"It's not the will to win that matters - everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters." --Paul "Bear" Bryant, football coach
It took a long time for me, as a struggling sales rep, to understand the difference in attitude and action this quote speaks to. But once I did, my sales results (and my life) changed.
I used to be an inside sales rep, a financial broker selling LLC partnerships, in a company with 25 other reps. The company had the top 20% reps doing 80% of the sales. I wasn't in that group, rather, I was bringing up the rear. Sales were hard to get, and as a result, my life as a sales rep was hard as well.
I wanted to do better; I had the will to win, but what I lacked was the will to prepare to win. I was one of the reps who came in right before my shift began, and I went for the coffee and donuts first. I hung around there talking about the latest sports scores with the other bottom producers. I couldn't wait for lunch time, and by Friday, I didn't work too hard.
After a series of events, I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I made a commitment to give my profession as a broker all I could. I decided to do what was necessary for me to move into the top 20% of the producers at the company. And that's when I learned what the 'will to prepare to win' meant.
To start with, I started showing up an hour before work began, and I headed straight to my desk to begin making calls. This began to pay off as some days I'd have a deal on the board before other reps headed for their coffee and donuts.
I spent my lunch hours listening to my calls and critiquing them. Yes, I was horrible in the beginning, but I was committed to finding ways to make them better. And I did.
At night before I went home, I took an extra half hour to lay out all my leads and call backs for the next day so I could hit the ground running when I got in. And then I'd listen to my calls in the car on the way home and make adjustments to the scripts during the evening.
Before I went to sleep, I focused my subconscious on closing the leads I had laid out, and I dreamt of ways to close them. I visualized how I would feel once I became a top closer, what I'd do with my first bonus check and how good that would feel as well.
After 90 days of doing this, I became the top producer in the company. Suddenly I knew the difference between the will to win and the will to prepare to win. I also found that I wasn't alone. There with me in the mornings and in the evenings were the other top producers.
Today, I find that I can do just about anything if I'm willing to put in the time to prepare to win. You can too - if you're willing to put in the time.
The question is, are you?
Copyright (c) 2017 Mr. Inside Sales
Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com
By Mike Brooks
Article Source: Why The 'Will To Win' Isn't Enough
It took a long time for me, as a struggling sales rep, to understand the difference in attitude and action this quote speaks to. But once I did, my sales results (and my life) changed.
I used to be an inside sales rep, a financial broker selling LLC partnerships, in a company with 25 other reps. The company had the top 20% reps doing 80% of the sales. I wasn't in that group, rather, I was bringing up the rear. Sales were hard to get, and as a result, my life as a sales rep was hard as well.
I wanted to do better; I had the will to win, but what I lacked was the will to prepare to win. I was one of the reps who came in right before my shift began, and I went for the coffee and donuts first. I hung around there talking about the latest sports scores with the other bottom producers. I couldn't wait for lunch time, and by Friday, I didn't work too hard.
After a series of events, I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I made a commitment to give my profession as a broker all I could. I decided to do what was necessary for me to move into the top 20% of the producers at the company. And that's when I learned what the 'will to prepare to win' meant.
To start with, I started showing up an hour before work began, and I headed straight to my desk to begin making calls. This began to pay off as some days I'd have a deal on the board before other reps headed for their coffee and donuts.
I spent my lunch hours listening to my calls and critiquing them. Yes, I was horrible in the beginning, but I was committed to finding ways to make them better. And I did.
At night before I went home, I took an extra half hour to lay out all my leads and call backs for the next day so I could hit the ground running when I got in. And then I'd listen to my calls in the car on the way home and make adjustments to the scripts during the evening.
Before I went to sleep, I focused my subconscious on closing the leads I had laid out, and I dreamt of ways to close them. I visualized how I would feel once I became a top closer, what I'd do with my first bonus check and how good that would feel as well.
After 90 days of doing this, I became the top producer in the company. Suddenly I knew the difference between the will to win and the will to prepare to win. I also found that I wasn't alone. There with me in the mornings and in the evenings were the other top producers.
Today, I find that I can do just about anything if I'm willing to put in the time to prepare to win. You can too - if you're willing to put in the time.
The question is, are you?
Copyright (c) 2017 Mr. Inside Sales
Mike is the go-to inside sales trainer and phone script writer in the industry. He is hired by business owners to implement proven sales processes that help them immediately scale and grow Multi-Million Dollar Inside Sales Teams. If you're looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com
By Mike Brooks
Article Source: Why The 'Will To Win' Isn't Enough
