Success Blog

He woke up and worked out. Started off great. Went home, showered, got dressed, walked downstairs and had his breakfast. Kids and wife were sleeping upstairs, things were starting off great. Affirmations were said, positivity was flowing. Ready to get after it and ready to tackle the day. Appointments on the calendar, day planned from yesterday, make it happen!

Then he checked his e-mail.

For some time he had been struggling in his business. Doing enough to get by. As of January 1^st he decided he needed to hire a coach. He needed to do something different. The hard part is, he still didn’t have the funds to pay for it, but he decided to scrape it together.

He made it happen.

Up until now he didn’t do the activity. He wasn’t asking for referrals, making the calls, creating emotion in people. He wasn’t getting better. He just did. He thought he could do it all himself. He then realized, like so many people do on January 1^st, something had to change. Need less to say, that day in January was a tough day.

Don’t wait.

Things got worse. First meeting of the day was a phone meeting. He was prepped and planned. He was ready. The thing was, he hadn’t gotten back to this person right away and it had taken a few weeks. He didn’t have the follow up, processes and systems in place. That potential client let him have it. Even throwing some choice words at him. After all was said and done, John held his composure.

See, John has his ups and downs. What was important in this moment was his Positive Self-Talk and Confidence. Some of us need to work on our language, phoning skills, keeping track of numbers. For John, it was believing in himself.

Is this you? What is it for you?

This is the day it changed for John. He started to believe in himself.

He knew he was doing the calls. Paying his assistant would happen. He started asking for referrals. Paying his coach would happen. He knew he was reading and adding to his vocation. Paying his mortgage would happen. He knew he was 25 meetings ahead. Abundance was happening, because he was doing what he was supposed to. Putting his emotion into activity and not results.

You see, John is now doing the things that will make him successful. He took that one rough day and set 3 more meetings, had 3 more meetings. He also changed his mentality.  He got back to what will make him successful. He used the accountabily from his coach to change his business, his life. He became less stressed, made more money and took back control of that life.

John turned his rough day into a positive. Will power, doing the right things living in that abundance mentality.

Knowing it’s never as bad as it seems.  Also knowing it’s never as good as it seems.

We get told no every day—from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed. It may come in different forms. It may come out of nowhere. We probably don’t even recognize how many times we get told no or tell ourselves no. We do it so regularly that it becomes normal.

I’m in sales. I not only sell, but I help people sell. There is a lot of “Suck it up” that goes into that! Not only getting past it, but helping others get past it. Let me count the ways:

• There is never enough time.
• Your prospect says, “Not right now. Can you get back to me?”
• You don’t have anyone to call.
• You’ve been calling the same people over and over.
• You’re holding onto that false sense of hope that someone might do business with you.
• You compare yourself to others.
• You’re not hitting your goals.
• Your prospect says, “Call me back in six months.”
• You’re not present in the moment, always thinking about more.
• You’re not reaching your potential.
• You have dreams but aren’t accomplishing them.
• You’re calling people, and they aren’t interested.
• You’ don’t have enough money.
• You don’t want to practice.
• Your prospect says, “I need to think about it. “
• You go on useless appointments.
• You have call reluctance.
• You shut it off at the end of the day. I’ll start tomorrow.

These are just a few things salespeople go through each and every day. What exactly does it mean to suck it up and drive on?

As a salesperson, we got into this profession for a reason. Not because we had to, but when it’s all said and done, because we chose to. We chose to get beat up, shot down, put down, argued with, get told no, have a thick skin.

We did it for so many reasons.

Maybe we are driven by guilt? We are in student loan debt, credit card debt, house debt, car debt. We may get home at night and our kids or family want us to be home on time or not take those calls. We are driven by doing more because all that is depending on us.

Some of us are driven by money. We just want to make as much darn money as humanly possible. That’s only going to get us so far. Eventually we have to find a new reason.

We may be driven to fill a void. This is our way to win. We want to win that sale, that appointment. We want to get that person to say yes and ride that high.

Then there’s where most of us fall under—what most of us are driven by:

We are driven by dreams. Things we want to have. Things we want to achieve. Places we want to go. Things we want to do. We want to provide for our family, kids, spouse, or those around us. Things we want to accomplish. We want to do all those things we never got to do.

This is exactly why we need to embrace the suck. We are in the number-one profession in the world in that we can make an unlimited amount of money if we do what we are supposed to. If we see past our excuses, take action, work at it, hire a coach and be a student of the game. We need to realize we will never be perfect and, you know what? that’s okay.

You may miss a goal. You may miss a deadline. You may miss that big sale. Suck it up and drive on. The best part about sales is we always get to start over. Whether it’s the next day, month, or year. We get to do it again; it resets. Go out and do the things you need to do to hit those goals.

The only person standing in your way is you. Suck it up and love it! It’s worth every second. You will be better at what you do, inside and outside of work. Life happens. Embrace it.

We’ve all been there. The days that you wake up and you just feel “off”.  The times that you just don’t feel like doing it that day. The opportunities that may be lost because we decide we don’t have it that day.

What goes by the way side? Maybe we don’t make calls. Maybe we just surf the internet. We are at work, but we aren’t really doing anything. We tell ourselves it’s just one day, a couple hours, an hour. Whatever it is, it’s okay, because we just don’t have it. We will have it again and be motivated tomorrow.

Part of being great at what you do is being great at the hard parts, the non-motivated days, the days it gets hard. The days we need to embrace the pain. You’ve worked for it, you’ve worked through it. It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t, everyone would be great at it.

I hear so many sales people, literally everyday talk about how hard it is. That they are the only ones going through it. They’ve lost their confidence. They may have struggled at some point in the last month, few months, even a year and now they want to quit. They aren’t pushing through the hard parts. They are trying to find the easy way to do things. The easier way to get appointments, make calls and be successful. Their definition of successful.

There are no overnight successes. There aren’t people that just have “it”. They’ve worked at it, so it seems easier. They’ve put in the hours, that time and the effort. Instead of worrying about how to make it easier. Start to be great at the hard stuff.

1. Be great at dialing
2. Be great at asking for referrals
3. Be great at planning your day
4. Be great at being disciplined
5. Be great at asking for business
6. Be great at getting out of your comfort zone
7. Be great and positive self-talk
8. Be great at reading and adding to your vocation
9. Be great at not making excuses

This is your list. This is it. Do you notice anything here? Every single one of these YOU can control. The best part, you do these things over and over again and you will become your definition of success. Go out and do all that you can to be great at these 9 things and everything that you want will happen. I promise you that.

At the base of this it’s pretty easy. Stop looking for the easy way out. Find it. Don’t get away from what will and has made you successful in the first place.

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.