Why Sticking With It Matters

I'm breaking this out of its original thread because the message is that important:

Consistent & Focused Effort Reaps Big Rewards.

So many people rush into an idea. Could be about making calls...could be the next new hot and shiny techie thing. They put in some effort--probably a lot less than they think, over a total of maybe 3 or 4 days--and nothing happens. No reward. "This is no good!" they announce, and give up.

Of course there was no reward! It was too soon. Gotta get that flywheel spinning. At first, the wheel is super heavy and nearly impossible to move. But once it IS spinning, a quick push of your hand makes it go even faster.

Let's say you've got the idea that making calls to business owners is going to result in sales for you.

The key here is to call consistently.

Pick your time and from say 9 - 11AM every day Mon-Fri, that's what you're doing. Whether you feel like it or not. Whether your friend wants to meet for a coffee or not.

At first, little will happen (probably). This is when just about everyone gives up. But it takes effort over time to build inertia. Getting sales on day 200 will be SO much easier than on day 2...so just stick with it, don't be in a rush. Know that day in, day out, this is what you will be doing.

And the results will follow.

A couple of examples:

The CEO of the $20 million company I work for--who I report to--started out in another industry. Back then in the early 2000s he was doing sales (all presidents & CEOs do sales work, you'll discover--and the ones that came up through accounting or operations tend to not make it because they don't know how to grow the biz). Here's what he did, from Ohio:

Drive to the next big city. Starting at 4AM, because it was 4 hours away. Then he'd work his way back home, visiting as many prospects as possible. Get home at 8PM and do it all over again.

Do you think he wanted to do that? Probably not. But he made himself do it...because he wanted the end result. He became CEO of this ridiculously huge mortgage firm doing billions of dollars worth of business.

One of the other owners (there are 3 of them) worked for this guy back then. He hates cold calling. But he did it. From dinky Wilmington, NC--NOT an economic powerhouse--he closed 100 deals a month. The national average was 10. He was a top 5 producer for the whole country--from a lousy market. Top management opportunities followed.

I hope you see a couple of reasons why I work for them (beyond the fact that they asked me to, creating a role that didn't exist just for me).

Let me ask you: Who do you want to become known as? "The 'What' Guy or Gal"? You need time and effort to get known as the person to get ahold of for whatever that is. However, when you ARE known as that person, it's so much easier for you to get the calls.

Effort is even more important than opportunity...at least, the opportunity an average person would typically see. And steady is better than flashy.