Is There a 'Perfect' Environment for Sales?

You guys. I am trying to read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Yes, THAT book. The one first published in 1974. The subtitle is "An Inquiry into Values." If you have not read it, it is part memoir, part philosophical text. I read a lot. And this book is a tough one. It is especially tough if you are used to reading while being surrounded by screaming fighting pre-schoolers and toddlers. And it got me thinking about the environment.

Because what I discovered is that I need it to be absolutely quiet when I read this book. Which means that there are only certain times and places that I can read it. And I’m reading it for a book club, which means that I have to have it finished by a certain date, and that I need to read it while being prepared to discuss certain aspects of it, almost as if I am reading it academically. So now I can only read this book while either a) all of my children are asleep or b) I am out of the house.

This is not really a problem for me. I can read it after bedtime or while the girls are at school, because from the time I drop them off til I pick them up again (a glorious 2 ¼ hours every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) is reserved for me to do things like work and eat a meal in privacy. So I just read then.

So what is the perfect environment for sales success? Should you have a space that is pin drop quiet, or one that is humming with activity? If you watch movies like "The Boiler Room" or "Wall Street," the sales bull pens are jammed pack with dudes in ties screaming to make their pitch, as if the noise is actually a tool to create a sense of urgency to get the targets to buy.