Are you Driven to Succeed?

By: Tom Richard
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:41:01
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Driven to succeed

A frail woman walks into her garage to find her son trapped underneath the car he was working on. Without hesitation, she miraculously summons the strength to lift the car, saving her son’s life. Although you wouldn’t have known it, buried deep within the woman’s small frame was an immense strength to be unlocked. It just took the right circumstances for her to activate that power. She didn’t have to try to conjure up her might; she just grabbed the car and lifted it without thought.

Within each salesperson is a similar strength. In the right situation, you have the power to make things happen. You’re focused on making sales and growing your business. Nothing can stop you; you’re driven.

There is no way (or need) to manufacture this super strength; it’s already within you. You simply need to learn to create the situations that bring it out. Too many salespeople rely on others to motivate them. There is nothing your company or your boss can say to you that will have any lasting effect on how well you produce. Sure, a pat on the back or a cash incentive will help you make a few sales today, but what about tomorrow?

Small business owners are the best example of truly driven salespeople. Everyday, they work in a situation where they must succeed. They have a team, no doubt, but if things fail, there is no one to blame but themselves. At the same time, everything they do is completely up to them and the pride of the accomplishment is all theirs when they succeed. The autonomy to make their own decisions and the pressure to make things work create the combination needed to unlock that powerful drive.

If you want to be driven, you must have the same autonomy and pressure that these small business owners have. Forget about your company’s motives and all the reasons that your boss tells you to be successful. What truly matters is what is inside you. Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What drives you?

The pressure to succeed must be YOUR pressure, not the pressure that comes from trying to meet somebody else’s quota or impress the boss. Surpass your own standards and performance, and stop relying on others. Your reputation is on the line, your financial well-being is on the line, and your ability to feed your children is on the line. If you fail, there is no one to blame but yourself. Now that is pressure; pressure that will propel you to succeed!

While there are other ways to improve your sales performance, nothing else will give you the sustaining will and energy of being driven. Instead of relying on outside forces for motivation, you will find it within yourself. You'll have the desire to live in the moment and to achieve your goals now.

Being driven means having the determination to make not one more call, but twenty. It means sending out another dozen handwritten cards, and going the extra mile for a sale that most would consider too small to worry about. Being driven makes you listen with the intent of understanding your customers, instead of just responding to them. Like a basketball player in the zone, you'll find yourself locked into the customer's perspective. You'll want to take care of customers because your service is a reflection of you. Making sales (though many) will be a rewarding byproduct.

It all starts with a decision, and that decision is all yours. Take control of your own performance and use the pressure that is there to bring out your drive to succeed. You're in charge of your life, your career and you’re ability to sell. Unlock your drive and nothing will stop you.

Tom Richard conducts seminars on sales and customer service topics nationwide. Tom is also the author of Smart Salespeople Don't Advertise: 10 Ways to Outsmart Your Competition With Guerilla Marketing, and publishes a free weekly ezine on selling skills titled Sales Muscle. To subscribe to this free weekly ezine go to http://www.tomrichard.com/subscribe

Article source: Expert Articles