What Makes You Successful?

How do you measure your success? When do you know when you have been successful? What is your vision of success? 85% of all lottery winners are bankrupt 5 years after they win the lottery. Obviously money did not make them more successful. Where do you keep that file folder with your written goals for both your personal and professional life? 95% of you don’t have that file folder – so how will you know when you are successful? What is most important to you? What are the things that are most important to you? Fame, Fortune, Family, Friends……….. In my experience, for the majority of people, money is not the most important thing in their lives. However we live in a part of the world that makes us want to believe that without money we can’t be happy. There are 6 billion people on the planet. Of that 6 billion, 4 billion live on two dollars a day or less. Could you live on two dollars a day and be happy? My belief is that that most of those 4 billion people are happy with their lives. Yes there are many starving and living in desperate situations. There are many wealthy people in the world living in desperate situations. So what makes you happy? What are the things that put a smile on your face and allow you to lose yourself and forget about time? Once you know what these moments are why do they make you happy? What makes you happy in your business life? What are the moments that you love and that you lose yourself and forget about time? There are lots of moments in the sales game that can make you smile and that will make you successful. There is also lots of opportunity for moments that frustrate you and make you wonder why you got into this business. Those that understand this and “know” why they are in sales and get that rush from putting deals together, helping people realize their business objectives and love what they do – know what they need to do each day and how to manage the challenges and maximize that rush of being successful in sales. Their focus is on their success and their clients success and enjoying what that success means to them, to their families and to their lifestyle. Knowing yourself? What makes you as a sales rep successful? What are the things you do on a consistent basis that bring you positive results in your business? Keep doing those activities. What is causing you to not be successful? Whatever these activities may be – What do you need to change? How well do you know yourself? How do you manage the ups and downs of the sales game. What happens to you when you get into tough situations? Do you fight and work for what you believe in or do you back down and compromise your position. Sales people come in all shapes and sizes. I know successful sales people that are shy and quiet and they use that to their advantage. I know successful sales people that are gregarious and outgoing and use that to their advantage. In both cases these reps know themselves and are not trying to be someone they are not. What they both have is a drive and determination that get them the results they want. They also know what their shortcomings are and manage these in a way that does not compromise their business. If you don’t like conflict you will find ways to manage that conflict and enlist the help of teammates to help you in dealing with that conflict. If you are not good with administration or paperwork you find ways to manage this. If you are not detail oriented you will have someone read and edit proposals, contracts and other documents – to ensure accuracy. I have never met a perfect sales person! We are all human and have our strengths and our shortcomings. It is how you manage this, that will set you apart from the pack. Why is it that you are working in Sales? In the next few weeks, take the time to write down the reasons you are in sales. What got you into this business? Why do you want to be a successful sales person? What are the things you want to purchase based on your success? What are the intangible things you get from sales (Happiness, the “Rush”, Satisfaction, Competition, etc.) When you look back on your legacy as a sales rep how do you want to be remembered? How were you successful? What were your biggest achievements? What were the challenges you overcame? When you sit down at age 85 and look back at your sales career – What is it about that career that brought you the most happiness and joy? What do you need to do to change and create the success you want? Start a plan. Now that you know what you want your legacy to look like – What do you need to do to make that reality? Write down the things that you need to do and when you want to accomplish them by. Get really clear on what is important to you and then go and make it happen. Sayers Says… What does success mean to you? What are your strengths? What are your shortcomings? Why is it that you are in sales? How well do you know yourself? What is your measure of success both tangible and intangible? What will your legacy as a sales rep look like? When are you going to write your plans down and create that roadmap for your success? What makes you successful…