Hello, welcome to the first blog of 2020!
I hope you enjoyed the New Year celebrations. Whether you were travelling to see friends and family, being the host, partying until dawn, or just enjoying a delightfully quiet bit of downtime and self-indulgence, I hope it was fun!
AULD LANG SYNE
I don’t know about you, but 2019 seemed to fly by. Sometimes that’s a good thing, other times not.
So, how did 2019 go for you? As you know, I’m a big proponent of self-reflection and self-assessment – it’s always a good time to look back at what was achieved and what wasn’t. The end of a year is a particularly good time to look at the bigger picture, rather than under a microscope.
Remember, none of us always achieves what we want to. It’s only by honest assessment that we can learn from that and increase our chances of success next time around.
A few months ago I shared a video that I made about why we fail at things and I think it’s worth reviewing this to see what the reasons were behind any goals that you didn’t hit this year.
HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER
For those who need a few ideas, I’ve put together this New Year’s list of things that you might find helpful to get really motivated for success in 2020
Build on this year’s achievements
If you hit revenue of £100k that’s great – but use that as a motivator to beat the figure next year.
But be realistic. Doubling your production would be fantastic! But is it actually achievable? Setting too much of a stretch target can be demotivating rather than inspiring.
Trying to achieve £125k in 2020 would be a more appropriate target. It’s building on your existing work, but it’s not way over the horizon.
Always be building!
Focus on the important people or things in your life
For most people, this can be a really good motivator – particularly if you hit a patch of self-doubt (which we all do now and again, even the most confident and successful salespeople you know).
So, whenever you are feeling anxious about a sales meeting, or even when you’re thinking about avoiding making some prospecting calls, focus on what’s important to you. Pull out a picture of your family, or an image that represents the life goal you’re aiming for, and remind yourself that THIS is the reason why you need to get this done.
Use the most important things to you to inspire and motivate you to go the extra mile, to achieve the results you need.
Personal Achievement
Something that we often forget is… ourself! We tend to naturally think about our own happiness last, but sometimes it’s important to focus on ourselves and how we feel.
This can be a strong motivation in all walks of life, not just sales. How does it feel when you manage an extra 5 minutes on the treadmill at the gym, break your personal record for press-ups, or manage to hit a perfect golf shot?
It. Feels. Good!
Take time to focus on you, and how good it feels when you hit a very personal goal. Keep reminding yourself that you deserve it, that you are good at what you do, and that you can achieve it.
Focus on the outcomes and impacts of what you do
Although I’ve left this until last, I feel it’s actually the most important motivator of all.
When you’re in business if you have a cause or a tangible reason WHY you are doing what you do this can be the strongest motivational tool of them all.
My client Alex Seery has a passion to change the lives of Police Officers who have become disillusioned with their role and unhappy at the way the job has made them feel. Alex is on a mission to help thousands of frontline officers build a better life for themselves outside of the Force. This is his driver – improving the lives of these people and their families.
Another client, Sonia Gill, is on a mission to help schools create a vision and culture of excellence. By doing this, she knows that it will make them better places for children to learn and to thrive, setting them up for the rest of their lives. This wider goal is what drives her to keep going, even when things seem to be stacked against her.
If you’re in business, focus on the mission you have, the wider end-goal. If you’re an individual salesperson, you must believe in the product or service you are selling, and the bigger picture of how that will help people.
