SELLING FOR LIFE

Well it's early August and in spite of the temperatures we know that Labor Day and back to school are just around the corner.  Hopefully you have been able to enjoy some time with friends and family.  I don't know about you but sometimes it takes a while to get the sales motor started after taking some time off.  As the late John Savage was fond of saying, "Anyone who would rather work than play, has never really played."  John would also say it's time to take a deep breath and get your second wind to finish out the year with extraordinary results.

As you begin the "second half" think about these ideas to help you finish strong.

1. Review your personal goals.  Do your activities reflect your commitment?

2. Do you follow an ideal week calendar?  In other words do you block out times for specific sales activities such as calling for appointments, asking for introductions and working "on" your business?

3. Do you set aside 15 minutes before you begin the day to prioritize what has to get done and when you will do it?

4.  Do you have someone you are accountable to, not just for your results but your behaviors?

Not an all inclusive list to be sure but some ideas that I hope will help.  Even though it's still "smokin hot" take a deep breath, get your second wind and let's go!

What is the most important “element” for having success in sales?  Believe it or not it isn’t an abundance of prospects.

There are actually four crucial elements that successful salespeople possess, desire, commitment, outlook and responsibility.  But the most important one is desire.

Desire will provide the incentive to make changes even when it's difficult or uncomfortable.  It will cause you to continue to raise the bar and set new standards for yourself.  Top performers have a burning desire to succeed.

Commitment – what is your compelling reason to do whatever it takes to succeed?  For most they find it in their personal goals.  If you seem to focus on behaviors that are enjoyable and comfortable, you might have an issue with commitment to success in sales.

Outlook – how is your outlook on life, what you are doing, who you are doing it with?  Selling can be tough enough without dragging a poor outlook around with you.  While from time to time everyone can get a little down about things, remember it’s the people that get up quickly and keep going who succeed.

 Responsibility – is just what it sounds like, take responsibility for your actions and results.  No Excuses!  People that make excuses won’t change until they take responsibility for their results.

Ask yourself how you are doing on these four crucial elements and since it’s the start of the baseball season for more success, touch em’ all.

In his book Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell details several  examples of why the achievements of some people go way  beyond normal.  While I found the entire read quite interesting there were two things that really struck me:

1. The 10,00 Hour Rule:  After several studies of people who had risen to the top of their profession whether it be music, art, athletics or business, it was concluded that ten thousand hours of "practice" is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class expert in anything. 
2. Work Ethic:  In observing Chinese rice farmers who often worked over 3,000 hours per year they overheard several things the farmers would say to one another, my favorite is "No one who can rise before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich"

I often hear comments about highly successful salespeople (from those less successful) that:  

• They get all the breaks.
• They don't work as hard as I do.
• They don't have to do all the cold calling I do.
• Everything comes easy for them.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  My observations of the top salespeople I work with is that they have probably got at least 10,000 hours invested into their development and they start their day well before dawn. They are driven with a commitment to getting better and being the best. Too many salespeople start their days at 9:00 AM, too late.  What if you simply began to work harder?  How long will it take you to get to 10,000 hours at your current pace?

Of course you must "practice" the right things but if you were practicing 20 hours more each week how long before you start making it look easy?