Power Play #5: How to Gain an Eagle Eye in Sales
Have you ever felt like you're running in circles, chasing goals that always seem just out of reach?
Confidence isn’t just about believing in yourself—it’s about trusting your knowledge, refining your approach, and delivering your message with conviction. In this episode, we dive deep into the role of confidence in medical device sales, tackling self-doubt, fear of failure, and performance anxiety. Lisa and Cindy break down actionable strategies to build unwavering trust in yourself, enhance decision-making skills, and become a more assertive, high-performing sales professional. If you’re ready to step up your game and make confidence your competitive edge, this episode is for you.
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 - Introduction
03:03 - Why Every High Performer Needs a Vision
07:33 - Clarity: The Key to a Strong Vision
13:48 - Aligning Your Actions with Your Goals
19:23 - Taking Action: Reverse Engineering Success
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Why Vision Matters – Without a clear vision, you're just chasing your tail. Learn why vision is the foundation of success and how top performers use it to stay ahead.
Clarity: Defining Your North Star – You can’t achieve what you can’t see. Cynthia and Anneliese break down how to create a crystal-clear vision that fuels motivation.
Aligning Actions with Goals – Your daily habits and mindset must match your vision. Learn how to align your actions with your goals to stay on track.
Taking Action: Reverse Engineering Success – A vision without action is just a dream. Discover how to work backward from your goals and take tangible steps to make them a reality.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
"You can’t hit a target you can’t see. Get clear on your vision and make it real." – Anneliese Rhodes
"High performers don’t wait for success to happen—they design it." – Cynthia Ficara
"If you don’t believe in your vision, who will?" – Anneliese Rhodes
"Chasing a goal without a plan is like running in circles—stop chasing and start building." – Cynthia Ficara
"The difference between wishful thinking and achievement is taking action." – Anneliese Rhodes
"Vision isn’t just about what you want—it’s about believing you deserve it." – Cynthia Ficara
"Success starts with a decision. Decide what you want, then align everything to make it happen." – Anneliese Rhodes
"You are the CEO of your own career. Start leading it with purpose." – Cynthia Ficara
"Reverse engineer your success—see the end goal, then break it into steps." – Anneliese Rhodes
"Your vision should feel so real, you can see it, hear it, and touch it." – Cynthia Ficara
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A Team Dklutr production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Good morning, good afternoon or good evening to everyone out there. Welcome to another episode of secrets and medical device sales brought to you by the girls of grit. We are good morning. Hello, everybody. That's right. We are so excited to have you guys all back. Hi, Cindy. It's good to see you. Even if it's just on camera, it's so good to see your face.
Cynthia Ficara: Oh, it's great to see you too. And I tell you, when we talk about seeing, this really aligns with what we're talking about today. I am really excited. Here we are on power play number five, and I kind of gave a hint. We talk about seeing things. This is about a vision and you know, I don't know about you, but I wear glasses and let me tell you what a difference it makes when I wear my contacts versus when I don't.
You don't want me driving on the road without my corrective vision.
Anneliese Rhodes: You know, it's so funny as I literally were, I was making fun. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I totally just thought of something. I was totally making fun of Billy last night because He's like, do you have my glasses? I'm like, no, I don't have your glasses.
He's like, here, take my glasses. Put them in your purse. I'm like, hmm, kind of funny. I still don't need glasses. And he's like, that's because of your cat eye. I'm like, whatever, dude,
Cynthia Ficara: I love my cat eye. It's like x ray vision. Oh, the fun part about getting older when your eyes decide, you know what, my lenses are going to harden.
I'm going to make it harder to see. Oh yeah. So fun. But you know what? Hey, we age with grace. What can I say? Wisdom comes along with it, but as long as we've glasses to correct our vision, we can see clearly and know where we're going, which is our topic for today. I am so excited. This is kind of fun.
Anneliese Rhodes: As we are here on number five, our fifth power play in really trying to pull out the things that make a high performer, a high performer, you know, what separates us. Tell me this, Lisa, do you know any CEOs that have no vision? no. honestly, I can't even imagine a leader that doesn't have a vision because it's like, wouldn't they just be walking around in circles, not really going anywhere?
