The Sales Experiment

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Clearly Define the Goal

Clearly Define the Goal

Hit the target

I love that old saying, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”

It’s easy to set goals – to arbitrarily write down how much we want to weigh or how much money we want to make or what kind of parent or spouse we want to be.

Set It and Forget It

Too many people set it and forget it. They create a list of goals and shove them in a drawer and only run into them a year later when they create a new list of goals.

Set it and forget it might be better than nothing, but it’s probably not a great system for optimal growth.

I’m the poster child. I never used to create goals. Then I started creating goals and trying to review them periodically. Then I started creating little disciplines to achieve the goals. Then I’d forget to do the little disciplines.

In other words, you shouldn’t read a thing I write. I kind of suck at this stuff.

Intentionality, Goals, and the Like: Skills to be Learned

Actually, I’m going to take it easy on myself. I didn’t set goals for nearly 37 years of my life. I practiced not being focused on achieving things. I got by on natural talent and, dare I say it… charisma.

Just like a high school football star knows that natural talent only takes you so far, so do natural talent and charisma in the business world and otherwise. At a certain point, there has to be some intentionality about things.

That’s what I’m trying to become better at: Being intentional and sticking to it. It’s a muscle. I’m working it out. It’s taken longer than I expected to get good at it.

The primary key to intentionality, though, is a clearly defined goal. 

Not only a clearly defined goal, but a goal that has high emotional value (I’m stealing from Weldon Long who brought us the book The Power of Consistency, which I’ve written about here, here, and here).

Creating Cognitive Dissonance

Every morning, I’m sitting and imagining these clearly defined goals as accomplished. I’m taking into account all five senses, across all areas of my life.

What is the result of such a flaky practice?

The cognitive dissonance that Long talks about in his book really starts happening. Cognitive dissonance is that thing we feel when the way we are acting or what we’re saying doesn’t line up with what we feel to be true or important.

If I pick up my phone to play Candy Crush during work because ‘I’ve earned some down time’, I start feeling this pull. It’s like a good angel in a workout outfit screaming at me, “Does someone who makes ______________ a year play freaking Candy Crush at work? If they do now, they didn’t when they were where you are!!! Put the phone down!”

He’s nicer than that, but you get the picture.

So… clearly define the goal. And connect your heart, soul, and mind to the goal (In my world, this includes a good bit of prayer).

Maybe it will help you not shoot at nothing in particular. Perhaps it’ll help you get the things that you are trying to get.

Until tomorrow….

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Today’s Listening and Reading

SPI 116 : Copywriting Tips and Formulas with Kevin Rogers – Pat Flynn: If you want to get a handle on copywriting for business, even if you can’t spend hours and hours being a copywriting perfectionist, give this episode a shot.

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Be Violently Consistent

The only thing that will work for everybody is consistency.

It might work for ill, or it might work for gain, but it will work.

Whatever we consistently think about and do will deliver our results. Even if we have genetic issues or some other handicap (used in the general sense), if we consistently do the right and healthy things, we’ll end up as the healthiest version of ourselves.

If we consistently give in to lazy, sloppy, and otherwise unhealthy habits, then we’ll end up with something other than the healthiest version of ourselves.

The most compelling part of the Power of Consistency (the book by Weldon Long I’ve been reading this week) is the final chapter.

Long tells the story of when he was released from prison and has to find a job. He endured rejection for months until someone finally gave him a chance. And he made the most of his chance.

Obviously, making the most of the chance was an exclamation point in the story, but I was struck with his persistence in finding a job in the first place. His prison record as a convicted felon kept slamming the door on his prospects even when a hiring manager liked him.

But he kept getting after it, day after day after day.

I know salesguys (not myself, obviously) who make 10 cold calls, get nowhere, and declare cold calling to be dead.

Long, on the other hand, endured rejection after rejection and didn’t lose hope. He kept getting after it. He was violently consistent in keeping with his goal to make a life for himself.

Be Consistent… At What?

My only struggle with this idea of consistency is knowing what to be consistent at. I’ll panic wondering if I chose the correct action to be consistent on. In truth, writing this blog everyday for 6 months is a commitment I question at moments. Especially here at 8:21 at night, knowing I have a 4:30 wake-up call.

