Over the years I have been very fortunate to work with many wonderful clients both in my individual and group sales coaching practices. They have each taken the risk to reach out to achieve more of what they perceived that they were capable of achieving. And they made great progress. Sometimes it came in flash, other times it took a little longer. Why were they able to achieve at higher levels? What traits did they have in common? If I could boil down all of the experiences of my clients into those factors that made a significant difference in their lives, businesses, and ultimate sales success, it would be these five secrets:
1. Life Mission and Purpose.
Knowing what you want your life to be about and what you want to accomplish with your life is perhaps the most significant factor in the fulfillment of your dreams and achieving the sales success that you have defined for yourself. You would be surprised how many people I talk to that have their lives governed by too many should’s and ought to’s. Some have long forgotten why they are on the path they are on. Being clear about your life’s purpose also means not putting up with toleration’s, lack of goals, and not getting your needs met.
2. Goal Clarity.
Once you know what you want your life and legacy to be all about, it’s time to develop a strategy and a plan to achieve it. What is required next is to write down what your short and long term goals need to be to accomplish your purpose. Be very, very, clear on what your goals are. Don’t include what others have suggested for you. Goals are very personal. They can be big and small. They can be comprised of business and personal goals. Whatever you decide your goals should be, go after them with passion and a burning desire to achieve them. Anything less will yield unsatisfying results. Be very specific and precise in how you describe your goals, wishes, and desires. You should write them down and include measurable and objective benchmarks to gauge your progress and timeframes to shoot for. From time to time take stock in your progress. Make course corrections whenever necessary. Many smaller course corrections along the way are much preferred over one or two big changes that may come too late to make a difference. No one expects perfection without practice, fine tuning, patience, and perseverance.
3. Focus.
Don’t be led astray with distractions. Checking email incessantly, solving every problem ourselves, and multi-tasking at the expense of accuracy, among others; drains our energy and causes us to lose our focus and sometimes even our direction. Review your key focus areas each day and ask yourself, “What is the highest and best use of my time today to accomplish my goals or focus areas?” It’s easy to get caught up with checking off a multitude of items from our "to do" lists, however, unless those items directly relate to our primary goals (which should support your larger purpose); our progress towards our primary goals will slow down to a crawl. Here’s the sequence of events: State goal, create action plan, execute plan, review results, make course adjustments, revise plan, execute plan, etc.
4. Belief.
You must possess a deep belief inside yourself that you can achieve what it is you want to achieve and that you are worthy to achieve it. Don’t be fooled by thinking just because something is taking longer than you think it should, that you can’t achieve it. Belief in our goals and our ability to achieve them is very powerful. Belief helps us to overcome all obstacles in our path to success. We each are surrounded by an invisible belief boundary. We can achieve right up to the edge of that boundary with ease and confidence. But if we set a goal beyond that imaginary boundary, we sometimes freeze or begin to question our ability to go beyond. You are not alone. Everyone reaches their own belief boundary. To go beyond that boundary, take one step at a time. Break large goals into small bit-sized action steps. Secure the help and support of others. Celebrate your victories. Don’t dismiss the small accomplishments along the way. They are all important and their accomplishment and your acknowledgment of them will expand your belief boundary of what you can and will be able to accomplish today and in the future.
5. Consistent Commitment to Action.
Knowing what to do and doing it are oftentimes two different things. Consistent commitment to taking the required actions to achieve your goals is a crucial element in the achievement of those goals and in your ultimate success. It is human nature to seek variety, yet just as the laws of physics control our universe, so do the laws of business control our success. Certain activities result in positive results. By performing these activities on a consistent and repeated basis, we help to ensure our ultimate success.
The formula is simple, yet powerful; life purpose, goal clarity, focus, belief, and consistent commitment to action. Following this formula will guarantee your current and future success and will create the life and business you both desire and will proud to claim as your own.
Good luck on your journey to success.