Why do some people achieve so much more than others? Why do some people seem to have all of the time in the world to get things done whilst others constantly seem to be frazzled? How can some people win new clients every month, service existing clients amazingly, manage sales teams, become industry go-to resources, deliver awesome lectures, write books, climb mountains, run marathons, have fabulous social activities? And live the life of their dreams as well?

And yet others struggle to remove themselves from firefighting, admin and dealing with challenges and spend their mornings, noons and evenings glued to their email?

It’s an important question. It might be one of the most important. Ultimately, you will be defined by what you do and by what you achieve not by how busy you are!

Being busy is not the same as being successful. Working hard is not the same as working smart. Putting the hours in is pointless if you’re working on the wrong activities.

When I work with businesses I see busy people, energetic sales teams and frantic business leaders. I see many, many people working hard to “get things done”…

But “getting things done” is sometimes not the same as achieving your objectives!

My lifelong passion is all about understanding what differentiates top performers and then helping others to achieve it too. What makes one person a sales superstar and another a sales wannabe? What empowers one person to be a rock star presenter and another a washout? What is it that enables one leader to lead their team to “victory” whilst another couldn’t lead theirs to the pub?

And one of the key differences is that top performers spend more time working on activities that lead to results.

Simple truth…

If two people of equal ability, passion and knowledge work the same market in the same way but one spends 50% of their time on activities that lead to results and the other only spends 25% then the first one will outperform the second one. Every time.

This is simple and obvious and yet it is not something which drives many peoples’ behaviours. Over time, most people fall into habits…

We do things because “we should”, we do things because “we always have”, we do things because “that’s the way others do it”, we do things because “we were told to”…

But we ought to be doing things because they get us the results that we want.

Here are 3 simple steps to get you more of the results that you want in your sales, in your business and in your life…

Step 1: Take stock.

Ask yourself what results you want and then work out what activities directly lead to those results. Map how you spend your time… How much time do you spend on these results based activities versus how much time do you spend doing other things?

Step 2: Take charge.

Commit time to results based activities. Protect this time. Make it sacrosanct. Do not be distracted. Drop “time-wasting” activities, stop acts of procrastination and learn to say “No” (to yourself and others).

Know that everybody has the same amount of time in a day and how you spend yours is down to you.

 Step 3: Take action.

Make it happen. Change happens in an instant. How you spend your time will determine your results so take action now to get on the road to the results that you want.

And finally, be your own coach, assessing how you do, refining your approach and holding yourself accountable.

And here’s the magical thing. This is a never-ending process because the more successful you are, the more you have to work on this process and the greater the opportunities are to improve.

Let me know how you get on…

Related posts:

1. On Fast Food, Sales Training & Getting The Winning Edge
2. The Sales Apprentice 2009: Sales Training Tips From The Hit TV Show, Week 12, The Final
3. What Would You Achieve If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail?

Recently I have been toying with the idea of playing the trumpet. This isn’t a plan and it’s not a goal, it’s just something I fancy having a go at. I’ve thought about the saxophone for years but when I started doing a little research I discovered I really quite liked the trumpet. Here are a few examples of some stuff I liked….

You Raise Me Up, Lily Was Here, Song For You,  Haydn Trumpet Concerto.

But the truth is… it might not be for me, I might not like it and I might not enjoy it. Until you try, how do you know these things? But I’m going to have a go. I’m not a bystander and I don’t plan on standing around saying, “I always wanted to have a go at…” so I have borrowed a cornet to have a play around on. It’s not the same as a trumpet I know but it’s near enough. It’s still in Bb, it has the same amount of tubing and it’s pretty common in Yorkshire with all of the brass bands so why not?

Looking for some good inspiration / tips online I hit Youtube (see above) and then started to read a few articles elsewhere on the web about learning the trumpet. I found some pretty good ones. There really is no excuse for people not improving their skills in today’s day and age when there is so much learning material available for free on the web. Disturbingly, I also found several forum posts and blogs about people discussing about how anyone who was going to be “any good” would learn when they were young. Apparently old might be anything above 15… or much younger. I’m 43 later this year and, apparently, I have no chance and I’m over the hill!