That said, I know writing daily about success, sales, motivation, and marketing will not hurt me. I’m sure of that. And most actions can be tested for 3-4 months and will create more results than taking no action. It’s okay to be a little off on the exact action item, pivot, and keep on going.

The key, though, is violent consistency. Give the dang action a chance to work.

My Action Item Today: Write down 3 daily consistency actions to take in my two roles at work. 

Since it’s Sunday, I spent time with the family. But I did read for 30 minutes and sit down with Evernote to map out the daily actions I’ll take at work in my two main roles. I sell and I help other insurance agents develop their proposals. Both of those require some daily tending for long-term success.

I selected three things for each role. We’ll go full-bore on those for the rest of this year and do some evaluation at that time.

I also typed up some of my Prosperity Plan. It’s awfully similar to some ‘life plan’ type work I’ve done before, but it’s much, much more concise. According to Mr. Weldon Long, I must meditate on this daily, so I prefer brevity.

My Reading: I Finished The Power of Consistency: Prosperity Mindset Training for Sales and Business Professionals by Weldon Long

Long’s book is a strange one. Don’t read it unless you plan on taking action. It’s not a theoretical book at all. The ideas and concepts can be summed up relatively easily. His repetitive style lends itself, though, to beating you into submission regarding taking action on his simple plan. If you are trying to develop an action bias in your life, then I recommend reading it. And I’d also recommend reading The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, editor of Success magazine.

Both books cover similar territory and would complement each other nicely.

Until tomorrow….

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This blog is a response to Dan Miller’s unintentional challenge from his podcast on August 15, 2014: If you read or listen to 30 minutes of quality content a day, you’ll double your income. 

From September 1, 2014 through March 1, 2015, I will be doing the following:

  1. Listening or reading to 30 minutes of success, growth, business, spiritual, or other mindset-shifting, skill-sharpening content.
  2. Selecting one action item from that content (with some leeway to select an action from a previous day’s content).
  3. Doing that one action.
  4. Writing about the action or some other idea from the reading and listening of the day. 

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Take Responsibility

Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him. – James Allen

This quotation from James Allen (I advise you to read his 1902 As a Man Thinketh probably free on Kindle) is from the chapter on ‘Responsibility’ from Weldon Long’s The Power of Consistency. (Today’s Reading: The Power of Consistency: Prosperity Mindset Training for Sales and Business Professionals by Weldon Long)

‘Responsibility’ is the fourth part of Long’s 4 step model for developing a more effective and consistent habit of making high quality decisions:

  1. Focus – Create a plan
  2. Emotional Commitment – Become tied to that plan through a daily practice of reflection on the results and elements of accomplishing the plan
  3. Action – Taking the consistent actions required by the plan and imprinted on your mind and heart by the emotional commitment.
  4. Responsibility – Take responsibility for everything within your control. Economic ups and downs, others’ decisions, and the weather aren’t in our control. Spend time focusing on the decisions we can make in spite of all these things vs. blaming the conditions.

Our responsibility is to focus our thoughts on the things that we can affect. In a sales setting, we can’t ultimately force a prospect to make a decision, but we can improve our processes and skills. We must take responsibility for improvement on those areas vs. blaming prospects for their decisions. Over time, the results will fall our way on a more consistent basis.

This idea of taking responsibility really is a freeing thing. Even if somebody has done something really horrible to us, we can still take responsibility for our responses. We don’t have to be victims or live in suffering. Obviously, some things require some major work, but committing to the major work is part of learning to take responsibility.

Today’s Action Item: Spend time with my family (it’s Saturday) and define my sales process. 

One of the key elements in this section of Long’s book is to focus on the sales process and improve each element. Subsequently, the sales process must be clear and defined so that I can focus on each element and improve each part.

Now on to part one of today’s action item – hanging with the family. Y’all enjoy your Saturday.

Until tomorrow…

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This blog is a response to Dan Miller’s unintentional challenge from his podcast on August 15, 2014: If you read or listen to 30 minutes of quality content a day, you’ll double your income. 

From September 1, 2014 through March 1, 2015, I will be doing the following:

  1. Listening or reading to 30 minutes of success, growth, business, spiritual, or other mindset-shifting, skill-sharpening content.
  2. Selecting one action item from that content (with some leeway to select an action from a previous day’s content).
  3. Doing that one action.
  4. Writing about the action or some other idea from the reading and listening of the day. 

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