You want to know the secret to success in sales and in life? The secret is DO. HARD. THINGS.
That’s it. That’s all there is to it.
It’s not easy to pound the pavement all day. It’s not easy to cold call on the days when prospects aren’t answering, or worse, they’re sending you straight to the call-blocked zone. Rejection after rejection after rejection — it can wear on you.
But do the things you don’t want to do, every single day, and you will completely transform your life. This is a little secret I learned from my mentor Jim Rohn.
Because if you think about it — America is filled with people who do whatever they want, whenever they want, and they call it freedom. The problem is, look around you! It’s kind of pathetic. And folks don’t really want to binge on Netflix, doom scroll Facebook, or eat fast food nightly. They know it leads to destruction. But alas, it’s the path of least resistance.
Today I’m saying enough’s enough. You can’t afford to walk that path anymore. Not if you want to taste success and a life of abundance and impact.
Thankfully, there are several things you can do starting today that will rewire your mind for sales success. These strategies and tactics are all habit-forming, which is exactly what you need. It’s what we all need. Good habits, done daily, over time.
Do the hard things and change your life. Let’s dive into it.
1. Dial FAST
Dial faster than your mind can talk you out of it. Your body must beat your mind to the punch. So the moment you begin to think “I don’t want to make this call” pick up the phone and start dialing the nearest number. Any number. Any prospect. Who cares if you haven’t done your homework on them. You need to shock your system with the physiological act of dialing a number, hearing a ring tone, and speaking to someone. This is one of the best ways to trick your mind to cold call when you don’t want to. So just remember, dial faster than your mind can think.
Sales Tip: 3-2-1- launch! Mel Robbins has an effective tactic she uses to get things done. When she’s feeling complacent, she counts “5-4-3-2-1 Launch!” and she does the thing she needs to do. So try this next time you don’t feel like dialing another number. Without mind tricks like these, we will self-sabotage our success. So it doesn’t hurt to try!
2. Bite Sized Goals
You have a massive goal looming over your head. It’s Monday morning and you have to make 500 calls this week. Why not break that way down to the smallest goal instead? Now you’re looking at just one dial, just one prospect, that you have to call now.
You can dial one number, right? That’s nothing. And like this, you work down your list — never thinking about the bigger goal, only focusing on the micro-goals. Just like that, you’ve easily dialed 500 by Friday afternoon. This is one of the best ways to trick your mind into doing hard things. And it works in every area of life. Just do the tiniest amount toward your goal. It gets the ball rolling from a dead standstill. And you need the ball to roll!
RELATED: The Sales Momentum Machine — Ditch the Funnel for the Flywheel
3. Listen to Jim Rohn
Open the YouTube app (get Premium so you don’t have to listen to ads). Now search “Jim Rohn Discipline.” A number of videos will come up. Download them and listen to them in the morning before work. At lunchtime. And at night when you go home. Listen to them ALL THE TIME. The great businessman and motivator Jim Rohn mentored me to success, and I trust he can do the same for you.
They say you become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. You soak up your surroundings by osmosis. So if you want to do hard things in sales and in life, you have to train your brain on the right datasets and parameters. In this case, Jim Rohn — and others like him — will help with this positive rewiring. You’ll have better self-confidence, more discipline, and more gratitude for life. Try it.
4. Schedule Gratitude into Your Day
This one is easily dismissable. You might think, “I need more hard-nosed practical success tips, not feel-good stuff like showing gratitude.” But perhaps more than any item on this list, if you LIVE your life in a posture of gratitude, you will begin to attract success and more things to be grateful for. Not in a law-of-attraction kind of way. Just in a very practical “like attracts like” sort of way.
Now take the idea of gratitude and schedule it into your day (because I promise it’s not your default). Set an alarm at the top of every hour. This is your gratitude alarm. For 3-5 minutes, reflect on 10 things you’re most grateful for. Do this for a full day and I can almost guarantee you’ll be smiling and dialing and on your way to crushing your numbers. Your prospects will hear the gratitude in your voice, and gratitude/positivity is contagious.
5. Define Your Destination
What’s your destination? What’s your goal? Many decades ago, Jim Rohn’s mentor, Mr. Shoaf suggested that Rohn make it his goal to make a million dollars. That served as Rohn’s north star, and he got to work. So why not make your goal to make a million dollars? Or how about just $100,000? That’s doable! Or aim to get promoted to AE in 90 days.
The big idea here is that you need direction. Begin with the end in mind. You wouldn’t take your ship to sea without a destination. Neither should you show up to work day in and day and hammer the phones without a greater goal in mind. You will burn out. Promise.
Final Words
It’s easy to just get by in sales — or any field for that matter. Just show up and do the minimum expected of you. Fulfill the items in your job description. You’ll get paid every two weeks, sure, but you’ll suffer inside. You were made for something greater. And you know it.
If you want to truly excel in B2B sales, you have to train your mind to do the hard things you don’t want to do. Really, a rule of thumb is to do the opposite of what the 99% is doing. It’s evident that it’s not working for them. That’s why you see rampant depression, anxiety, fear, poverty, and addiction — pretty much everywhere you look in the world.
But the 1% are the 1% of people who have learned and applied this basic natural law: You reap what you sow. Do the easy things, and you’ll always remain stagnant or worse. Do the hard things, and live a life of abundance. The choice is yours.
Until next time…
Johnny-Lee Reinoso