P = M * V

Over the past two weeks, I've had conversations with managers who are excited about how they finished Q1 and feel great about the momentum going forward. I've also talked to managers who have had it so rough that they are having difficulty looking positively on tomorrow, let alone the rest of the year. Whether you had a great or horrible quarter, the momentum generated can help you keep winning or spin you into a full-on slump.

In physics, momentum is represented by a P, so the equation is P = mass times velocity. Physicist Isaac Newton’s second law of motion is that the change of momentum is equal to the force acting upon the particle. This means momentum can be either forward or backward, depending on which way the forces are pushing. In life, business and sales, we always want FORWARD momentum.

In his recent blog, Dan Rockwell, The Leadership Freak, describes how a series of small wins maximizes the forward momentum. He suggests that the keys to leveraging this positive momentum are:

Develop people – If it's only about the numbers, people are tools.

Where comes before how – Describe where you choose to go before how.

Practice 5x encouragement – Encourage 5x more than you correct.

Focus on learning – What are we learning, how can we do better?

Take action quickly – Delay kills momentum.

Keep spinning after winning – Momentum is a series of successful endings that enable beginning again.

As a new manager, I unintentionally killed my team's momentum with a simple question: What did you sell today? I wasn't celebrating the little victories with them; I was seemingly only interested in the result – the sale. As a more mature manager, I recognized that to restore momentum and confidence, I had to ask the right question: What success did you enjoy today? This allowed my team to brag about little victories along the way to making sales rather than fearing seeing me in the hallway for the dreaded question.

What resonates with me from Rockwell's blog is the 5x encouragement. As managers and leaders, we have precious resources in our care – our people. I've never heard anyone on my team say, "Jeff, if you praise me one more time, I'm going to leave!"

If your quarter didn't end where you wanted, you could start with Rockwell's six momentum builders to turn things around. Helping sellers find the little victories that lead to a sale is a necessary part of building that forward momentum. It's typical to have sales meetings on Monday. Today, as you meet with your most important resources, make sure they leave feeling encouraged and empowered rather than chewed up and spit out. They get enough of that on the streets.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on X and LinkedIn.