Southwestern Sales Talk

What are the factors needed to reach Maximum Earning Potential and finish number one? 

The reason people do not reach their true potential is because they subconsciously build barriers that cause self-doubt.  They don’t believe they can hit high goals.  The three most important characteristics for breaking belief barriers are commitment, control, and confidence. 

1. Commitment is doing the work–putting in the effort with no excuses!  Top producers do not make excuses; they stay committed. 

When I think of commitment, I am reminded of a time when I was selling books door-to-door with The Southwestern Company.  While in Missouri that summer, I had over ten flat tires in three months!  I had so many flat tires I started timing myself with a stopwatch as if I were on a NASCAR pit crew.  So I find myself in the middle of nowhere, on a mile-long driveway (scenery common to that area).  The driveway passed through a canopy of trees.

As I was changing the tire trying to beat my pit crew record time, I noticed my arm looked like my skin was crawling.  Upon further inspection I realized I was completely covered in ticks!  I don’t know about you, but when people ask me what my favorite critter is I don’t say ticks.  So what did I do?  I reacted the same way any other rational human being would-I flipped out!  I stripped down buck naked and threw my clothes in a plastic bag so ticks would not get in the car.  

Then I drove to the nearest gas station.  I hopped out, but realized I’d better put my pants back on.  So after that embarrassing act, I ran into the gas station with no shirt and no shoes.  An older lady looked at me and said, “Son, what’s wrong with you?”  I replied, “I’ve got ticks!”  So I grabbed a razor and ran to the bathroom.  Now as I was looking at myself in the mirror and trying to pick the ticks off, I had a deep sense of doubt.  I wanted to quit what I was doing, go home, and use this as a reason why I didn’t hit my goal.  But, something inside of me said No.  I had committed to my sales manager, my friends, parents, and (more importantly) to myself I was not going to quit on a single day, week, or month.  So I shaved the ticks off one by one.  I went on and finished my day.  That day was not my most productive day, but it was my most important because after that experience I knew nothing would stop me from fulfilling my commitments from then on.

We find ourselves in different situations everyday.  After reflecting upon that extreme example of what it means to be committed, I found that sometimes we cannot do anything about the situations in which we find ourselves.  In order to reach our Maximum Earning Potential, the level of commitment we need to have should be deep enough that it goes past being committed to someone else, and the dedication to the goal is based on personal accountability. 

Soon, we will dive into the second success factor for obtaining Maximum Earning Potential—Control.

Dustin Hillis is Co-Founder of Success Starts Now!  He was a phenomenal salesperson as a student dealer with The Southwestern Company, setting the company record in 2004 and making over $97,000 in a single summer.

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