Denying False Assumptions

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Sean Moore | | Leave a comment

Challenge AssumptionsHave you ever dreamed of becoming one of the sales winners in your organization? Do you hope to one day be the #1 sales rep in the company? Do you have a particular personal or fitness goal you want to achieve? These goals are absolutely within your reach!

I read a statement this week made by one of my favorite authors, Brian Tracy: “Incorrect assumptions lie at the root of every failure. Have the courage to test your assumption.”

Have you ever thought about how dangerous it is to make assumptions? Assumptions can wreck our chances of reaching our full potential.

What is an assumption? An assumption is “something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof.” In other words, when I assume something, I believe it to be true without any sort of proof or evidence.

Most of us are unaware of how often we make assumptions. In reality, we make assumptions every single day, and those assumptions can lead to certain patterns of behavior. Sometimes, false assumptions lead to detrimental actions and habits.

Are you perceiving life accurately?

In the 1960s, American psychologist Harry Harlow conducted a fascinating social experiment with monkeys. Five monkeys were locked in a cage, and a banana was hung from the ceiling with a ladder placed directly under the banana. Of course, one of the monkeys immediately raced toward the ladder, intending to climb it and grab the banana. However, as soon as he started to climb, the researchers sprayed the monkey with ice-cold water. Interestingly, they also sprayed the other four monkeys at the same time.

When a second monkey was ready to climb the ladder, the researchers sprayed this monkey with ice-cold water too and then applied the same treatment to its four fellow inmates. The monkeys learned their lesson. They decided not to climb that ladder again—banana or no banana!

The researchers then replaced one of the monkeys in the cage with a new monkey. As you might expect, the new arrival spotted the banana and went after it right away. As the new monkey started to climb the ladder, the situation got interesting. The original four monkeys, familiar with the cold-water treatment, ran toward the new guy and yanked him down. The new monkey, although blissfully unaware of what had happened previously, instantly got the message: no climbing up the ladder in this cage! One by one, the researchers replaced all the original monkeys with new ones, and each time a new monkey attempted to climb the ladder, he was pulled down by the other monkeys.

In time, only monkeys who had never received the cold shower were in the room, but none of them would climb the ladder! And, they prevented any new monkey introduced to the cage from climbing the ladder as well—even though none of them knew why they did this.

How often do we act like those monkeys? We must challenge the assumptions we have, evaluating whether or not they are true and/or applicable to our situations.

Our greatest challenges to success will always be the ones we create in our own minds. As an exercise, finish these statements:

“Never talk to ________.”

“Don’t ask so many _______.”

“Always eat your ________.”

“Always wear clean ________.”

“Keep your elbows off the ________.”

“Don’t make me pull this ________ over!” (A personal favorite after a recent family road trip.)

Why were we able to finish each statement? We’ve heard these phrases multiple times since childhood, as is the case with many of our assumptions about life. Although seemingly harmless, assumptions can become beliefs that condition how we act and live. When do they become destructive? When they cause us to act without reason or thought, thus stunting our growth and forward momentum.

If you find yourself thinking “I’m not good enough; I may never be able to succeed; other people are better than me; I’m probably going to fail—then you’ve probably allowed your thinking, at least in some part, to be controlled by assumptions.

Challenge your assumptions about the world and about yourself. Make sure they are factual and relevant—don’t let your life be run by fictional perceptions of your situation. Choose to ignore the voice that says “I’m not enough” and instead step into the freedom of believing you are enough.

Any person who desires to be successful must recognize and ruthlessly evaluate assumptions. Don’t assume your thinking is correct, even if you’ve thought that way for many years. Stephen Covey said, “We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be. And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of these assumptions.”

Why can’t you be the #1 salesperson in the company? Why can’t you be physically fit? Why can’t you be the person who achieves something great? Casting aside assumptions, the answer is: YOU CAN.

Famed scientist Isaac Asimov’s advice provides a perfect conclusion: “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”

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Winning against All Odds

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Sean Moore | | Leave a comment

againts all oddsRarely does a dream come true easily and effortlessly, without delays, problems, or hurdles. It is far more common that one must overcome many obstacles and suffer through some pain before hitting any meaningful target.

The bigger your dreams, the tougher your challenge, the more ambitious your goals, the more likely it is that you’ll face difficulties along the way.

When problems arise, what will you do? Will you just give up? Or will you persist, struggling to succeed?

I’ve never always completely agreed with the statement “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I recently came across a paper in the Harvard Business Review entitled “Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship.” This paper presents the idea that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are much more likely to succeed than first-time entrepreneurs and those who have failed previously.