I remember, years and years and years ago, a boss once telling me (as he approached 30) that he felt he was doomed because if he hadn’t made it by the time he was 30 he was never going to!

How depressing! Not depressing because I believe them, not depressing becauseI have no chance, not depressing because I really am too old… But how depressing that so many people are so defeatist! So many people looking at excuses for when they fail before they even start.

I don’t know about you but when I do something new, something different or something challenging I do not want to hear about how it’s not possible, how I’m too old or how the market won’t support it. How can that help you? I want to hear how it can be done, how you might do it, how others have done it and what I need to focus on to succeed. And then I want to get on with it.

Rant over, I’m back to the sunny side of the house to blow my trunpet!

Related posts:

1. What Would You Achieve If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail?
2. The Times On Success For Jessica Ennnis
3. Remembering The Power Of Now

About 6 months ago I went to put on a suit that I hadn’t worn for a while and it was pretty tight, I can tell you! The sad fact hit me that over the months and years I’d put a bit of extra weight on. I realised that I had fallen into a pattern of eating and exercising that was not supporting me in achieving my health and fitness goals. And like most people I had some good excuses… “It’s hard to get a healthy meal when you’re stuck at an airport late at night”, “Everyone puts on a little weight as they get older”, “I don’t have the time to exercise.” But these are just that, excuses. So I made a decision…

A decision to do something about it, a decision to eat a little less, a decision to avoid fatty foods when away from home, a decision to change my exercise regime. A decision to change things for the better. And, as a result, I lost weight.

Many people ask me how I lost that weight. Many people tell me that they’d like to lose weight. Many people tell me that they had been trying to lose weight for ages. And many people talk about losing weight and getting fitter as if it is the hardest thing in the world to do. But, in reality, all it requires is…

An awareness that you need to do something + a desire and a decision to do something + consistent action (in this case… eat less, exercise more).

In other words, not rocket science.

As an author and speaker, I meet a lot of sales and business people who are not achieving what they want in their lives. They are settling for okay when they could be doing OKAY! They are accepting that their businesses or their sales approaches are a little flabby yet they are either not aware of this or are not prepared to make the decision and take the action necessary to change it.

Whatever you are doing right now, just stop for a minute and think about these serious questions…

Where are you accepting results in your life that are less than what you want and deserve? When will it be time for you to make a decision to do things differently? What one area of your business or your life could you take action on today that would make a radical difference for you? Why not share your thoughts below?

Related posts:

1. Cold Calling Article In Winning Edge Magazine
2. How To Destroy Sales Rapport Real Fast!
3. Sales Training Tips From A Golf Pro… Tony Westwood Speaks With Motivational Speaker Gavin Ingham

Someone once said that many people do not have 30 years worth of work experience but 1 year repeated 30 times over. This may be a little harsh but it is, sadly, true for some. What is also true is that many people carry their failures, their losses, their old goals, their bad habits and their habitual behaviours with them from year to year. This is one of the most effective and efficient ways of ensuring that you maintain the status quo and stay stuck where you are for a long, long time…

If you want to achieve more in 2011, if you want something different for you, for your business and for your family then now is the time to think about what you need to let go of, what you need to stop doing and what behaviours and habits you can do without in 2011. This may seem like a somewhat negative post for the New Year however letting go of negative behaviours, weak habits, old goals and bad habits will create a vacuum that you can replace with more empowering, more productive and more energizing beliefs, atittudes, goals and behaviours.

What do you need to let go of and leave behind in 2010?

Related posts:

1. What Are Your Goals And Dreams For 2011
2. Bert Was Not Feeling Great About His Sales Targets
3. Gavin Ingham Interviewed By Keybank On Successful Goal Setting

In January you will, no doubt, get a flurry of goal-setting articles and emails from people like me. They’re great but the truth is, they’re probably too late! You should be thinking, dreaming and planning now so take this opportunity to share your dreams and goals below. A goal written down and shared in public will be far more powerful than one you keep hidden away, scared to share in the darkest recesses of your mind! Share your goals for 2011 below…

No related posts.