Like, if there was a person that, I mean, they would literally be chasing their tail. Literally, that exact example. I picture a cat, you know, that's a cat, that like, do like circles in like the living room. You're like, oh my gosh, that cat is so weird. but yeah, like, I don't think that I, who would be inspired by something like that?
I wouldn't follow them. I wouldn't want to lean on them. I definitely wouldn't want to work for them if they didn't have an overarching vision of Where they want to take the company or what they want for their employees or just the entire feeling of the company. What are they striving to achieve? So today is so important, Cindy.
I think it's so important because each and every one of us need to have our own visions and that is personal as well as professional. We need to be able to have that. And I love your term North star, Cindy. It's so important that we as high performers are constantly. Thinking about, and even if you need, even if you've hit your certain vision and you want to keep moving forward, you need to have that overarching, I don't know, dream of where you want to be, where you want to go.
It could be 5 years, 10 years, 15 years from now, because that's really what's going to guide you like a North Star.
Cynthia Ficara: And you just said, can you imagine a CEO not having a vision? he'd be a cat spinning circles. But now let me ask you another question. Yeah, when have you been a cat? Wait, what did you say?
Wait, when when have you been a cat? Oh, see, you know what? That's like totally disturbing. Yes I bet anybody listening can stop for a minute and tell me a moment when they've been a cat What's that stuff called? Is it called catnip? Is that what they chase on a string?
Anneliese Rhodes: That's like,
Cynthia Ficara: I think that's what makes them like crazy.
I think it's like, Oh, okay.
Anneliese Rhodes: But you're right. It is. It's the stuff. No, it is the thing that they chase on. Can they
Cynthia Ficara: chase it and spin around? Yeah,
Anneliese Rhodes: yeah, yeah. Or like the dog. Have you ever been to a dog track? And they have the rabbits that the dogs chase. Have you ever seen that? It's totally wild. I don't know if I've seen a rabbit, but I believe you.
Yeah, so. Well, okay, so, you know, in podunk towns, we don't have cool horse racing, we have dog racing. You can go and you can bet on these dogs, and it's not like horses at all. But they have this, like, fake rabbit. And the rabbit takes off around the, track, and the dog's like, UGH! But it's literally going in a circle, Cindy.
Like, it's not going anywhere. It's the same thing every single time those dogs get out there. Nothing changes about the rabbit. Nothing is, like, they never catch the rabbit, right? They never actually achieve To catching the rabbit and they just keep chasing around this thing that is never going to come to fruition and I think if you align if you think about that is that aligns with a vision you want to make sure that when you are creating a vision, which you should have as a high performer, you got to make sure that it.
Is absolutely attainable. Yes, dream big. Yes, make these, dreams a reality. But the truth is you also need to make sure it's not so like crazy far, like I want to fly to space. Okay, that might be a little far fetched. I don't know. Who knows? In 20 years, who knows? But my point is that don't make it something that you're continuing to chase over and over and over and over again because the truth is after a while you're not going to believe that it's ever going to happen.
Breaking Free from the Endless Chase
Cynthia Ficara: Well, I also look at that dog. Erased or whatever. It's chasing the rabbit. If they don't have a vision They're just following along with what's ahead of them. How many of us follow the rabbit, right? It's like okay get in the ring and go What if you got in the ring and you're like, hmm, I want to climb in the stadium step I want to go higher and higher and higher.
I want to get to that level So now I have to think like I want to get to be a dog that gets to run out of the ring And so it's the same in our lives so this is I think one of the most Fun things to do is to have a vision because everybody gets to dream and I think that Dreams have no ceilings. You know what if your dream is to go to space make that your dream to go to space Because look at what's going on now.
I mean what? people like Maybe you need to be a millionaire. Okay. Well, guess what? You want to go to space, you need to be a millionaire. Let's start thinking about how you're going to do it. That's something you really want to do. Yeah. You only get one life, just one life. And if it means going to space, find a way to do it.
