If you are in the sales profession, you know ALL about goals. You have weekly targets and monthly targets. You have quarterly quotas and annual goals. You have goals for the number of new prospects generated per month, the number of phone calls per day, the number of closed deals per year, and the number of dollars closed per week/month/year. You are no stranger to goals. In fact, compared to many folks, you probably know quite a lot about goals. The language of goals is something you use every day in your career.
You can apply your goal setting and achievement skills to create a vision of success in all areas of your life - not just in sales. Have you ever thought about your professional goals as they related to all the other goals in your life? Do you set goal targets for your personal life the same way you do for your sales career? If you do not, why not? You know that by creating a goal with a target date, you are much more likely to achieve that goal. So why not apply this principal to all areas of your life, not just your sales career?
Think of it this way: What do you want your life to look like in 10, 20 or 30 years? And we're not just talking about your professional life here. Think about your entire life, including your personal goals such as those related to family, health, financial and spiritual success. And now I'll ask you again: What do you want your life to look like in 30 years? What are your larger goals in life? What do you want to ultimately achieve in your lifetime? You may need to think about that question for a little while. And when you identify this broad, overriding goal in your life, your “purpose”, if you will, your life will come into a different focus. When you develop a goal such as this, you have a far reaching target that can guide your actions.
To achieve your goals, they must be written down and assigned a target date. Write down the categories of your life and develop a goal for each with a target date for completion. Develop the action items you will need to accomplish those goals and assign target dates for them as well. Now you will need to break those actions into daily tasks/steps to achieve one at a time. You will learn to view your life differently; every moment will become more precious as you seek to achieve your life goal plan. (If you find this exercise challenging, go to www.GoaL-Link.com and request a free trial of the goal-setting toolset. GoaL-Link was specifically designed to create, set, track and achieve goals in all areas of your life - it was "purpose-built" for this activity!)
By implementing this writing exercise, your sales goals will become connected in the wider context of your life. In your sales career, this will mean that your sales career goals will become a supporting piece in your overall picture of success in life.
Understanding how your sales goals correlate with all other goals in your life may help you sell more in less time. You will feel more empowered in your life, resulting in improved attitude and performance. As a result, you will focus more energy on working on the right things, and good results will naturally follow.
Take these steps today:
1. Identify and develop your major life purpose
2. Determine the supporting goals for each category of your life: work, family, health, spiritual
3. Develop smaller, supporting Action Steps to begin to achieve those goals
4. Set target dates to complete those Action Items and Goals
5. Write down items #1-4 and post where you can see it daily
6. Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan – now see what wonders emerge!
To Infinity and Beyond.... Well, maybe.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Dreaming Your Way to Success - fo' True!
We've all heard it before: "To achieve success in life you must have written goals; you must have an overriding purpose in your life." Sounds easy enough. But it's really not. How do these thoughts begin? I venture to guess that they start as a dream - a daydream, a small seed of an idea about what you'd like to do with your life... "if only X or Y". For the Wright Brothers, the dream was to determine a means for man to fly; for Alexander Graham Bell, it was to solve the challenge of communicating over distances; for Thomas Edison it was to learn the secret of developing artificial light. In a greater context, they all shared a grand dream of making the world a better place to live. So... What do you dream for your life? What are your goals? Can you begin to fathom your purpose?
"The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams." -- Og Mandino, 1923-1996, Author
Identifying your own goals and your own greater purpose in life is the key to determining your ultimate success. It is the key to fulfilling your potential, both in your work, and as a member of the global community. And each life goal you set is a step toward fulfilling your ultimate purpose.
"Drifting through life without aim or purpose is the first cause of failure." - Napoleon Hill
Webster’s defines success as: “a favorable or desired outcome; also: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence”. Hmmm. Yes, but how? I believe true success can only be attained when one’s actions in life are fully aligned with one’s core value set. It is of paramount importance to know your own core values to develop a highly successful, honest career. We can no longer afford to separate our personal beliefs/morals from our professional lives. Enron taught us that!
