they won this game they had a chance to make the playoffs, and they had a chance to make their 10 win season a reality.

They won. Their season record - 10-6. Unfortunately, they didn't make the playoffs (Green Bay got the last spot), but they considered their season a success nonetheless. I sure did.

OK, so what does this have to do with sales? Well, everything. Like performance in sports, performance in sales is so much of a mental game. "It's mentality before reality" is the battle cry of every top producers. In other words, what you think you're going to close and earn, you usually do.

So my question to you this week is, "What's your mentality when it comes down to what you're going to produce this month, this quarter and this year in sales?" Your answer to that one question will be the biggest determining factor to your success and actual results this year.

More so than the economy, the leads, your product or any other factor. You see, it's mentality before reality.

Learn more about setting goals for a successful future by clicking here.