Southwestern Sales Talk
I just finished reading a good article in Direct Selling News. Darren Hardy, author of The Compound Effect, gave an interview in which he cites why people succeed and why they fail:
I’ll tell you the greatest secret to my success and the biggest reason most people fail. It’s not lack of desire, big dreams or even motivation. It is not a fear to sign up, try or to even get started. People go to seminars, buy books, join gyms, start diet programs or sign up for a new business opportunity. Starting is not the problem. Staying is. A commitment to consistency is the key. My definition of commitment is doing the thing you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left you. People get excited, they get started, maybe even experience some success, but then they stop or stall. That start-and-stop process kills momentum and destroys progress in every pursuit–that’s true in your relationships, in your wealth-building plan, with your diet and fitness, and it’s most certainly true in building a direct selling organization.
Hardy goes on to say:
It’s not about who gets started first or fastest, but about who can repeat the simple disciplines, the core fundamentals, over and over, consistently over time….That is why the tortoise beats the hare every time–not because the tortoise is more talented, experienced or faster, but because the tortoise is simply and relentlessly consistent.
I think about the student dealers in the Southwestern Program. Why do we give the “I Wanna Win” award to those who have their best sales at the end of their summer? Because it’s harder to finish than to begin. The greatest feeling in the world is finishing strongly–to acknowledge that you have “left it all out on the field”. That you’ve spent yourself doing your best. (By the way, we do not have an “I Wanna Begin” award because it’s easy to start things–way harder to finish.)
Please share your strategies on how you maintain your focus, effort and energy while you sell!
Lee,
I agree with this. It made me think about the next step to this-what causes us to start/stop. Dr. William James said 100 years ago-”Where emotion and intellect are in conflict, emotion rules the day.” This is so true. I know what to do, but I don’t feel like it! The bigger diminsion then, becomes our “I am” or my self talk. What we say to ourselves is so important. Our subconsious believes both true or false statements if we repeat them enough. They are tied to our history-maybe someone believed in you, or did not-so we then repeat that to ourselves and it becomes our self talk. For example-”I am not good at taking tests.” If we believe that, we have decreased our chances of success before we even start! Once we recognize limiting beliefs, we can “re-program” our thinking until we buy in.
It is why contest’s motivate short term, but do not solve the problem of low activity. It is a deeper belief that is the issue. View of selling, confidence in our ability, etc.
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Lee McCroskey Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Well put, Mike. You should be blogging…. I am reading a new book by Daniel Pink: Drive. It’s all about extrinsic v intrinsic motivation–a good read with recent research.
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