Moreover, if we each have an over arching purpose in our lives, we are more apt to see life as a series of related steps to achieve our "greater life purpose". Wow. Now that's a big question. It's the equivalent of, "Why are we here?" Seeking to find one's purpose in life can take an entire lifetime. So while you're working on that one, you might want to start with this temporary, yet laudable statement of purpose: "I want to make the world a better place." Sounds pretty grand, huh? Start there and see what greatness can happen. When you sprinkle this statement with your ultimate dreams and inject real action, you may just find your way to your own success - however you define it! Enjoy the ride!
"The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams." -- Og Mandino, 1923-1996, Author
Identifying your own goals and your own greater purpose in life is the key to determining your ultimate success. It is the key to fulfilling your potential, both in your work, and as a member of the global community. And each life goal you set is a step toward fulfilling your ultimate purpose.
"Drifting through life without aim or purpose is the first cause of failure." - Napoleon Hill
Webster’s defines success as: “a favorable or desired outcome; also: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence”. Hmmm. Yes, but how? I believe true success can only be attained when one’s actions in life are fully aligned with one’s core value set. It is of paramount importance to know your own core values to develop a highly successful, honest career. We can no longer afford to separate our personal beliefs/morals from our professional lives. Enron taught us that!
Moreover, if we each have an over arching purpose in our lives, we are more apt to see life as a series of related steps to achieve our "greater life purpose". Wow. Now that's a big question. It's the equivalent of, "Why are we here?" Seeking to find one's purpose in life can take an entire lifetime. So while you're working on that one, you might want to start with this temporary, yet laudable statement of purpose: "I want to make the world a better place." Sounds pretty grand, huh? Start there and see what greatness can happen. When you sprinkle this statement with your ultimate dreams and inject real action, you may just find your way to your own success - however you define it! Enjoy the ride!
Integrity in Sales? Yes, but it's up to YOU.
"To thine own self be true" -- Shakespeare
"What is morality?" she asked. "Judgment to distinguish right and wrong, vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, dedication to that which is good, integrity to stand by the good at any price." -- Ayn Rand
Embracing mindful integrity at work, being meta-cognitive about your work ethic and commitment to the truth, allows you to be the kind of sales person that every client will want representing them and every new prospect will want to buy from. Integrating Mindful Integrity into your daily work can change actually your life as a professional sales person. How?
First, you will develop a deep sense of honesty and integrity in all that you do. These traits, combined with a strong foundation of respect for people, will advance your life in countless ways. People will come to know that you are an inherently good person and as such, you will no longer be considered a sales person pedaling goods or services. You will quickly become a trusted advisor, an educator, a coach. You will strive to help people become educated about their options regarding solutions that will meet their real needs and assisting them in making the decision that is right for their unique situation. Of course, the choice to live this way is up to you.
If you decide to embrace mindful integrity in your sales profession, two things with happen:
1.) You will make more sales
2.) You will find more happiness in your work
Your role will become that of educator, consultant, trusted advisor. You will identify and present solutions to those prospects who have a real need for the services you represent. Your clients will thank you for providing them with real solutions for the very real problems they are facing. You will seek to eliminate their pain and in doing so, the relationship you develop with your clients will be built on trust and support. The end result? Repeat business, referrals and testimonials leading to ever-greater sales results.
Over the years, I have met countless “professional” sales reps who sacrifice their integrity in a frantic attempt to reach their goals. These reps frantically begin to move outside the bounds of honest, tested-and-proven sales methods, to attempt to generate more sales. In the end, they not only "bend the truth" out of panic to reach their goals, but worse yet, dishonesty gradually becomes their modus operandi. They begin to believe that dishonesty is an acceptable means to achieve the desired results. Effective, proven sales processes fall to the wayside in response to panic or greed. This is a disservice to their clients, themselves, and their employers. Be watchful of this trap and remain distant from those who engage in this kind of thinking, or you too may find yourself bending the truth.
To avoid this pitfall, you must have a strong inner conviction of honesty which cannot be swayed. You must employ the use of proven sales tactics that will result in sales and satisfied clients. During my 18 years in professional sales, I have encountered numerous situations in which I was asked to participate in some form of dishonesty. Every time that I have found myself being asked to lie or misrepresent facts, I am still shocked.
