25 things you can do to fire up your internal motivational burners
Here are 25 things you can do to fire up your internal motivational burners:
1. Create a Personal Life List which includes a list of things you'd like to do in your lifetime.
2. Create a Professional Life List which includes a list of your career / business goals.
3. Take pictures of your top 10 customers and your top 10 prospects - buildings, logos, etc. Create an album which includes your specific goals and a specific date for achieving them. You'll achieve more goals when you can see them clearly. That's why a picture is worth a 1,000 words.
4. Become excellent at making appointments.
5. Tell your family what your specific sales goals are for the year and keep them posted on your progress. Tell your family if you achieve 110% or more of your annual sales quota, you will take them anywhere they want to go on vacation.
6. Tell your family how, as a family, you will celebrate when you become the top sales representative in your company. If you're not the top sales rep in your company, maybe it's because you never thought about it. Remember - you will become what you think about most.
7. Tell your family every time you achieve a new monthly sales record, you will take them out to celebrate.
8. To get motivated about improving your personal financial situation, set a personal net worth goal and write it on a spread sheet, then review it monthly. This will also keep you focused on achieving your sales goals. Self worth increases proportionately with net worth.
9. Buy a book of inspiration and keep it in your car. Read it daily. One of my favorites is, "Light From Many Lamps" by Lillian Eichler Watson. Remember - you're the chief inspiration officer in your life. Inspirational words are usually inspiring.
10. Record, and burn to a CD, 30 of your favorite quotations. Nothing is more powerful than the sound of your own voice.
11. Buy a composition notebook for your car. Record your successes, failures, and daily observations about your selling environment. Make your life your laboratory.
12. Go to www.audible.com to download MP3 files of the newest and best business books to help you achieve your Life (Personal and Professional) goals. For example "Made To Stick," by the Heath Brothers.
13. Begin every day with a six-pack. A written and prioritized list of the things you want to do and the people you want to call. Using numbers prioritize our list everyday. This will minimize the distractions and interruptions and keep you focused on doing what's important first.
14. Write down a list of all the things you don't like about your work and your life. From this list - create a list of goals to eliminate the negatives in your life. It's your life - take control. Do this and you'll get rid of that helpless and hopeless feeling forever.
15. Invest 15 minutes every day to read books and articles about your selling profession. This is gourmet food for your brain. Don’t skip a day. Snack often!
16. Invest 15 minutes daily to plan for the next day. There is nothing more motivating than starting your day with a written plan - your plan!. Make this a daily habit and you'll sell more in less time and have more fun doing it.
17. Write your own headlines. Business, personal, golf, family, spiritual, financial, self-development, physical well-being etc. Creating your own headlines for how you want your life to turn out, will have a definite influence on how indeed your life turns out!
18. Run with the stars - hang out with the best in your business/industry. Model their behaviors and don't be shy about asking them for advice. Learn to experiment with the ideas you get from observing the pros in action.
19. The slower you start something, the faster you'll finish it. Break up big projects into smaller and less threatening pieces. The more smaller tasks you do the sooner your big project will be completed.
20. You can over achieve every sales quota you are given if you follow this street smart sales tip. First, write yourself a check dated for 12/31/ New Year - payable to you and write how much you want to earn on the amount line. Make three laminated copies and put one in your briefcase, auto console, and home office. Look at them every day and ask, "How am I doing?" Second, always aim higher than the quota you are given. Be sure to sign the check to make it stick. If you adjust your aim, your results will improve.
21. Get a mentor, preferably one outside of your company. Successful people love helping others to become successful too. But you gotta ask. The truly successful people never go it alone.
22. Join or start a mastermind group. I belong to one and we've been meeting every three months for the last 10 years. It's the best reality check I've ever had. It's also extremely motivating when your group encourages and supports you as you take bold risks to get to the next level.
23. You can dramatically improve your sales performance and results by using cue cards. Prepare your own laminated cue cards. Create cue cards for making appointments, a list of your 12 best questions, for handling the price objection, and for asking for the order. Each cue card should be prepared word-for-word. Your performance will sky-rocket - and so will your self-confidence.
24. Make a dinner date with your spouse tonight and go some place special. Tell the person your plans for succeeding in business and in life and ask for his/her support.
25. Select one song that really gets you moving and play it every morning as you back out of your driveway. And if you ever get beat up royally on a sales call, make sure you play that song again - to pick yourself up again.
Sure motivation is an inside job.
Sure you have to work at it. You have two options.
You can be motivated or you can choose not to be.
Motivated salespeople make more money, have more customers, have more friends, have more fun and believe it or not have more time to achieve their personal and professional goals.
When you get motivated and stay motivated, you'll start selling more . . .
JM Matienzo