How many of us have been there? We may be demotivated, we may be struggling, we may just not want to pick up the pieces and do it again.

Don’t quit. 

I started in this business about five years ago. I called, I called and I called some more. I practiced, I practiced and I practiced some more. I worked day and night. I told myself this was the time I was going to make it work. I put in the long, long hours. I woke up early and many times I was going at it late at night. Those were tough days. I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to. There were days, at 4:50 on a Friday afternoon that I was still pounding out calls. I remember people commending me for doing so (not that that has stopped!). I knew I had to keep doing it. I had to keep moving forward if I wanted to be successful.

Didn’t quit.

If you don’t have something that PULLS you, and you want to be successful, you need to find something else. We look for what pushes us. Our “why”, the motivation, the reason. Have you ever stopped and looked for what PULLS you? If you have that, you are there. If you don’t, you may need to reevaluate.

Can’t quit.

We see when people become successful. They may be on TV, they may be in sports, they just may be that person that sits right beside you. The difference is: they are putting in the work early in the morning; they are putting in the work late at night; they are putting in the work on the weekends; they are putting in work when you won’t. Because they aren’t pushed, they are pulled. There’s something there. Something that tells them to be the best. THEIR best. Not mine. Not yours. It’s THEIRS.

Keep going.

We can’t stop when we are getting there. How many times do you see people get away from what made them successful? They stop doing the things that got them there. You can tweak it, manipulate it, and change it, but don’t stop it. There’s no easy way out. The easy way is the work you put in. You can’t get mad at the results if you aren’t putting the work in. Don’t make the excuses. Put the work in, the results will come.

Enjoy it.

We have to enjoy it. We have a tendency to just want more, more, more. Take the time to smile, take a vacation, take a few days off just to enjoy yourself or the kids. The business won’t stop, the world won’t fall in. Take time to remember why you do it. You’ll be happy you did.

When we seek to help people, we get help ourselves in return. 

Maybe it’s time to look back on how this happens. A few of my friends and business partners started Southwestern Consulting about 10 years ago. You can feel the ripple effect of this for the next 20, 30, 40 years at least. Here’s why.

We help sales people. We help them get to where they want to be. Sales is a profession you don’t get to go to college for. You don’t get the education. Professionals and top producer’s go seek the education to get to where they know they can be. Many of us probably went to college for something and are now in sales. The point here: sales people need help. There is no formal training; we help with that.

The good ones seek out that help. We go find a way to get better at what we do. Whether you’ve been doing it for 1, 5, 15 or 25 years. It’s something we can always improve on. When you hold a sales person accountable they get better. When you help them with their language, their referrals, objections, planning their day, social media, overcoming fear and confidence, just to name a few, you know what happens? They serve more. They help more. Then guess what happens: they make more money.

This is where the ripple effect comes in. That sales person that we help gets to provide for their families. They get to go on vacations, pay for college educations, be home on time, be less stressed, run their business more freely because they know how. This trickles down to their kids or their spouses or maybe just them. They get to be with them more. And isn’t LOVE so many times spelled TIME? That’s the ripple effect.

I know this because I’m living it. We change those lives around us when we do it for the right reasons. We change the lives for ourselves, our families, our clients, their families, their clients, their clients’ families and the list just goes on and on.

This is where it gets real, folks. What are you doing to make yourself better as a sales person and in business? Are you reading a book? Watching a video? This will get you so far. Or have you added that accountability partner, that coach, that expert that’s going to help you get there? Or do you give the excuse of: it’s not the right time. I need to think about it. Call me back in 6 months. You are putting that ripple effect off, is what you are doing. You are not only cheating your future, your family, but you are cheating those around you as well. This hits home.

We have to ask ourselves: What are we doing to make ourselves better? Not just for yourself, but for our kids, their kids, our spouses, maybe the people we employ? Are you building the future of everyone around you, or are you saying “it’s not the right time”? There’s never a perfect time.

I heard a quote once from one of my colleagues: “Until there is pain, people won’t change”. Take it upon yourself to change. There’s people depending on you. A LOT of people.

Winning the day starts with yesterday.

