“No excuses.” It’s the mantra of almost every top Southwestern salesperson out there. We’ve all been told that to reach our goals, we can’t make any excuses—we have to be unconditionally committed. But I AM unconditionally committed, you say. I don’t make excuses, but I still haven’t reached my goals. What gives? The answer [...]
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In a previous blog, I talked about how to get unstuck by asking the question, “What would it be like if I could do _______ really well?” You could fill in the blank with “sell” or “dance” or “connect with people” or “draw”. We discussed the fact that humans automatically imagine an answer. We can’t [...]
Did Shakespeare sell with Southwestern? Uh, no. But, in Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2, his main character declares: “For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” So it is with selling. Your encounters, your closing victories, your frustrations, your close misses—all are subject to your own internal voice. The voice [...]
I read Sean Silverthorne’s blog, The View from Harvard Business, entitled, “The One Personal Goal for the New Year.” I liked it so well I copied and pasted it in its entirety. Couldn’t help myself. Read on. “Goals. We all make them to start the new year. And forget them by Valentine’s Day. “So here’s [...]
Here at The Southwestern Company, I’ve spent years reading about and observing how people are motivated. We’ve spent countless thousands of dollars on motivational contests, incentives and awards. While my short little blog won’t fully answer the question posed above, Daniel Pink’s thought-provoking book called Drive, does. In it, Pink presents 40 years of scientific evidence [...]
I ran across an article which intrigued me. It is excerpted from a book called Is There Life before Death? by NLP master practitioner and author, Steve Andreas. Think about your sales and how you see yourself as a salesperson; think about how the language you choose to describe yourself and what you do is important. [...]
For those of you who are doing too well, here are some ways you can reduce your sales productivity and be unhappy, whether you’re selling with the Southwestern Company or in any sales career: 1) wish you were somewhere else, doing something else In other words, avoid being present! Let your mind drift off to home, [...]
What’s the difference between success and failure in sales? Ideal territory? Extra calls? More hours worked? Twice the interpersonal skills? More lucky breaks? Or is it some people have what it takes and some people don’t? All these are important, whether you’re selling clothing, cars, or working in the Southwestern Company summer program. Vince Lombardi, [...]
Do yourself a favor, and watch this video: I think it might be physically impossible to have a bad day after a morning like that. While not always a common practice, many successful people engage in similar affirmation rituals every single day. What exactly are affirmations, you ask? Well, we all affirm ourselves constantly. For better, [...]
Noticing. That’s all it takes. Focus. What do you focus on? This blog seemed to tie in to Valentine’s Day coming up, so… How can you fall out of love with your job? At Southwestern, you can notice how few people say yes, on the heat, on random negative thoughts, on how you dislike the feeling of failure, [...]
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