So that's where I think, our focus today is all on vision. And we're going to kind of break it down into three different areas. That is important In having a vision, but number one clarity. And so, I need to define what I mean by that. Clarity is just getting clear on your vision.
What is it you want? Is it that you want to go to space? You want to be a dog that climbs the top of the stadium, but this is where it gets really fun. Cause I'm going to ask you, Lisa, why don't you tell me one of your visions, but I won't don't want you to just say it because do you remember back in elementary school and you had to learn the five senses?
Do you remember that when you were little, what are your five senses? Right. I love that. Sound. Mouth. Touch. See. Feel. So, like, how can you describe your vision to me using all five senses? Oh, I like that.
Anneliese Rhodes: gosh, Cindy, you're like really making me think this morning. So,
Cynthia Ficara: I know you're on weekend brain, you know, I mean, you're half asleep.
Anneliese Rhodes: It's coming into the new by the way. I have had three cups of coffee. your new coffee, by the way, which is amazing.
Cynthia Ficara: Um. I love
Anneliese Rhodes: it. I love it. All right. Well, you know, I've told you, you and I talk about vision boards, it's absolutely, and I actually don't have a vision board that I can hold, which I really shouldn't do it, but I see it so clearly in my head, and I have seen this for years, you know, that I really want, I want a place, of course, I'd love it, In Amelia Island on the beach where every morning and I'm like closing my eyes.
I can imagine this. I can smell the ocean. I can hear the waves. I can feel the sun or even if it's not the sun. I've told you that I want to have a home that has a fireplace that I can look out when it's cold on cold days and the ocean is rolling in. That you're warm inside with blankets. But I also want a place where my entire family can come and have family reunions and vacations with all of my kids and all of their, kids and like have it so big.
And we all are sitting around this big wooden long table, sharing stories over breakfast and coffee or wine and dinner. And just like the whole feeling of comfort of family. of, just the sense of like completion that, wow, we did it, we created something amazing that everybody wants to be a part of and wants to come back to.
So for me, that is something that I continually put out there every morning when I get up, I think about my ultimate vision.
Creating a Vision So Real You Can Feel It
Cynthia Ficara: I love that. And so I want to just like that. I've always dreamed of having a beach house too, so not like the same vision as you, but very, very similar. So just for our listeners, I want them to really know what I mean by really getting clear with your vision.
So, okay. Your vision, beach house, what color, what color do you want?
Anneliese Rhodes: It's white
Cynthia Ficara: or light colored. All right. So you can see the color, you can see the ocean. So that's your one sense. You know, you've got sight. Now you can sound. You hear the ocean. Do you hear your kids running around? Do you hear their feet pattering?
Yeah. Are the floors wooden? Are they? Yeah. Like really, really detailed. Can you now taste the wine that you're talking about sitting down? You can taste the food that you've made. It's like the salt in the air. Now you can go outside and you can smell the ocean when you get that really salty. Oh, I love the smell of salt air and it's like sticking.
You can feel the sand stuck on the bottom of your feet. It's like the gritty sand. You can feel it. You can see it. And that's a vision. That's when you write down a vision. That's where you go and you can do it old fashioned. You can pick up a magazine and you can find a white house where you can see some sand.
You can Hmm, maybe I'd put these fours in and then plan the meal. Like know the menu when you sit down at that big long table and all your family and everybody's talking and loud and elbowing people and somebody wants to sit here and somebody wants to sit there. It's like when your vision becomes a movie in your mind.
It becomes very clear and now you make this mind movie and you've got a path to follow. So when we talk about getting clear in a vision, make it so much fun, live it, feel it. I mean, Lisa, let's just take an example for our listeners. I want to talk about our podcast. When I think of what we are doing in our podcast, I think about down the road and I think about where are we going to be?
You know, wasn't it Tony Robbins that said. It's something like, I don't remember the exact word, but it's like, where will you be in 10 years? So like, put yourself, like, see where you'll be in 10 years. And then I kind of think, all right, let's think about that. How many women will we have impacted through our podcast and helping them be high performance?
