Mitch Goldstein | Coach Mitch | June 28th, 2007Coach Mitch’s REFLECTIONS™
Bonus #1 – Reward Yourself.
But first, let’s review the first five steps.
1 We have determined WHERE to invest.
2 We got WHAT we needed for a database of potentially motivated sellers.
3 We narrowed that huge database down to WHO were the best leads.
4 The marketing explained WHY sellers should contact us.
5 Using the good negotiating skills that we taught, you learned WHAT the sellers wanted and WHY they wanted it, and then you showed HOW you would give it to them. Then you closed the transaction.
Now that you are profitable, you deserve a reward. That is what your next step is.
REWARD YOURSELF – for a job well done.
This is a crucial thought. If you have achieved a goal, then don’t you deserve to celebrate? Of course you do.
The point to achieving a goal is to enjoy the benefits, so enjoy!
Understand the need for setting and achieving goals and getting rewards.
It is well understood by marketing supervisors that the potential of rewards often will heighten effort. We are being paid a salary or a commission. That should be our motivation, except for one little item – we are human.
As humans, often, we work harder if we know that we will get an extra thank you, a reward, or a bonus. An animal expects a reward after doing a trick. In the same way, humans respond better if we know that we will be rewarded.
Therefore, set yourself up for success and reward yourself when you achieve a goal.
It is important to create standards so that you can have something to measure yourself against. In sports it is called, “your personal best.” It is also somewhat important to pick an award that fits the achievement. You don’t “give” yourself a yacht because you made a $100 sale.
For example, let’s say that you are making cold call phone calls for marketing purposes. This is a necessary task but it is often considered a distasteful task. If you keep on going until you complete your quota, that is one goal achieved, if you keep on going until you make an appointment, then that is another goal achieved.
I keep on going until I make a “sale.” If I’m not having a good session, a “sale” may mean getting an appointment. However, if I have made several appointments then getting a “sale” will more likely mean taking a seller to the next level or maybe to an actual conclusion.
I always force myself to climb an extra step up the ladder. Understand, I am not maniacal about this idea; I just like to push myself a bit. Over the years this practice of pushing myself has created many extra sales because I have developed the habit of continuing to try – I don’t give up if I am making some headway.
Examples:
1 Earlier in life, if I were doing push-ups, and I was at 85, I would not stop until I had done 100.
2 Currently, in doing some political activity, if I have collected 13 signatures on a political petition, I would consider that too close to the end of the page and I would keep going until I had collected two more signatures and completed the page of 15, even if it is after 9 PM and dark.
3 If I have several pages left in a chapter of a book or a manual, I keep going until I am done with that chapter, even if I am very sleepy.
4 If I have made 22 phone calls, I keep going until I reach 25 or 30 or some number that allows me to feel like I have accomplished a worthwhile task, especially if I feel disgusted or tired or down.
5 If I am tracking down leads and must leave a message, I will leave a total of three messages for that individual, not just one or two. Three messages is enough to let me feel that I have made a good effort at contacting the lead and not enough to make me feel degraded. When the third message has been left, I feel good.
Whenever I am close to an apparent ending, I always push myself to complete that section. I may not always achieve the end goal but at least I have the sense of completion in one of the steps to that end goal.
For me, “the sense of completion” or achievement is often the reward. It builds confidence, a stick-to-it attitude, and an understanding that nothing is easy.
Pre-select your rewards.
I have selected a few items that I will reward myself with. Some are constant and some change, according to my current need.
The most important idea is that there will be a reward when I want it and that the reward has a significant meaning to me. The meaning comes in the form of something that I want at the time or something that I can do for someone else. To give is to receive.
Examples:
1 Long ago I achieved a goal and rewarded myself with a nice pen and pencil set. Now I feel that I deserve to always have a nice pen, even though I lose them from time to time.
2 It was time to get a new vehicle. I made a nice profit on a transaction and bought the car that I wanted, a Cadillac Eldorado – for cash.
3 When we completed building a house, I took out my entire crew for a celebratory meal.
4 One of my salesmen needed a vehicle, so when he sold something valuable, I arranged for a car loan for him.
5 When I get an Option on a particular home, I take my wife out to eat.
6 When I sell a particular home, I sometimes feel that I deserve to get an item I need – but now I will get the upgraded version. Once it was a high end lawn mower, another time, the better camera, another time, the better computer, etc.
You will notice that I did not say that if I had achieved something that I always gave myself a reward. I only reward myself when it is important to me. The method that I use for motivation is that I postpone getting something that I want or need until I have made a sale. That makes me work a bit harder on trying to make that sale.
Some people say to put pictures of things that you want on to your refrigerator, so that you can be constantly motivated to move toward your desire. Please use or develop whatever tools you can to help you move in the right direction.
See Coach Mitch’s “Ridiculously Simple System…” ™ for details.
Blue Skies,
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