One of the most common causes of average summers in the Southwestern Internship program is an average belief level. If someone views themselves as a 3.0 student who gives 3.0 effort in college, it is highly unlikely they will graduate with a GPA above a 3.0. Our own limiting view of ourselves allowed us to work less, rationalize less than our best, and settle for the results we had predetermined as our “potential”. The same happens in sales.

Going into my second summer with Southwestern I wanted to hit some pretty high goals. I came off a summer where I had sold about 2,600 units and made $13,000. In a second summer I really wanted to sell 6,000 units. (This goal would have been about 7,000 with the current unit values that have been raised on products since my second summer.) This goal scared the heck out me. In fact in the org I was in the previous summer none of the student managers had sold that many books. Why should I be able to?

This was the point in the story where I allowed the math major side of me to take over. This part may bore you, but I promise it is worth reading. There are three components that go into how many units you will sell this summer. Your total presentations for the summer, your closing %, and your average package size. I know that this is nothing new to most of you. What really helped me turn the corner on my own belief level was figuring out what I felt confident I could accomplish in each of these three areas.

Looking back at my previous summer I saw at I closed 30% of my presentations in summer 1.  I had an average package of around 13. My average presentations were about 10 a day. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could have my package size raise to at least 15 (really low for a student manager) and I was confident I would not get worse at selling and hopefully would get slightly better up to 33%. So if one in three families bought 15 units, every one of my presentations was worth 5 units. If I needed to sell 500 units a week to hit 6,000, I just needed to figure out how to get 16 presentations a day and 20 on Saturday to make 100 for the week.

From that point forward I dove all the way in on my approach. I practiced with managers on campus. I trained with my team. I video taped my approach to see what I was actually doing. I practiced with my DSM. I knew that 100 presentations a week was all I needed to focus on.The rest of the semester I didn’t care at all about 6,000. All I cared about was 100, 15, and 33%. I was confident I could do these three and I knew what they resulted in. I posted these numbers in my room, they were on the background of my computer, and I doodled them in class. By the time the summer rolled around these numbers were hard wired. When I left each house in the summer I said to myself, “Cool, that will be 5 units at the end of my summer.”. It made me focus on nothing but the controllables and kept me from getting too high or too low.

I ended up only have 11 1/2 weeks my second summer and I delivered 5,752 units. 2 units off from being EXACTLY 500 a week. I also sold an average of 5.02 units per presentation. I don’t think this was purely by chance.

So forget about all of your preconceived notions in regards to “what you are capable of” in terms of units. Instead sit down with your manager and figure out what you are capable of in regards to the three key components. Get their advice on how to increase in the area you most need to increase in. Once you come up with numbers you are confident in and a game plan to improve pre-summer, dive in!

The end result will be much better than you ever thought possible.

Every one of us in our life has areas in which we want to improve.  We may want to get better at patience, perseverance, emotional consistency, discipline, avoiding procrastination, staying organized, self esteem, or a whole host of other things.  The most common mistake we make along this journey towards self improvement is trying to attack these problems without any battle plan.  It takes focused, targeted, repeated efforts that directly attack our weakness.  So what does this look like?

If you want to get better at a “skill” (basketball, pool, etc) you need practice.  If you want to get better at a certain “mental skill” it becomes a little harder, but there are four main steps to do it.

1)      Identify exactly what you want to get better at

2)      Identify your triggers

3)      Come up with a specific plan for the moment these trigger points occur

4)      Read over your plan DAILY

Triggers

So what does it mean to identify your “triggers”?  Well, let me give you an example.  In 2006 I discovered that I really did not like criticism.  I felt attacked and instantly became defensive.  I think most of us can relate to this, but it is a mental barrier that hinders growth. In this case the “trigger” is obvious, criticism. In other cases you may have to dig deeper.  If you are prone to spurts of low self esteem, take a half hour to write out as many things as you can think of that have a tendency to “trigger” this initial downward slide.  Identifying our triggers is a HUGE step required to understand ourselves better and grow.  You can do this with any area in your life you want to improve in.  What “causes” you to slip up in this area?

