Do you want to become great without having to wait? I just read something that can help you with this. In his book The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy introduces the reader to three friends: Larry, Scott, and Brad.
They each live in the same neighborhood and make a similar annual salary. They each have a similar level of health, and body weight.
Larry plods along day to day without making any major changes. He simply does what he’s always done. (Sound familiar?)
Scott starts making small, gradual changes. He reads 10 pages a day from an inspirational book, listens to a self-improvement podcast for 30 minutes during his daily commute to work, and cuts 125 calories a day from his diet.
Brad makes a few bad choices like buying a big-screen TV to watch more of his favorite show on the Food Channel and adding one additional alcoholic drink per week to his diet. No big deal, right?
So, how will these decisions impact their lives? At the end of five months, there aren’t any noticeable changes in their overall situation.
Ten months go by and there’s still no change in the lives of the three friends. 30 months later, the changes are dramatic! Brad is now 67 pounds overweight, he’s unhappy at work, and his marriage is on the rocks.
Larry is in the same position he was 30 months ago, except now he’s bitter about the fact that nothing has changed, and he’s blaming everyone except for himself. (Ok, I added the last part based on recent observations!)
Scott has lost 33 pounds and tallied a total of one thousand hours of reading and podcast time. By applying this newly gained knowledge, Scott has earned a promotion and a pay raise. In addition to experiencing improved health, and job success, his marriage is thriving.
Scott became successful in 24 hours. It may have taken 30 months to become visible, but the seeds of his success were sowed within the first 24 hours when he committed to daily improvement. Once you commit to daily improvement, you can become great without having to wait.
I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that there’s no such thing as standing still. You’re either getting better, or you’re going backward. For example, Scott got better, while Larry and Brad went backward. Which direction are you headed in?
The good news is that you can become great at selling service in 24 hours if you apply the two ideas that I’m about to leave you with.
Non-ATI Members: Discover more valuable tips and strategies for how to become great at selling service, improve your bottom-line, and grow your business in ATI’s shop owner events. Register at www.atievent.com.
Commit to the Daily Video
I was recently conducting a second interview with a prospective service manager named “Joe” for one of my shop owners and noticed an interesting pattern.
Joe had a pattern of producing double-digit sales increases everywhere he worked. At his most recent employer, he produced a 20% improvement over the prior year’s performance.
So, I asked the obvious question: “What are you doing to get those results.
Here’s what he said: “Every night before going to sleep I spend at least five mutes watching a sales training video.”
I responded by asking: “How long have you been doing this?”
Joe’s response confirmed why he became great at selling service: “Since 2005.”
What would your results look like today if you had watched at least one sales video a day every day for the past fifteen years? The good news is that you are 24 hours away from planting the seeds to selling greatness. Click here to access a series of selling videos to get you started.
Commit to Continuous Improvement
Pat Riley, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, was one of the most successful basketball coaches in history. In 1986, his team was the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA championship. They were the most talented team in the league, and victory was a certainty.
They went on to lose in the early round of the playoffs that year, never getting the chance to even play for the championship. This humiliating defeat motivated Riley to invent the 1% rule.
During the offseason, he began tracking his players’ basketball statistics dating back to their high school days. He gave each player a total score based on the data. He challenged them to improve their output by 1% over the course of the season.
This commitment to continuous improvement resulted in the Lakers winning the championship in 1987 and today they are regarded as one of the best teams of all time.
Watching daily sales videos, doing random role plays, and listening to recordings of yourself selling can help you to maximize the 1% rule. Improving one sales skill that results in one additional successful sale may not sound like much to you.
But one additional sale per day, every day for one year would make you a star performer. The commitment to continuous improvement is the key.
Summary
So, there you have it. Committing to watching the daily sales training video, and to continuous improvement, can lead you to become great at selling service in 24 hours. Which of the three friends from The Compound Effect, is most like you?
Non-ATI Members: For more tips on how to achieve specific results and run a productive, profitable shop, check out our shop owner events at www.atievent.com.