6-5-2014
We are fast approaching that wonderful season called mid-year reviews. How are you doing? Are you meeting or exceeding your expectations and budget? Are you slightly behind? Are you already creating your story about how this is a building year for next year?
More importantly... where are you headed?
The difference between those reading this with a smile and those reading this with a grimace is not only the current scorecard, but preparation. If you?re a manager, are you prepared with enough staffing, inventory, and opportunities to meet your goals?
As a seller you need to know this: The number one complaint of buyers, still, is salespeople who are not prepared.
I always like to clarify and dig a bit deeper. Not to be overly analytical, but to pursue greater understanding. Let?s start with a definition of preparedness:
Preparedness refers to a very concrete research- based set of actions that are taken as precautionary measures in the face of potential disasters. These actions can include both physical preparations (such as emergency supplies depots, adapting buildings to survive earthquakes and so on) and trainings for emergency action. Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and in avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes.
I look at preparedness as attitudes or vibes that you give off to a client, and there are three:
1. I?m happy to be here.
2. I know what I?m talking about.
3. I love what I?m doing.
According to the above definition, preparedness includes both physical and mental readiness to face whatever is ahead of you. The one sentence that really resonated with me is: ?Preparedness is an important quality in achieving goals and avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes.? Wow, it?s that important.
As we hit the middle of 2014, are you prepared? Are you happy to be where you are? Do you know what you?re talking about and do you love what you?re doing? Are you going to do things differently than you did last year?
Carolyn and I have the pleasure of working with companies that don?t just want to be a place to work, they want to be a place to grow for their team members. This means they?ve made a commitment of resources to provide the training, the tools, and the resources necessary to help their teams not only compete, but win.
The best thing about a career in sales is that you are completely responsible for your success. You can make it on your own. The worst thing about sales is that you are completely responsible for your success. You can fail all by yourself with nobody to blame. If you work for a company that wants to be a place to grow, I trust you?re taking full advantage of the tools they are providing for you. If you don?t work for such a company, the responsibility for training and development is on you.
An Hour A Day
Earl Nightingale said this about professional development:
?One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you?ll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do.?
If the company you work for doesn?t provide formal training, are you going to let that stop you from becoming wildly successful? What to study and how to study is a personal choice. For me it?s a combination of reading books, watching TED Talks, and attending seminars. I also find great value in group discussions with people in similar professions, either live and in-person or utilizing things like LinkedIn groups.
You?ll notice that Earl Nightingale didn?t say what to study or how, because that?s not the important part. The important part is that you do study. Find what works for you; there are plenty of resources available. Many cost only the time it takes to watch or read.
?Doing what you?ve always done and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.? -- Albert Einstein
You?re in the middle of 2014. Are you as successful as you want to be? I know that I?m nowhere near where I want to be. I have a lot of work to do. The good news is I know exactly what it will take and I?m committed to doing it.
In the space below, why not share your favorite study method? How do you spend that important hour per day? If 2014 isn?t where you want it to be, now is the time to make the mid-course correction and do something different so by the end of the year you will be able to generate different results.
Jeff Schmidt is EVP and Partner with Chris Lytle at Sparque, Inc. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@Sparque.biz
Twitter: @JeffreyASchmidt
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/schmidtjeffrey
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