No One Can Motivate You Like You Can

Occasionally we feel as though they are really struggling with the highs and lows of field sales, as though the weight of the world were on their shoulders. This is one of those rarely voiced issues that every salesperson confronts sooner or later. Unless you figure out how to manage those emotions and keep yourself motivated, you’ll have a difficult time succeeding. This is particularly true right now. As I write this, the economy is in recession, and shows little sign of improving. Unemployment is higher than it has been for years. Many companies are cutting back, there are fewer jobs available, and pressures to perform are greater than ever. Not a pretty picture. However, even though the world around us may be dreary and depressing, that in no way reduces our personal need to do the best we can. We really do need to motivate ourselves.



A solid fundamental principle: You must believe that you can do better, and that it is your responsibility to do so. So, the first principle really is foundational. Do you really believe that you can do better? Motivating yourself doesn't have to be difficult.



1. Search out a purpose, larger than yourself, to work for



As long as your world is limited to yourself, you find it just as easy to rationalize your mediocre results as it is to extend yourself to achieve superior results. One of the most motivating things in the world is the need to provide for a family. That will get you out there on the dreariest days, under the worst of conditions. Love is perhaps the greatest motivation in the world. When combined with the responsibility for the economic well-being of those you love, it can be an incredibly powerful incentive.



Additionally, creating a tangible, worthwhile, exciting goal runs a close second for a way to motivate yourself. That’s why spending once a year in a personal strategic planning retreat in which you create motivating goals for the coming year is such a powerful discipline resource.



2. Keep to positive thoughts always at hand



Make a determination to take control of your thoughts. Search out, and write down on a set of 3 X 5 cards, all the positive saying and quotes you could find. I remember one in particular, from the Bible, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). I used to have about a 45 minute drive from my home into my territory every morning. So, I’d hold those cards between my hands on the steering wheel, and flip them over and over, reading them to myself on the way in. While I wouldn’t recommend that driving technique, it did wonders for my attitude. I began to become more positive, to look for opportunities, to feel more confident. (Today I'd recommend that you record yourself reading the quotes, and play them in your car as you drive.) A discernable change had taken place for the better within a short space of time.



3. Always remember past successes



Scrap book or journal all of your past successes. Make a note of that appointment that you finally obtained with the hard-to-get to prospect. Keep a record of that big sale that you worked so hard to get. And note the details of that great presentation that you made.



Save the awards you’ve earned, the congratulatory emails from your management, the photos of that trip that you won. From time to time, review your file. You’ll find yourself becoming confident and motivated. If you have done these good things once, you can surely do them again. You can do more, achieve more, earn more and become more. It is your responsibility to become the best that you can be. Implementing any one or all three of these proven practices will help you operate at the highest levels consistently.



Author's Biography:

Dave Kahle is a lifetime salesperson. He has been the number one salesperson in the country for two different companies in two distinct industries. Since 1988 he’s been president of The DaCo Corporation, focusing on helping clients improve their sales and develop their people by providing sales tips. He is a specialist in Distributor Sales Training Books, and regularly holds sales training workshops.