After leading a sales organization for many years, I look to one main indicator for predicting future success in salespeople: levels of persistence in past performance. Those who persevere and persist through challenges are, hands down, more likely to be successful. But that success doesn’t come automatically! What doesn’t kill you can make you stronger—IF you follow the right strategies.

Here are five strategies to help you beat the odds:

1. Look for the gift in challenges.

Have you had a bad day lately? A day when you thought it just couldn’t get any worse? We all have those kinds of days for sure.

It can be hard to see when you’re in the midst of a trial, but there are almost always lessons to be learned through hard times. As Napoleon Hill wrote, “Within every problem or obstacle lays the seed of an equal or greater opportunity or benefit. Your job is to find it.”

What if the struggles we undergo are meant to help us release a potential we didn’t realize we had? Author Mike Dooley says, “If you understood the extraordinary gifts that every single challenge in your life makes possible, even inevitable, you’d celebrate your challenges, new and old alike, as the omens that they are of new beginnings and spectacular change.”

2. Focus on the goal.

A major key to success is to have big, hairy, audacious goals (BHAGs) running as undercurrents for everything we do in the present and in the near future. A BHAG is the single purpose that underpins and drives everything a business is about and is striving for. Author and business strategist Jim Collins says, “BHAGs are not just random goals … A good BHAG has to fit with what you’re passionate about, which includes your values. It has to fit with what best drives you.” We need to set our BHAGs and let them guide us every step of the way as we maintain our focus.

3. Don’t see obstacles—see solutions.

Turn on the TV, open the newspaper, or surf the Internet—what do you always see? Problems. Everywhere we look, we see problems in our personal and professional lives. Are we facing a “problem epidemic”? How can we overcome perpetual problems in life?

What if I told you that your problems were, in fact, not problems at all? Can you believe that your problems are actually opportunities? What if we woke up every morning with a “solution epidemic” mindset?

Each time you’re presented with a problem, remind yourself of this: for every problem, there’s a solution and an opportunity. We can choose to see a world filled with problems or a world filled with unseen solutions.

4. Ask for help and support.

When you feel like giving up, ask for help. Your challenges are probably not as rare as you think. There are others who have been there before or who are there right now. Tap the collective experience and wisdom of others, thus raising your own ability to overcome the problems you face.

In general, people love to help others, and someone else’s perspective might just be the catalyst you need to break through your brick wall. Having supportive people in your corner will keep you going until you catch your second wind of internal motivation.

5. Engage likeminded, passionate people.

Renowned business philosopher Jim Rohn researched the “Law of Associations,” which suggests you are a direct reflection of the five people you associate with the most. If the five people closest to you have negative philosophies, it’s unlikely you will have a positive one. Do your closest professional relationships reflect themes of blame and disempowerment or themes of responsibility and empowerment?

We need to be acutely aware of the company we keep. Are the people around you the kind of people you want to be? Passion is contagious, and we need to engage likeminded, passionate people.

Which of the five strategies resonates with you the most? Why?

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Excuses Prevent Progress

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Sean Moore | | Leave a comment

excuses or progressWhat’s truly stopping you from living the life you want to lead?

Can you think of something you could be doing to improve your life in some way?

How can you further your career, achieve greater sales success, improve your business, accomplish a physical fitness goal, or become more fulfilled in your personal life?

What’s stopping you? What is your excuse?

Are you making excuses or making progress? Many times we make excuses if we feel we’re in trouble. Excuses are an attempt to justify something we have done (or not done) in order to prove ourselves right. Think about your day/week/month for a moment. Are you making excuses at any time? Or are you making progress? Unfortunately, we can’t be doing both.

We can make excuses, or we can make progress, but we can’t make both if we want to achieve something.

At one time or another, we’ve all found ourselves in a mental state that allows us to make excuses, but this should not be the norm for each day. Are we stuck? Sick of coworkers? Frustrated with management? The great news is this: we can do something about it, and we can do something about it today.

Why are excuses so attractive?

Excuses appear attractive because they seem to help us avoid consequences or get out of commitments we don’t want to fulfill. Excuses are all about avoidance and escapism. Everyone knows a chronic excuse maker who always says yes to whatever plan is put forth but then backs out at the last minute with a really lame excuse. Why not just say no in the first place?

Though excuses seem to help us avoid consequences, in reality, they can lead to serious negative outcomes. We all have ways in which we could improve our lives, ways in which we could progress. Not only will excuses prevent you from reaching your full potential, but they will also hold you back from recognizing opportunities, talents, and skills you might have. We can embrace what we need to do to move forward, or we can cling to our excuses. If we don’t challenge ourselves to reach new heights, we’ll never really know what we’re capable of. New opportunities are hidden around every corner; however, we’ll never find them if we allow ourselves to constantly make excuses.