I know that may sound funny, but let’s take a look… shall we?

What are you doing at the end of your day?

Are you just getting up out of your desk, papers everywhere? Maybe you cleaned up a bit so your desk looks neat. Nice job!

Are you planned for what you are going to do when you start in the morning? Are you finishing as strong as you started, so you can start as strong as you finish?

Do you know what time your admin work is? Do you have a plan for what you are going to do during this time? Before that bell rings, what are you doing to make sure you bring it?

Do you know who you are going to call? Those first 5, 10, even 50 people? Do you know exactly how your day is going to go? Meetings confirmed? Know who your referrals will be? What time you are starting and finishing? Do you know where your business is going to come from? What you are going to do? When you have a plan, you will work it; it’s accountability. When you don’t have a plan, you are winging it.

What are your HABITS that you have in place so you don’t have to think? Can you create them? Are you smart enough, to be dumb enough, not to have to think about it?

All of these are examples of things that we need to do to help us Win the Day.

It doesn’t just happen. Do you know what you need to do? Let’s break this down.

Do you know your numbers? Don’t tell me yes. Not the “end result” numbers. I want to know the numbers of how you got to those deals, apps, closings, etc. I want to know how many calls you are going to make today. Now I have your attention. That’s hard! I want to know how many people you are going to talk to today. I want to know, of those people you talk to, how many appointments will you set? Of those appointments you set, how many people are you going to close, or ask to do business with you? Of those people you ask, how many say yes? Of those people that do say yes, how many people are you getting referrals from? How many referrals are you getting?

Stop putting your energy into your results and start putting it into your activity. We put so much of our emotion, energy, our all into what we are doing every month. How much we are closing, how much we are making. If you truly want to be successful, put your energy into the activity. Win the Day.

The results will come with it.

Stop, write down the one or two things that you need to accomplish every day to make sure your business is going to drive forward. Know what your numbers are. Top Producers are coachable, humble, willing to learn and step outside of their comfort zone. Willing to change. We don’t know it all. We need help. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Win the Day.

What are you doing to make yourself better?

As sales people we tend to skate by. We wing it, if you will. We do just enough dials. Do just enough meetings. Ask for referrals to have just enough people to call. Make just enough money. Play the game just good enough to get by.

So many times aren’t doing the things it takes to be successful. The thing is, we look at it as it has to be all or nothing. I have to read the whole book. I have to make 50, 75, 100 dials a day or I’m not doing anything. I have to sell X amount to be great. I have to have so many meetings or I’m not doing enough. We put our energy into our results, and not into our activity.

We get frustrated. We shut down. We stop doing it because it’s not working. We get close, but we can’t see the light. We start making excuses. Telling ourselves we aren’t good enough. People aren’t buying. We might lose our self-confidence. We lose the person that got us to where we are. The person that was doing the work. The person that was doing something, not nothing.

You’ve heard that consistency is the key. I’m here to tell you nothing will beat it. Consistently asking for referrals. Consistently doing your dials. Consistently setting meetings. Getting in front of people, reading, practicing your language, getting up early, planning your day. Consistently being consistent will conquer all of those things you struggle with daily.

Consistently putting your energy into your activity and not into your results will get you to where you want to go.

I was having a conversation with a coaching client the other day. This quote comes from him.  We will call him Kyle. “Doesn’t have to be all or nothing, just has to be something.” That’s the art of not giving up. When you don’t feel like it, you still do it. When you want to stop, you do one more. If it’s 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm or whatever time it is for you, do you stop for the day or do you do one more call?  Do you talk to one more person? If you have to get up early to do something, do you do it? Do you know why?

 

Because something is better than nothing.

 

I want to thank you, Kyle for being a true example of this. I want to thank you for being coachable, committed and willing to change when the things you were doing just weren’t working the way they should.

There’re times when doing something is better than doing nothing.

Here’s an exercise:

Close your eyes for me and have someone read this out loud to you; It’s okay, I promise.

