Experts say that unless you do something dramatic, your mental gauge will allow your behavior to keep you at what it determines is a comfortable level.
We see that acted out every day. Why do two sales people appear to be doing the same thing – with similar skills, opportunity and work ethic – yet one appears to be successful (don’t get me started on that subject), while the other struggles to survive? Most of the time, the second one’s internal gauge keeps them where they are. It may come in various forms, but it usually smells like fear. When they are just about to break through (it’s evident to those around them), their behavior causes them to go backward and they slide back into comfortable. Sure, they may be uncomfortable in terms of income, position, etc. – but their mental gauge says “See? That’s where you belong. You won’t do better than this.”
Now here’s where management makes the big mistake. You can’t scare a person into changing their behavior. You can’t shame them into it. You can’t threaten them into it. You can’t lecture them into it. The fact is they’re just being human. That super star sales rep of yours isn’t really that different … they’ve just adjusted their gauge. Another way of saying it is that they’ve adapted the barrier removal system.
If this second type of sales person sounds like you, congratulations for having the courage and integrity to acknowledge that. I encourage you to try the barrier removal system. If this person sounds like one of your sales team, I encourage you to share the barrier removal system. It’s really as simple as this:
Commit to specific behaviors … for a specific period of time … for a specific goal.
For instance: “John The Rep” never seems to get beyond five sales per month, despite a lot of internal and outside pressure to do more. All agree that he is capable of it. One day “John The Rep” decides that he wants to go on an exotic vacation. So he decides to spend one extra hour per day focusing on achieving this goal. For one designated hour per day he makes phone calls and sends mailers with the promise that whatever comes from this extra effort will go straight into a “John The Rep’s Vacation Fund,” and that when he gets to a certain point he’ll book his trip. How likely do you think “John The Rep” will exceed his typical five sales? I’ve seen it time and again, and it works.
So what is your barrier? We all have one.
What specific behaviors, over a specific period of time, for a specific goal, are you willing to commit to?
You can do it!
Excerpt from John Patrick’s eBook entitled Sales Tips & Tools, which can be found on Amazon.