Drive

Let’s talk today about drive or motivation. To me those words mean basically the same thing.

All of us have drive. Everyone has motivation. You could argue that it isn’t always channelled into productive activity. Substance abuse and an all-day-long fixation on social media are just two examples.

What everyone doesn’t have is the discipline to do the things they don’t want to do (but that are good for them or that they “have” to do.)

And, that’s the challenge for each of us and for our managers who want to help us achieve our goals (as well as what the company’s goals). How do we connect personal drive (which we all have) to discipline (which sometimes falls short)?

I’ll use myself as an example.

My first sales job was selling mainframe computers and software. We got very few leads from marketing, so generating leads on our own was essential. And, a big part of that was making cold calls (mostly via the phone).

I hated it. It wasn’t just the rejection. It was the volume of rejection. It seemed like such an unproductive activity.

Contrast that with the rest of the sales process, which I loved. I loved discovery. I loved problem-solving. I loved presentations and demos. I loved coming up with a strategy to beat the competition. Those all seemed productive. I liked doing them and was pretty good at them.

So how did I get through the part I hated? I tried different angles. I got creative. And, I made it a game, a puzzle, or a challenge - all things I liked. I tried to think like a baseball hitter (a sport I really liked as a kid) and realize that 3 qualifying conversations out of 10 connections was a pretty good success rate. I’d use a timer and say to myself, “I only have to do this for an hour each day to hit my goals. And, then I can get back to the fun/productive stuff.” It was like burying your dog’s medicine in a treat so they’d eat it.

What I did was tap into my larger motivation to win, to succeed. That deep-seated “why” had to be stronger than my dislike of prospecting. My discipline wasn’t strong enough to do the task I didn’t want to do on it’s own. I needed frequent reminders or injections of my bigger goals. And I needed to do the prospecting in short bursts (an hour or less) which was something I could endure.

Having enough discipline to do the things you don’t want to do but should be done may be the most important key to business success. If so, we should look to develop it and hire it.

For sales managers who are hiring: Consider this interview question: “No one likes every single thing they have to do in their job. What’s one task that has to be done or is a success catalyst that you hate doing?” Then, “Walk me thru your strategy for handling that.” 

For sales managers to ask their salespeople: Consider asking, “What’s your least favorite part of the sales process? How come? On a 1-10 scale, how important is it to your success? What’s your strategy to make sure it gets done?”

For all of us: Know your drivers. Discover the root cause of your internal motivation. Learn how and when to tap into it so you can channel your drive into discipline to do the things you don’t want to do but should do.

Have a great week!

Bob

P.S. My “soft sell” this week is the free Strategic College Graduate Career Launch Series. Share this link with your friends and family if you’re so inclined. https://www.labarberagroupuniversity.com/scgopt-innew