Imagine, if you will, that you know someone (let’s call him Henry) who makes $250,000+ a year as a mentor, sales coach or sales person. He is known throughout your city (and region) as THE person to go to if you want to learn how to be a world class salesperson. He teaches salespeople to be rock stars. Sales people follow his advice and double their income. They become some of the best. Better people, better salespeople, better husbands, wives, they become an unstoppable force. He is in high demand, and there is a waiting list for his services. If you are lucky, you MIGHT be able to get in some time with one of his associates.

You wouldn’t dream of asking Henry for free services (even a few minutes). You would be embarrassed to even bring up something like that. You wouldn’t expect him to hesitate to tell you how awesome his products and services are. He wouldn’t seem cocky, because it’s all true. There’s conviction and truth behind every single word he says. This person exudes confidence. When you see him talk about sales, you can tell he knows exactly what he is talking about… you know he’s put in the work to get to where he is, when you watch him, you think “I wish I knew HALF of what that guy knows!” – and every salesperson around wants to BE him. They compare themselves to him. They mimic him. No matter what profession you are in.

Can you see it? Close your eyes. Can you picture Henry in your mind?

Henry is you 3 years from now.

Stop putting it off.

Go be Henry.

(Shane, thank you for helping me become Henry)

Let me ask you a question:

Why do you do what you do? I know, it’s a living, we get to make money etc, etc. Here’s the real question: I bet if we drilled down and I asked you why you truly do what you do, you know what 99.9% of you would tell me?

I get to help people. 

If we truly want to help people, why don’t we ask for referrals? Is that on us, or is that on them? It’s on us. If we are thinking solely about helping people it doesn’t matter if they give us a prospect or not. Doesn’t matter if they say yes or no.

I want to ask you another question, and this one will hit home: Do you believe you are great at what you do? (I hope you said yes!) When you believe in yourself and you know you are out to help people, that’s what getting referrals is all about. It’s not pushy, it’s not overbearing, you aren’t going to ruin the sale and any other excuse you want to tell yourself. That’s on YOU, not on them. If you are truly thinking about helping people, that’s all that matters. If you are thinking about the next sale, or how much money you will make, then it’s on you. Then it’s selfish. When you believe in yourself and what you do, give others the opportunity to do business with you.

Stop overthinking this. This is probably the biggest thing that holds sales people back from truly getting to where they want to go.

Have you ever asked anyone for help? Maybe it was to find a job. Maybe it was to babysit your kids. Maybe it was to borrow a few dollars. Maybe it was to move. People have this innate ability and compassion to want to help others out. That’s what prospecting and asking for referrals is. It’s asking people for help so you can help other people. Check the ego at the door when you walk in.

1. Know who you are going to ask for. Be prepared for every meeting you go into. Do a little research, it goes a long way.
2. Practice and practice your language some more. The more you practice the easier it will become.
3. Do it. The reason you aren’t doing it is because you aren’t doing it. Stop thinking about it and just do it.
4. Don’t give up if you get told no once. It’s okay.
5. Be convicted in what you do. That energy and excitement transfers.
6. The referral is just as important as the sale. Without it you won’t have new people to call.
7. Stop calling your maybe’s. Force yourself to get new people.
8. If you don’t ask you surely won’t get. (we’ve all heard that!)

Believe and be convicted in what you do. You work hard at this, let other people help you.

We’ve all heard it before. You can’t beat the person that won’t give up.

I was talking to my son a few months ago. He’s 11, plays soccer and just loves it. The conversation started well before that though, with a parent that’s part of the soccer association. He was talking about Jack not being on the 101 team, he’s on the 102 team (second string). Reason being, sometimes he shows up and sometimes he doesn’t. What he meant by that was, sometimes you can count on him to hustle, to have his head in the game, to do those things that others won’t. Instead of taking that practice or game off, he’s in it. He’s getting after it. This is what sets us apart. Some people choose not to do it, and at the time that’s what he was choosing.  Not to work as hard as he could, always.

I talked to Jack about hustle.

We talked about what it means to work hard. Harder than everyone else. To not be able to not get beat because he doesn’t give up. That person can’t get beat. He took it to heart. Before every practice, every game we talk about hustle. I’ve seen his game go from average to creating shots for others, for himself, to being one of the best on the team. He changed it because he loves what he does. He changed his mentality. That little tweak is all it took.