And how much will we grow and where will we see, you know, people that write into us and ask us to cover topics? I hope today we inspire somebody to make a big vision and get clear instead of just being that dog chasing the rabbit. Let's face it, in medical device sales, you could chase the rabbit all day long,
Anneliese Rhodes: right? You're exactly right. Yes, you're exactly right. And I loved your idea of breaking out of that pattern. Getting out of the pattern of going around in a circle chasing something that One I mean at some point you might just get tired of chasing it You have to have that passion like you're talking about like we've talked about You need to have it play like a movie in your head envision it and something that drives you To want to achieve more and for us with our podcast cindy. I envision you and I being people that women want to come to in droves to talk to us about their experiences and their hardships and their hurdles that they're trying to overcome because we've done that for so long and all we want to do is empower you guys to not only achieve what we've done, but achieve more, be bigger, faster, quicker, stronger, wiser, all of the things.
And it's like. Yes, and that is what's driving us in this podcast. And we hope that you guys have your own visions and that you get really clear. And I think number one with the vision, getting clear is so important. And I'll give you one quick example. So for a really long time after I had my son, I wanted a daughter. I just knew it. I felt it in my body. It was almost like, I was like, I know I meant to have a little girl and Cindy, I pictured her, she had blonde hair and blue eyes and little pigtails. And I imagined her coming out of the room that was supposed to be hers down, peeking her head around the corner and looking through the iron rot, like that gate, but like it was an iron rod railing.
Yes, that was keeping, the upstairs from the downstairs safe and I envisioned it and Cindy for years I sat on that couch and thought about it and dreamed about it And then one day it became a reality and like I think I want to say around two and a half three she peeked her head around the corner and did something and in that moment I realized oh my gosh, I just Created the entire vision that I had for that specific thing in my life that I wanted so bad I actually was able to make it come true and it's like you have to be able to do that with your vision For your life, you have to believe in it, think about it, pontificate on it, put it out in the universe, continue to drive towards that vision. And I think the next thing that is really important that goes along with clarity and with your vision, you guys. Yeah. I was just going to say.
Cynthia Ficara: Our secret? Are you going to say our secret? No, I wasn't. I was going to go on to number two. Should we say our secret? I was going to say before number two, I want, I don't want our listeners to feel that we're just going to throw this out there and not give them.
We're not going to help them go along with their vision because there's a lot of people out there that are still saying, but I'm still chasing the rabbit. These are great dreams. I like to hear what you say. Blah, blah, blah. Wonderful. great. well don't worry. We're going to hold your hand on this one cause this is fun.
So I think before we go to number two, I want to interject our secret because as you listen to the girls of grit, we reveal what we believe. we'll push each topic we discussed. So when you're creating an amazing vision, and you really want to achieve something big, Lisa, what is our secret? The secret
Anneliese Rhodes: is make a decision, decide what that vision is going to be.
You need to decide not only what the vision is going to be. But then what we're going to lay out for you, which is how you're going to make it happen, but you have to make a decision on exactly what you want, where you want to go, and then it becomes, how are you going to get there? And these things are so important.
And, with the example of my daughter. I wasn't just imagining her, I imagine, well, I bought clothes. I mean, I started to make my goals to reach that vision. I wanted to align them. I wanted to make sure that everything I was doing was aligning. I started changing my diet. I got a book on how to make a little girl like I would eat things that would, change my body.
I would. buy clothes. Not a lot, but a couple things. I would pray on it. I would think about it. I talked to moms that had little girls. I mean, I really started to align my vision of having that little girl with all the decisions that I made. And that is so important. I think when you're creating a vision is you have to be able to align yourself, your mental state and everything along with that, with your vision.
Cynthia Ficara: That was so well said because when you have a vision of where you want to go, but then everything that you're thinking or doing is complete opposite, you'll never get there. It just becomes. A wish of this or something on the world, but when you intentionally make a decision on what you want, and now you start aligning when, even just thinking about work.
