Adam Hankinson, Managing Director at Furniture Sales Solutions, shares an insight into the mindset that changes everything.
There’s an old proverb: “If you chase two rabbits, you catch none.” In furniture sales, I’ve seen this play out thousands of times.
Salespeople often tie themselves in knots worrying about too many things at once: the end-of-day figures, what the manager will say when they ask “How much have you done?”, or how their numbers stack up against colleagues’. And here’s what happens – they lose focus on the only thing that really matters: the customer standing in front of them.
That’s why I talk about chasing one rabbit. In sales terms, it means giving your full attention to one customer, one conversation, one chance to move them forward. Forget the scoreboard. Forget who’s outselling you. Forget the pressure of whether this one writes today. Put all your energy into helping this customer buy.
Because let’s be honest: most furniture customers don’t buy on the first visit. They come in at a 2, 3 or 4 on the buying scale. They’re browsing, comparing, working things out. Your job is not to push them into a 10 on the spot – it’s to move them up the scale. If they leave at a 6 or 7, you’ve won. They’re more likely to buy on visit two, three or four – and if you did the work, they’ll buy from you.
The problem is we’ve built a culture of only valuing what’s written on the day. Managers ask, “What have you done today?” Salespeople say “nothing,” when in reality they’ve had three great conversations that will turn into orders in the coming weeks. That’s where chasing the wrong rabbits does the damage.
The best salespeople don’t get caught in that trap. They chase one rabbit. They trust the process. They measure themselves by effort, by quality conversations, by moving customers forward. And here’s the irony – when you stop obsessing about the numbers, you actually start hitting them more consistently.
How to Chase One Rabbit Today
1. Be fully present. The customer in front of you deserves 100% of your focus. Stop clock-watching, stop scanning the store, and make them feel like the only person who matters.
2. Value progress, not just orders. If someone leaves more confident than when they walked in – closer to making a decision – that’s success. Recognise it.
3. Reset quickly. Rejection, no-shows, and setbacks are part of the job. Bounce back fast. The next rabbit needs your energy, not the leftovers of your frustration.
In furniture retail, you don’t need to catch every rabbit. You just need to catch the one in front of you. Do that consistently, and the sales will come – maybe not today, but certainly tomorrow.
