It’s 5AM, the alarm goes off and I have a decision to make: hit the snooze button or force myself out of bed and out the door to the gym. It can be a difficult choice, but I know after my workout I always feel great about pushing through and motivated to attack the day. Have you ever noticed the emotional energy required to get to the gym is often greater than the actual physical energy required to complete your workout? The Commitment Continuum is another principle presented by Rory Vaden in “Take the Stairs,” which addresses getting over that emotional energy hump. Based on what I have experienced in the past with new product launches, as well as seen and heard recently from the field, I believe this principle applies to where we are with our new product launch.

The success of a new product launch will require an immense amount of not only physical but emotional energy, which is often overlooked. Emotional commitment intensifies as we pursue any activity. It often starts out easy, and becomes more challenging until we reach a peak or pivot point. This point often materializes with some sort of challenge or break down, when we are faced with the decision to keep going or turn back.

If you listen carefully to any sales rep that has successfully gotten a new product into an account, they often describe a moment when everything fell apart, leaving them with a difficult choice to make: keep going or give up. When looking back, it was these moments of adversity that lead to the turning point of their success. We will all face these pivotal times, and not just once but many times. Some people can push through, while others can’t. The choices we make in these moments make all the difference and separate those getting by from those who, as I like to say, are “CRUSHING IT!”

It often requires the greater emotional energy of making a decision than the actual physical energy of executing that decision. A successful new product launch can and will be difficult to reach, but it can be done: we must never turn back, and instead always push forward. At times we will want to turn back (i.e., hit the snooze button at 5 AM) because our emotional energy will be at normal levels if we go back to our comfort zone. This can be related to the feelings we have before making a decision to move a new product forward in an account. For example; is this the right time to pitch a new product to the doc, the last time he seemed annoyed when I approached him? I need the next procedure to go well, is this the right procedure for the surgeon try my new product? The OR director called down to materials and requested the product, should I go down and ask for the PO? We need to get over the emotional hump and stop question ourselves; we know what the right decisions are and we need to take a plunge and make them.

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