Make a Plan

When I first wanted to improve in taking criticism I decided that when I felt that anger boiling up inside of me I was tempted to respond defensively to take 10 seconds and not say anything.  I just nodded and tried to think about it analytically.  Were they right in what they were saying?  Do I need to get better at what they had just brought up?  The funny thing is that I often found that they were!  Just by taking 10 seconds to evaluate what they were telling me instead of defending myself, I saved an argument and got lots of great advice.  If I thought they were wrong after thinking about it, instead of defending myself, I simply said, “I am not sure I agree with that, but I want to be open minded.  Let me think more about it tonight when I am not tempted to defend myself and I will probably realize you are right.”  Often times, after thinking about it more, they were right again!  And if not, I saved getting into an argument that neither of us was going to win anyway.

So come up with your plan.

Write down how you are going to deal with every “trigger” on that list.  If you don’t know how to; ask for advice. Compile a plan for EVERY SINGLE TRIGGER.  You will be amazed how empowering this feels.  You finally have a plan!

Read it every day

You plan is worthless if you forget to execute it.  By reading through your plan every morning you cement it in your brain.  Then when a situation arises that used to bring out the worst in you, your plan immediately comes to the surface.

Following these four steps will have a dramatic impact on your weaknesses.  Continue to get better day by day as a person and you will eventually be amazing at whatever you do, whether it is sales or anything else.  With a plan, life becomes a lot more fun and less stressful!

Make a Plan to Win the Battle of Life

            In reality we all have points in our lives when we are so on that our “weaknesses” are barely noticeable or are completely non-existent.  Our strengths are all that we see.  We are in the zone.  And then there are some points in our lives where we are just off.  At these times we have no discernable strengths and our weaknesses seem overpowering!  So trying to think through your weaknesses and fix them, or attempting to isolate your strengths and maximize them, can often times be a very frustrating endeavor.  When we are in the zone we feel like we have arrived!  “I did it!  I conquered my weaknesses!”  Then we later get in a funk and the logical conclusion we come to is, “I have accomplished nothing.  I really thought I was getting better this time!”  Instead of isolating what our strengths and weaknesses are, a far more productive exercise is to spend some time answering the following questions:

1)      What am I like when I am on?

2)      What am I like when I am off?

3)      What are my habits when I am on?

4)      What are my habits when I am off?

The first thing that happens after really spending time diving into this exercise is that you will begin to notice when you start to be “off” and will no longer continue to think thoughts that go something like, “There I go again.  I always do that!”  The biggest obstacle most people face in living the life they want to live is taking ownership of their “weaknesses”.  People think that the things they dislike about themselves are somehow hardwired into their DNA.  That isn’t you!  That is you when you are off.  This is empowering because it allows you to take a step back and think through questions 3 and 4.  What have I been doing recently?  What have I not been doing?  For me personally, if I work out first thing in the morning and read a motivational book before breakfast, it is going to be a great day!  If my thoughts are primarily focused on others or focused on long term goals then I am loving life.  I absolutely love my job if I am spending most of my time in front of people, truly listening, and learning new things from every person I meet.  If I am spending a ton of mental energy focused on trivial problems or manifesting negative situations in my mind that “may” unfold; I am irritable, easily frustrated, and generally don’t enjoy life.  This is true in both my career and family life.  This knowledge is power.

      So catch yourself.  Notice when you are starting to slip.  However, it takes more than simply catching yourself in a destructive pattern.  You have to take immediate action!  Get back to the habits that lead to the best version of you.  Go do the things that give you confidence and lead to you loving life.  This seems obvious, and yet the truth about human existence is that it takes much less effort to be neutral or negative than it takes to be positive and optimistic.  But it is worth it.  Life is more fun and more rewarding.  It is all about your habits. 

The reality is that you are always in habit patterns whether good or bad.  If you wake up every morning and decide whether or not to exercise, it is tough!  You are in the habit of indecision.  If you just wake up and do it every single morning for 3 weeks, it will be hardwired into you.  You don’t even think about it.  It is like this in all of your habits.  This is not just about what you do with your mornings.  You are constantly forming habits at work, with your family, with your friends, and with your own thoughts.  So form good ones!  If you struggle in forming these habits in any area, get an accountability partner.  Find some way to hold yourself accountable.  Do whatever it takes.  The key is, DO IT!  Stop procrastinating. Stop saying that you will form good habits next week.  Don’t wait until it becomes convenient.  There is nothing more important than you being the best version of yourself.  It impacts everything.  So what could me more important than forming the habits that lead to this?  Anything that is worth doing in life is bound to be challenging.  However, if you will stop banging your head against the wall trying to determine why you can never get rid of personality trait x, and instead really hone in on the habits that make you great, the battle you will be fighting will at least lead more directly to living life the way you want to live it!

“Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,”

“Silver white winters that melt into spring,”

“These are a few of my favorite things.”

“When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad,”

“I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t feel so bad!”

–The Sound of Music (1965)

I was walking on campus at Michigan State University the other week at a relatively brisk pace, and thought to myself, ”I love this time of year!”  It makes me think about playing backyard football when I was a kid, going to bonfires when I was in high school and college, and taking the last few walks of the season through my neighborhood with my wife and daughter holding a warm travel mug of coffee.  These were the thoughts that were wandering through my head when a student I work with at Southwestern came walking up.

I hadn’t noticed him coming as we were walking in opposite directions to different destinations.  “Man, what has you in such a great mood today?” he asked as he came up.  “You just get some good news or something?”  This startled me and distracted me from my wandering train of thought.  I had to stop and think for a second.  Why was I in such a great mood?  The day was no different than any other day.  I had not received any great news nor had any amazing things out of the ordinary going on to be excited about.  Then I remembered.  It was so simple. 

I couldn’t believe that my mood while thinking about fall days in Michigan could be so readily apparent that someone could spot it from 20 yards away without me saying a word.  I laughed and told him what I was thinking about.  Later, I realized how powerful this interaction was.  I always knew that attitude was important, having worked with Southwestern Company in sales.  Clearly no one wants to do business with someone in a bad mood.  This completely misses the point!  Not being in a bad mood is only 15% of the battle.  The other 85% is being in an AMAZING mood!

When you have those moments in life where you are totally content and appreciating the little things, it is overwhelmingly powerful.  You have a presence about you and a joy that radiates in all directions.  People cannot help but be drawn to this.  This is why in sales positions sales often come in clumps.  We were not necessarily depressed, frustrated, or giving off bad vibes to people prior to the first sale in the string.  We were just neutral.  There is no power in neutral.  After that first sale we feel GREAT!  There is serious power in great.

Herein lies the difference between top producers and average producers for any company.  Average producers may be able to “manage” their attitude to avoid being negative.  Top producers actively cultivate an attitude of thankfulness.  They appear to be coming off of signing ten clients in a row even if they are in a temporary slow period.  So how do we cultivate this? 

Remember the sound of music!  Take a minute before you approach a potential client to refocus your thoughts.  Don’t frantically think through what you are going to say, or stress yourself out over being perfect.  Think about previous interactions with your favorite clients.  Think about the best presentations you have ever given.  Leave out no details.  Remember the setting, the conversation, and the atmosphere.  What were you thinking?  How did you feel?  Also think about little things in your life that you appreciate outside of business.  Remember your favorite things.  This has an incredible impact.  You will emanate joy and enthusiasm. Master this and you will have the mindset possessed by all top producers and your potential becomes limitless.

What are some of your favorite things which help you cultivate a great attitude?  Share a comment to help others.

                You can say all of the right words and do all of the right things to make your prospect comfortable, but if you are only focused on making a sale they will know it.  Turning this side of yourself off can be quite the challenge for anyone in a sales position.  If you have found your way into a career in sales you are probably a results-focused individual.  I am not suggesting that you should not be trying to make sales, or be afraid to close because you don’t want to be seen as pressuring.  What I am suggesting is that motives always shine through.  Just as people have the ability to tell when you are trying to make a sale, they can also tell when you are trying to help.  How then can you shift your perspective to genuinely care about each prospect you encounter?  This shift is only accomplished by monitoring your own thoughts, and discovering what you have been focusing on.  It is also a shift that will be easy for some, and prove very difficult for others.  However, if you are committed to change, it is absolutely possible.  Just watch your thoughts and see which category they fall into.  Are your thoughts consisting of things such as:

“How can I get them to buy?”

“What do they need to hear now to push them over the edge?”

“What should I say next?”

“How can I answer that objection?”

If this is the case you are focused on yourself and not focused on them.  Instead try to shift towards:

“What am I offering that may be able to help them?”

“Why do they need what I am offering?”

“What did they mean by what they just said?”

“What is the real reason they gave that objection?”

If you are thinking in this way you will be truly listening, and people can always tell.  If you are disappointed when you don’t make a sale because you didn’t make a sale, people you meet with are probably feeling like a prospect.  If you are disappointed when not making a sale because you genuinely thought they needed what you were offering, people you meet with will be able to tell that you care.  This not only makes being in sales drastically more fun and satisfying, but also increases production because people always want to do business with people who care about them.