Daily Inspiration 5-24-14

"Practice is as valuable as the sale. 

The sale will make you a living; 

the skill will make you a fortune." 

-- Jim Rohn 

I rarely use quotes more than once, but this one is so perfect, I just have to use it again. In my personal experience, few businesses and few salespeople realize how important practice is. In fact, this idea goes way beyond business and is at the heart of how I have developed more patience in my life--through consistent and purposeful practice.

Jim Rohn became one of my primary mentors back in about 1980. Over the years, I've bought and read his books, listened to his tape sets, and generally followed his philosophy of business and life. His philosophy is so simple and home-grown that anyone can get it and it can make all the difference to those who decide to practice it.

I remember so clearly one of his tape sets where he talked about people who are continually getting ready. He said something to the effect that, "if you were building a building and you bring building materials to the site, then you go get some more and keep bringing more to the site and yet never build anything, people are going to begin to wonder about you." I find in sales and in business endeavors as well as many in school who are continually bringing building materials to the site, yet they fail to build anything.

Maybe there's a missing piece, so they go back and find that, or there is some other skill that they've just got to have and they hold off until they've got that skill. It makes me think of a college student who never graduates. They can't decide on their final major, so they just keep learning. I'm very much into lifelong learning, but not that way.

This is true with "outside salespeople." Here's a wonderful quote from Jim Rohn on that subject: "Sometimes we don't ask for productivity right away. All we ask for at first is activity. Now, it's pretty easy to check activity. If someone joined the sales organization and he is supposed to make ten calls the first week, it's pretty simple on Friday to say, "John, how many calls did you make?" John says, "Well. . ." You say, "John, 'Well,' won't fit in my little box here." And John starts on a story. You say, "John, the reason why I made this box so small is so a story won't fit. I just need an activity number from one to ten."

"If the results on activity after the first week are not good, that has to be a signal. You might try another week. Ultimately, you've got to be the judge about how far you will go in putting a team together with somebodies lack of precise activity."

That awesome quote and story are so perfect to keep in mind for us as business owners, managers, and sales trainers. It also applies as well to our own children.

One last repeatable quote from the master, Jim Rohn: "Life asks us to make measurable progress in reasonable time. That's why they make those fourth-grade chairs so small--so you won't fit in them at age twenty-five!"


Moving The Needle Can Be A Challenge. Or Not. It Depends On The Results We Expect Or Want. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Stick to your vision of having joy every day. It could happen on its own, but that could take a while. You can always take charge and ensure it.