Okay, so if your vision is to have this beautiful beach house, okay, we are blessed that we work in medical device. So we now have to start aligning our thoughts with, I can achieve these big goals. I want to have a big financial reward so I can see myself in president's club. And then what are the characteristics of those in president's club?
They are respectful. They are hardworking, strong work ethic. They care how they carry themselves. And the most important thing I think about is those that have a vision is they believe it. If you tell yourself, I want this big goal, but yeah, I'm never going to do it. That's not a vision. this big dream you have, if you talk yourself out of it, you're not aligning to ever get to it.
The Power of Vision: Seeing Your Path Clearly
Anneliese Rhodes: You know what? That is such a great point. And it brings back the question that you asked me the very beginning. Have you ever met a CEO that doesn't have a vision? if you think about it, Cindy, at least for me, any CEO, any leader that I've ever met in my life. They eat breathe and sleep their vision.
They are literally living their vision. They're living their dream Every day for that company. I mean it is like They have a mission statement. We have a mission statement. It's put on the wall for everybody to see. You read it every morning. You know where you're gonna go. you really try hard, I can't say never, but you really try hard to never get deterred from that.
You really try and realign, pivot, whatever it takes. If you feel something pulling you away from that vision, it is so important to pull yourself back. Be a CEO. Start eating, living, breathing your vision. I mean, everything you do, it can even be personal. if your vision is to lose 20 pounds, well envision yourself 20 pounds lighter.
Buy some clothes that are 20 pounds lighter. Eat the healthy foods. Do the exercise. Do the mental stuff. Talk to people that are in shape. Get some training help. Like, continually try to keep yourself aligned with that vision and be the CEO of that vision.
Be the CEO of Your Own Vision
Cynthia Ficara: You have the power to be the CEO of your own career path. And we have said that. So if you're 22 and you just graduated and your vision is to get into medical device, you start, then you don't have to actually be a CEO to be a leader. Just like you said, you wanna lose weight, be the CEO of your own body. Take care of it. Yeah. And believe. That yes, I will lose 20 pounds or when you're 22. Yes, I will get into medical device It may not be the next day, but when your vision is big enough, it's the fun. It's the journey It's having fun and being able to start your path, but if you don't believe you can do it You'll never get to step through.
Anneliese Rhodes: So let me, hang on, let me give you a quick example. Actually, that just popped into my head. So the other day I was talking with, one of, she's a girlfriend of mine, but she's also medical devices, And she's like, I really, Lisa, I am so close to hitting president's club, but this quarter is kicking my butt. And I'm like, Okay. I was like, let's talk about it.
So we talked about it. What kind of the hurdles that she was facing? She's like, I just don't know if I'm going to be able to hit it. And I was like, Oh, stop right there. I said, listen to me. You have been imagining being in president's club for forever. You and I have talked about this. You need to imagine yourself on that stage every single day.
And how are you going to get there? That's what's going to get you to the stage. I said, do not allow these small things to change your mindset. You do understand this is medical devices. Things change every day. One day you could have a bad day, the next day you get four cases. I said, you really need to make sure, sweetheart, that you continually follow that vision of being on, stage and winning President's Club.
And you will get there. And I said, Even if you don't get there this year, you will get there next year, but do not change your vision because you are getting deterred by something because you feel like you're not going to reach it because all of a sudden something came up and you're like, I'm never going to do this.
I can't make it. I'm getting my butt kicked by my competitor. I just lost this account. This doctor just left. I had a bad sales call. I had a bad case outcome. All of these things can pull at you and pull you away from your alignment to your vision. And you can't let them, you have to continually go back and say, I want president's club.
I want to be on stage. I want that beach house. I'm going to get there. I'm going to make it happen. And it's easy. It's easy to get deterred.
Cynthia Ficara: And all of those things are normal. that's the part of the journey. You're going to have obstacles all along the way. Yeah. So that's where your vision comes in.
That's where if you have a vision board, you know, some people take pictures and put it on a screensaver on their computer. Some people write down like when you, you will feel discouraged. You will feel like, Oh my gosh, this is a bad week. These numbers are bad. Okay, now how do you pivot? This is where you take a look at your vision board.