I’m a realist, so I know it’s not possible to completely eradicate excuses. Excuses will most definitely pop up from time to time, but we don’t have to let them stop us!

To overcome your excuses, you must first admit that you’re making them. Sometimes this is difficult to do, but it’s absolutely necessary if we want to eliminate the negative consequences that result from excuse making. When you find yourself making an excuse, ask this question: why am I making this excuse? Then list the consequences the excuse will have on your life and circumstances by asking:

  • How does this excuse prevent me from moving forward?
  • How does it inhibit my ability to get what I want?

Remember, the habit of excuse making doesn’t lead to a fulfilling lifestyle. In fact, this destructive habit will paralyze us and prevent forward movement in all areas of our lives. We need to recognize excuses when they occur and then take steps to handle them appropriately.

 Remember, you can make excuses, or you can make progress, but you can’t make both.

I believe that if we want to make things happen, we’ll find a way. If we don’t want something badly enough, we’ll find an excuse. It’s that simple.

I would like to leave you with some of my favorite quotes regarding excuses:

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” – Benjamin Franklin

“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” – George Washington

“Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.” – John Wooden

“It is easier to move from failure to success than from excuses to success.” – John Maxwell

“The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses.” – Napoleon Hill

“There are a thousand excuses for failure, but never a good reason.” – Mark Twain

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The Good Life

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Sean Moore | | Leave a comment

Life is goodThe good things in life will never just be handed to us on a platter. Watch this great commercial illustrating a child’s perspective of what a good life looks like:

 

 

Good and bad things happen to people every day. Today I’d like to discuss how to give ourselves the best opportunity to make our lives good. Perhaps you are familiar with this saying: “Plan your work and work your plan.” Whether or not we effectively execute our plans can mean the difference between closing the big deal or losing out, landing that promotion you’ve always dreamed about or being passed over, getting to President’s Club or being stranded in mediocrity. Although seemingly simple, the strategy of working your plan is commonly overlooked. As one of my favorite authors Zig Ziglar said, “You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”

I believe there are three decisions we can all make to ensure effective execution of our plans:

1. Know your end game and higher power goals.

Knowing your end game is a great strategy for directing your steps right now. What’s the goal or the desired outcome of your work? Sometimes we get so focused on day-to-day activities that we fail to ask, “What IS my goal?” Is it a specific financial target for the year? Is it a down payment for a new house? Is it to provide a steady income for your family? Is it to go to President’s Club? Is it to retire comfortably at a certain age? Is it a promotion? We can call these goals “higher power goals,” for they provide the impetus we need to keep striving.

What are your higher power goals?

Clarity of purpose often leads to precision in daily execution; clarity of purpose will also keep you motivated when you encounter setbacks.

2. Establish a clear timeline of important, actionable steps.

In the 1960s, Charles Hummel published a little booklet called Tyranny of the Urgent!, and it quickly became a business classic. Hummel argues that there is a regular tension between things that are urgent and things that are important, and, far too often, the urgent wins. In the business world, this means the demands of your customers, your manager, or meaningless relationships can often take priority over things like thoroughly completing a task before starting the next one or making decisions and executing actions that build your business. We all wholeheartedly believe that when we get to work tomorrow we will hit the ground running on those important steps necessary to build our business. However, tomorrow morning quickly becomes midmorning, and by the end of the afternoon, we’ll sigh with despair, realizing we’ve let the entire day pass without ever working on that one crucial action item. The urgent (though less important) things are prioritized; therefore, the important elements are put on the back burner. Nothing is more important than knowing what’s most important. Establishing a clear timeline of prioritized, actionable steps to execute can often mean the difference between success and failure.

What’s most important in your everyday schedule?

Breaking down your work into manageable, sustainable action steps will help you develop a road map for success and will keep you on track toward accomplishing your most important goals for each day.

3. Use motivation to help you stick to your plan and timeline.

What if your routine includes something you really don’t want to do, like cold calling. What’s the best way to motivate yourself? There are lots of different approaches to take, but one effective strategy is to reframe the unpleasant activity in terms of the bigger picture or end-game goal. If you are cold calling, you’re probably doing it to “fill the top of your pipeline.” Thinking in terms of your “why” reasons for cold calling (identifying your end game) can give you a real motivational boost.

What unpleasant activity have you been avoiding? How can you motivate yourself to stick with this activity on a regular basis?