Are you willing to do that?

Why do I talk about this? What if we all lived by this theory? What if every day when we came to work we hustled. Not in the sense of selling something to someone they don’t want. Working harder than anyone around us? Why do certain people stand out while others don’t? It’s not because they are smarter, they are more privileged or they just “have it”. It’s because they work harder than others.

They make more calls, they are more prepared, they talk to more people, have more meetings, set more appointments. They practice more, read more books, listen to more podcasts or motivational videos. There are so many things you can do. Why don’t we choose to do it? Why don’t we choose to be the absolute best?

Because it’s hard. It really just comes down to getting out of your comfort zone. We hear all the time successful people do what others won’t. You know what that means? If you don’t want to dial today? Successful people will. If you don’t want to ask for referrals, successful people will. If you don’t want to get up early, practice, read, hustle, successful people will. You get my point by now I’m sure…..

What you have to ask yourself today, right now, in this moment is do you have the grit? Do you have the willingness to do more, be more and achieve more? Each and every one of us has this ability. You can work hard, do well and make a great living for you and those around you. It’s a choice. There’s no secret, you just have to put your mind to it and make it happen. I can’t do it for you, your co-worker doesn’t have the secret for you, your boss doesn’t. Only YOU do, because it’s up to YOU to make that choice to work. To hustle. To go out and get it.

Get after it.

 

I was speaking at an event the other day and asked,  “how many of you set goals?”  Of the 25 people there I saw about 4 hands go up.  I then asked, “how many of you take time at the beginning of the day, week, month or year to set goals?” “How many of you tell people about those goals? Do you post your goals and do others know what they are?”

I didn’t see one single hand go up.  I thought to myself, here we go!

The reason I tell you this is because it can be the one single thing that helps drive your business.  When you know what your goals are each and every day, when we review these goals each day, you realize what you need to do to get there.

Here’s where we start:

1. Write down your goals. It can be 1, it can be 10. I don’t care; write them down.
2. Post them somewhere. On your wall, your fridge, in your office, on your door, as a screen saver, on your phone. Post them everywhere.
3. Tell people about them. The reason you don’t is because you don’t want to be held accountable. The reason you will is because you want to be held accountable!
4. Take the time to do it. Take 10 minutes. You can take 10 minutes per day. The first day is to write them, after the take that 10 minutes to review them. It’s worth it.
5. Know the activity you need to do to hit them. Set a time period you want them done by. You can control your activity every day.

Goal setting is one of the easiest and toughest things you can do. It’s easy because we can write down whatever we want to. Goal setting is about conviction. If you are truly convicted in what you want to do, what you want to hit, you will go out and do whatever you can to make that happen.  The tough part, you now have that hanging over your head!  You have now told people. YES! Now we are talking. Now you have to do everything it takes to hit those things.  Go get it!

There are three things that will factor into your goal setting, how you stick to it, and why you do it.

1. You can control this every day. Have that Positive Mental Attitude!  Enjoy it, this is supposed to be fun. Not overwhelming.
2. This is Physical, Mental, Social, Family, Career. All those things that go into life. Enjoy it all and be grounded. Do it for the right reasons.
3. Get a coach, mentor, tell people. Have someone hold you accountable to your goals.  Without that you are just floating.

Now, take all of this and set them bigger. Those goals that when you tell people it makes you a little uncomfortable. It makes them think how the heck are you going to accomplish all of that. Don’t listen to naysayers. When you want it, you will do it.

Standing ovation….. Give yourself one sometimes.

If you are anything like me, and I’m guessing many of you are, because you are in sales.  You have a hard time giving yourself credit for what’s happening.  You may always be looking at doing more and more and more. You ride the emotions at times. You set appointment after appointment and sonetimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We then have the times where we kill the activity (like always), but we can’t set an appointment to save our lives! You may be in the top 5, top 10, top 20 of your company but you still feel like you can do more. It’s not enough. We aren’t where we want to be.

