The rain was coming down hard as my flight landed at the airport. I had been running a seminar all day in New York. It was late, I was tired, and I wanted to find my car quickly to get home to my family. As I walked through the airport garage, something on the ground caught my eye. It looked like wadded up money. Curious, I crept up on the crumpled paper like a lion on its prey, eyes permanently fixed. Standing over the bill, luggage on each shoulder, I grinned as I said aloud, Hey, a hundred bucks! With partial disbelief and mental fatigue, I kicked it to see if it was real. All of a sudden it took off with the wind. Acting on instinct, I dropped my bags and started to chase it across the parking lot. After blowing at least fifty yards, it finally got caught under the tire of a car. Without hesitation, I was on my hands and knees trying to retrieve the money from under the car. Got it, I yelled, standing triumphantly with rain and dirt soaking through my nice pants. The adrenaline of the experience and the joy of making a quick hundred bucks had me feeling great. The fatigue from the long day vanished as I pocketed my prize and retrieved the luggage I had hastily strewn on the wet concrete. Amazing how a hundred dollars can change everything. I didnt have to chase it through the garage and I certainly didnt have to crawl on the dirty ground to grab it, but I knew that if I did, that money would be mine. Nobody was stopping me from getting that money but myself. The same is true for your business. Many businesses allow the fatigue of the day, the weight of the luggage, and the desire to get home to family keep them from picking up the money that is right before them. The money is right there; just drop your baggage and GO GET IT! In business, nothing happens until something is sold. By that same token, when you are in sales, 95% of what you do every day needs to be selling something to someone. How much time do you spend each day actually doing this? Answer: Not enough. Instead, you are busy making pretty charts to show exactly how much money you havent made yet. You spend countless hours filling out activity reports, call lists, sales funnel charts, prospect management boards, and updating ludicrous programs that track everything. Meanwhile, your boss is sitting in her office producing reports, evaluating your quotas, and wondering how she can motivate you to make more sales. She thinks if she were only able to get you to work harder, then you would make more sales. So what does she do? She adds more forms and more procedures. Answer me this: If your boss is creating reports all day, and you are filling out reports all day, then who is SELLING? Stop filling out your reports and get yourself in front of people who can say yes to you! Its not rocket science, but it does require a decision on your part. A decision to do whatever is necessary to spend more time with your customers; a decision to turn off the television at night to read books, study your craft, research your customers, and plan for the coming day; a decision to make more money. Decide to pick up the hundred dollars that is staring you in the face. The money has always been there, you just havent been looking for it. Youve been walking right past opportunities without even knowing it. Open your eyes and realize that a positive change could be right in front of you. Are you bold enough to chase it? |
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