You will likely encounter unethical crossroads in your own sales career. Be prepared. What will you do if you are asked to misrepresent the facts? If you practice mindful integrity, you will be better prepared to react to such requests in a professional way that actually raises the bar. You can set an example for others by demonstrating your own ethics. Decide today to make mindful integrity a part of the fabric of your sales ethos and you will soon see the rewards. Besides, life's too short to complicate it with lies and deceipt. Do yourself a favor and commit today to be an honest sales professional. When you do, I just bet you'll sleep better at night!
Exercise: Create an Integrity Motto for yourself and carry it with you to refer to each day. An integrity motto consists of those simple actions you will take to live your life with integrity each day. The more you meditate on these words at the start and end of each day, the more they will become an integral part of who you are and how you live.
Your Integrity Motto might look something like this:
"What is morality?" she asked. "Judgment to distinguish right and wrong, vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, dedication to that which is good, integrity to stand by the good at any price." -- Ayn Rand
Embracing mindful integrity at work, being meta-cognitive about your work ethic and commitment to the truth, allows you to be the kind of sales person that every client will want representing them and every new prospect will want to buy from. Integrating Mindful Integrity into your daily work can change actually your life as a professional sales person. How?
First, you will develop a deep sense of honesty and integrity in all that you do. These traits, combined with a strong foundation of respect for people, will advance your life in countless ways. People will come to know that you are an inherently good person and as such, you will no longer be considered a sales person pedaling goods or services. You will quickly become a trusted advisor, an educator, a coach. You will strive to help people become educated about their options regarding solutions that will meet their real needs and assisting them in making the decision that is right for their unique situation. Of course, the choice to live this way is up to you.
If you decide to embrace mindful integrity in your sales profession, two things with happen:
1.) You will make more sales
2.) You will find more happiness in your work
Your role will become that of educator, consultant, trusted advisor. You will identify and present solutions to those prospects who have a real need for the services you represent. Your clients will thank you for providing them with real solutions for the very real problems they are facing. You will seek to eliminate their pain and in doing so, the relationship you develop with your clients will be built on trust and support. The end result? Repeat business, referrals and testimonials leading to ever-greater sales results.
Over the years, I have met countless “professional” sales reps who sacrifice their integrity in a frantic attempt to reach their goals. These reps frantically begin to move outside the bounds of honest, tested-and-proven sales methods, to attempt to generate more sales. In the end, they not only "bend the truth" out of panic to reach their goals, but worse yet, dishonesty gradually becomes their modus operandi. They begin to believe that dishonesty is an acceptable means to achieve the desired results. Effective, proven sales processes fall to the wayside in response to panic or greed. This is a disservice to their clients, themselves, and their employers. Be watchful of this trap and remain distant from those who engage in this kind of thinking, or you too may find yourself bending the truth.
To avoid this pitfall, you must have a strong inner conviction of honesty which cannot be swayed. You must employ the use of proven sales tactics that will result in sales and satisfied clients. During my 18 years in professional sales, I have encountered numerous situations in which I was asked to participate in some form of dishonesty. Every time that I have found myself being asked to lie or misrepresent facts, I am still shocked.
You will likely encounter unethical crossroads in your own sales career. Be prepared. What will you do if you are asked to misrepresent the facts? If you practice mindful integrity, you will be better prepared to react to such requests in a professional way that actually raises the bar. You can set an example for others by demonstrating your own ethics. Decide today to make mindful integrity a part of the fabric of your sales ethos and you will soon see the rewards. Besides, life's too short to complicate it with lies and deceipt. Do yourself a favor and commit today to be an honest sales professional. When you do, I just bet you'll sleep better at night!
Exercise: Create an Integrity Motto for yourself and carry it with you to refer to each day. An integrity motto consists of those simple actions you will take to live your life with integrity each day. The more you meditate on these words at the start and end of each day, the more they will become an integral part of who you are and how you live.
Your Integrity Motto might look something like this:
- I am truthful and candid
- I do what is right and ethical
- I treat all people with respect
Now read it and re-read it until it becomes part of your subconscious! Have fun!
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