You could also be on the flip side. You are new to the company, or have been there for a short time. You are putting in the activity. You are making the dials, setting the appointments, getting in front of people but nothing is happening. Even when something does happen, it’s not as much as you’d like.

This may sound funny, but I’m here to tell you to celebrate those things.  Give yourself a standing ovation.  Literally get up out of your desk, or as you’re driving to your next appointment, or when you are going home for the day and give yourself an ovation.  

A couple things to be happy about…

 

1. You aren’t going to kill it every day. That’s okay! What can you control? Your activity. You can kill the activity every day. That’s going to lead to the results you want. It may not that day, but it will and you can give yourself an ovation for that.
2. When you are doing the activity, you are practicing. What do I mean by that? Every time you talk to someone. Every appointment you are in.  Every time someone cancels on you. Every time someone tells you no. This is practice. It makes you better. It makes you stronger. The more you do it the better you get.
3. Fill your pipeline. Every time someone says no, they are now a contact. May not be today, may not be tomorrow, might be 3 years from now. Eventually they will need you. You can celebrate that. You created a new contact.

 

I hired a coach. I was the person that wanted more all the time. Not that I’m settling now. I just never gave myself the opportunity to look back at what I’ve accomplished. I never looked back at how much I was really doing and why I was doing it. I killed myself daily and didn’t enjoy it. That’s why this topic is so near and dear to my heart.

 

My coach taught me to enjoy what I’m doing. Why I’m doing it. How I’m doing it. Taught me to look at what I’ve done and be happy. Know that I gave my all every day. She helped me know that I’m capable of more. But at the same time, there’s times you just can’t do more. She helped me understand that it’s not all about how much we sell but at times it can be about the relationships we are building.  There’s so many things that she helped me do, but one of the biggest, if not the biggest, is to give myself an ovation.  She taught me to be happier.  We all want to be top dogs, but maybe, just maybe it’s okay at times to know you are doing the right things daily.  Enjoy it!

 

Activity is the root of what drives our business.  Without activity in the sales world, we don’t have a business.  What this truly comes down to is making phone calls. Dialing those numbers that you don’t always want to make, but you know you must. This isn’t busy being busy.  This is being planned, prepped and prepared about who you are going to talk to.

1. Stop calling the same people repeatedly. Don’t hold onto this false sense of hope that someone might do business with you.
2. You build your business through new people.  Where do those new people come from? Referrals, Linked In, Past Clients, Current Clients, etc., etc.
3. Set up a plan. Know the first 5, 10 or 20+ people you are going to call. Have it done the night before or in the morning. It will get you in the right mind set.
4. Practice.  It takes 2 minutes. Practice in the car, working out, in the morning, at night, take a walk, whatever it takes. Take that little bit of time to know what you are going to say.  It will get you past the call reluctance.
5. It’s just one call, to them. To you it’s 10, 20, 30 or 100. Whatever it is. But to them, it’s just one call. Don’t overthink it.  
6. If you are truly trying to help people you won’t think about getting rejected. They might say yes, they might say no, so what.  You are helping them either way. It’s hard to be nervous when your heart is on service.
7. Have fun. Phoning and activity doesn’t have to be hard.  Stand up, sit down, dance, laugh, say something off the wall. It doesn’t always have to be straight to the point and serious.
8. The people on the other end of the phone are people just like you.  You aren’t going to close everyone, but you can still have a conversation. That will go a long way to calling them in the future.
9. In most cases, no means “not right now.”  Set them out a year, two years or even three. That’s okay, keep them in your system and in your pipeline for the future.
10. Get after it.  When you do the activity, it will breed results. When you make excuses, it will not. You can’t get mad at the results if you aren’t putting in the activity.

I hear so many people feel that they are above calling. They get away from what makes them successful.  I was coaching a Managing Director the other day and he flat out said, “These are all the things I know I should be doing but I’m not, it’s like I’m a new rep again.”  All that means is… we can’t get away from what got us there in the first place. It doesn’t have to be the 50 dials a day, maybe for you it’s 10. It will get you the results you are looking for.

Stay true to your activity. It only makes you better.