This is where you get yourself back on track It's not easy, but when you're a high performer, you learn how to pick yourself up you bounce back you focus and you have a vision. That's your North Star Keep going in the direction you need to go and don't follow the rabbits and yeah,
Reverse Engineering Your Success
Anneliese Rhodes: right All right. So number three is taking action. So we are talking about now How are we going to get there? How are we going to get your ultimate vision? And the biggest thing, you and I talk about this term a lot, I love this term, my girlfriend uses it all the time, Reverse Engineer. So here's your beautiful beach house, you can see it, you can smell it, you can feel it, you can do all those things, How am I going to get there?
And the reverse engineering is, Okay, first of all, I need to make X amount of money in order to afford this beach house. Okay. How am I going to make X amount of money? Well, I know that if I do this, this, this, and this, I'm going to make this amount a year. And you got to get really serious about it. You got to get detailed.
If I hit this bucket and this bucket in my product sales and I get paid. 20 percent, you know, whatever it is, however, your commission state everybody's is different, but let's just say for easy it's 20 percent of your sales. Well if 20 percent of a million dollars all of a sudden you just made a good amount of money, right?
That could be a down payment for your beach house. Okay. How do I get to that million dollars in sales? Well now that starts to break down the accounts line up your accounts on a little sheet of paper Like you talk about cindy, this account Potentially worth this, this account potentially worth this, then break that down even further.
What are the main doctors? Who are the main customers to call on? And so on and so forth. And then we've talked about this. We talk about this a lot in our podcast about how to get there, how to set goals. We've done a couple of good episodes on how to set goals. You guys, I think we did one, I don't know, the beginning of January.
Yeah. Yeah. Go back and listen to that. Go back and listen now. Literally, click pause and go back and listen to this, how to set some good smart goals. Go do it. That is a step towards your vision.
Cynthia Ficara: Yes. And that's, you know, smart goals, specific, measurable, accountability, relevant and time. It's so important that you put on time.
And as you go along, you are going to change this as you go. But if you're staying aligned This is the accountability part. Taking action is one thing, but part of this action is your own accountability and have your goals, have your mentors, have your support, make it fun. And I'm telling you, you can accomplish anything that you envision when you intentionally form a path to get there.
So if you live with purpose, you can design your path. And I think any vision, any vision is something you're going to accomplish. So I just want to kind of quickly summarize today because today's fun. Today's really fun because I hope you're driving and you're going to turn this off and I just want you to turn the radio off, turn everything off, being silent and just dream now, pay attention.
Like don't visually dream so much that you don't see the car in front of you. So please pay attention. But honestly, our secret. To having a clear vision is making a decision. And how do you make that decision? Number one is clarity. But we believe that clarity involves five senses. And when you really get clear and write it down, it's amazing.
Number two, you have to align and believe. If you just don't let yourself mentally align with where you want to be, you'll never get to that vision. And then of course, taking action, reverse engineer, see where it's really far, break it down into small pieces, have an accountability system, whatever works for you. And let me tell you, ah, visions will be limitless,
Anneliese Rhodes:
Cynthia Ficara: Thank you so much for power play number five. But now don't forget, okay, a power play isn't a power play without a two minute intentional, big bang for your buck. So we want to give you a fun call to action today. So if you go to our website, you can click on a PDF where we are making one simple PDF, three questions where we talk about clarity and we talk about alignment And we talk about taking action.
This is where once you get back from the end of your day, pull it up. We guide you through this very simple step. So you don't have to just be in the ring in circles, chasing the rabbit. We are so excited. Please send us messages and DMs and share with us your vision. We're here to help you get there.
Anneliese Rhodes: Hey Declutter, this is our snippet. Dreaming big. Who doesn't want to dream big and then see those dreams come to a reality? But what if you're left wondering, why should you dare to dream big? And what does it truly take to cultivate a powerful
Cynthia Ficara: vision? Join us today as we dig deep and discuss how to sharpen your vision and bring it to a reality.