What about using checklists—or your company’s daily road map (what ConMed refers to as a “Standard Model Day”)? Checklists are great. We are all busy managing lots of goals, so it’s easy to forget to do the things we set out to do, even with the best of intentions. Checklists make it much easier to remember our desired results.

In summary, if you want something better for yourself and your family—if you want to live the good life—you must take responsibility for your actions and results; otherwise, you end up in the trap of mediocrity. Jim Rohn wisely said, “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

 

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The Seven Cardinal Sins of Sales Professionals

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Sean Moore | | Leave a comment

seven cardinal sinsDo you want to be the best in your field?

Do you want to be a person who consistently produces amazing results?

There are seven cardinal sins that I believe can get in the way of reaching success and achieving your goals. The regular avoidance of these sins will ensure sales success and allow you to reach your career and financial goals.

1) Complacency—feeling comfortable with being second best.

Make a decision to go all the way to the top of the sales team. Choose today to join the top 10%. The most important step you can take is to commit yourself to personal excellence, to becoming one of the best in your field. This industry is full of salespeople who are wishing, hoping, and praying for their sales results to be better, but they never make a DO decision that leads to great success. There is no one and nothing that can hold you back from being the best and achieving your career goals except yourself.

2) Negativity—surrounding yourself with the wrong people or the wrong influences.

Great salespeople choose to be around colleagues who have a positive attitude. Great salespeople associate with other sales professionals who are going somewhere or are where they themselves want to be. Great salespeople insulate themselves from negative people, gossip, and detrimental communication, both direct and indirect. It takes five positive interactions to remove a negative one, so why allow negative influences from complaining, grumpy, and belligerent people? This kind of negativity only drags sales professionals down, tires them out, distracts and discourages them, and inevitably leads them to underachievement and failure.

3) Self-limiting beliefs—not visualizing yourself as the best in your field.

The top 10% always visualize themselves performing at their very best day in and day out. These exceptional salespeople feed their minds with exciting, clear, emotional pictures of their successes. They imagine themselves as confident, competent, and in complete control of their own futures.

Make sure to feed your mind with clear mental pictures of success in your career goals. Refuse to give mental space to any self-limiting thoughts.

4) Poor inner dialogue—allowing negative self-talk.

The best-in-class sales professionals strictly control inner dialogue. It’s easy to set goals, formulate a plan to reach them, and tell yourself that nothing will stop you. However, as time goes by, the novelty wears off, and your optimistic attitude can give way to feelings of doubt and dissatisfaction. These negative thoughts and feelings are especially common when you’re not seeing results despite your hard work. Sure, it’s much easier to fill your head with negative self-talk than it is to give yourself a mental pep talk. But the latter is exactly what you need to do in order to stay on track. Successful salespeople are aware of their thoughts at all times, and they consciously decide to think more positively. It’s been said that our minds can only hold one thought at a time, which means we have a choice: we can focus on a thought that makes us feel badly, or we can focus on something that makes us feel good. Often the only thing holding us back is our thinking.

5) Blind spots—not knowing your weakness and not leveraging your strengths.

Identify your biggest weakness that may be sabotaging your success. I do not believe it’s possible to immediately eliminate weaknesses, but you must at least neutralize any weaknesses that are hindering your results while working on a long-term plan for change.

Identify a skill you have and make a plan to become absolutely excellent in that area. Work with a mentor or your manager and ask, “What one skill, if I developed and practiced it consistently in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive effect on my sales?” This decision alone can propel you to the top 10% and is one of the most important success factors in sales.

6) Unhealthy lifestyle—not caring for your physical health.

This is something many sales professionals overlook. Maintaining good physical health is of the utmost importance. I have always believed you need high levels of energy to sell effectively (and to bounce back from constant rejection and discouragement). Be sure to eat the right foods, get the right amount of exercise, and get plenty of rest and recreation.

7) Reactivity—not taking action toward or owning your career goals.

Be proactive rather than reactive. Own every result in your life. Grab the bull by the horns. If you are not pleased with your income, get out there, hit the pavement, and get in front of more customers. Work hard at working smarter. Control your destiny! If you are not happy with any part of your life, accept responsibility and take charge—make the changes needed to get the life you want!

In conclusion, all successful salespeople are intensely action oriented and have a tremendous sense of urgency. They are all about action—immediate action!

If we are honest with ourselves, we have all committed one or several of the cardinal sins that lead to sales mediocrity. If we are serious about our success, we must stop making these mistakes and remove the influences that could tempt us to return to our old ways. The more we take complete control of our entire lives, the more we will guarantee our success as top performers and earners in our field.

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