Supercharge your morning; supercharge your day.
The first 60 minutes in the morning are powerful, and I’m not talking about the first 60 minutes once you arrive at the office, but right when you wake up.
Here’s what I’ve found: High achievers have a very set routine. The more we can have a plan from the moment we get out of bed, it’s amazing how much more efficient we are and how much better we make the day.
I realize everybody has different lives; kids, families, parents and pets. But I want to walk you through ten things that I have found high performers do, and so do I.
1. Exercise.
But Mark! Exercising alone takes me 60-90 minutes. Okay, that’s fine. So this routine might represent the first 90 minutes, or two hours a day, but block time to exercise.
I do this every morning and it’s amazing at how it gets my body moving, my mind going. If you don’t use it, you’re going to lose it. So as you get older, exercise becomes even more important.
2. Send a thank you note to somebody.
This may be an email, a social media message, or a handwritten note. It may be a phone call, but if you take the time to thank somebody else, it begins to put your mind into a mentality of gratitude and appreciation.
It changes how you listen, how you hear and your outlook on the day.
3. Quiet yourself in a time of solitude.
Now, this might be meditation of one form or another. For me, it’s reading my Bible, but I’m focused on my purpose. It allows me to be thankful for all I have and the gift of another day.
This is really important because I don’t look at things as I have to do them. I look at things as I get to. By spending time in quiet solitude, I can reflect on that.
4. Read.
I love long-form reading; I’m always reading a book. I’m going to take ten minutes or so and just read a little bit more in that longer book. It just keeps me in the drill of reading because reading is a muscle, and the more we do it, the better off we become.
It’s easy for us to get caught up in just reading blog posts and quick things we see on the internet, but reading a book involves more critical thinking.
5. Review your annual goals.
You have to review your annual goals every day because if you don’t, you’re not going to be focused on them.
I don’t check goals to stress out. Look at these moments as opportunities. I might check and be behind on my annual goals, so I’m thinking, what is it that I need to do today to help move me closer?
6. Review your day’s objectives.
Ensure that they align with your goals.
In other words, what are the things that I’m going to get done today, and do they align with my goals? I want to make sure that how I spend my day is going to be productive. If it’s not productive towards helping me achieve my goals, guess what? I’m helping somebody else achieve their goals.
7. Review the amount of time you’ll commit to prospecting and selling.
Oh, wow, salespeople, listen up on this one.
It’s so easy for us to get caught up in all the activities that take us away from prospecting and selling. This is why I say CFT (customer facing time) is so important. I have to make sure that I always have time every day to be focused on prospecting and selling, because it’s a muscle, too.
This is how you keep your pipeline full.
8. Ensure your day’s meetings are set with clear outcomes.
Look at your calendar. Is there a clear outcome? You don’t go to a meeting unless there’s a clear outcome.
And if there isn’t a clear outcome that you already got to ask yourself, why am I having a meeting? Your time is your most valuable resource.
Determine your outcome. What is it that I’m going to (or my prospect will) learn? What is the takeaway, whatever it might be.
9. Demonstrate love and appreciation for your family and those close to you.
Every morning I get to tell my wife I love her and I’m thankful for that. I text my kids, they’re both married and they’re gone. They have their own families, but I just express appreciation. There are other people who are close to me, people who I work with, and I express that level of gratitude.
This is similar to number two—send a thank you note—it reframes how you look at things.
10. Expect the best.
Be the optimist. Be thankful for each conversation you’ll get to have.
You can be the negative Nelly, but it’s not going to get you anything. When you are the optimist and you’ve gone through the other nine things that I’ve mentioned here, I guarantee it’s going to change your outlook, and you’re going to listen to your customers better, hear more opportunities, and they are going to be far more enthused to work with you.
How Simple Sales Metrics Boost Sales
Do you know your own metrics?
Are the ones you have superfluous, or complicated?
Episode 229 is out now! Find it wherever you enjoy podcasts.
Selling in a Post-Trust World
w/ Larry Levine
Larry and Mark emphasize how it’s up to us as salespeople to change the perception of our profession, molding it into how we want to be seen through our actions.
Find Larry’s new book Selling in a Post-Trust World here!
Episode 230 out NOW!
Copyright 2024, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
4 Responses
Keep sending these..I appreciate the motivation!
Mark,
I like your comment about reading the Bible in the morning. So important! Thanks for including that in your article.
Jeff
Very well
Great points!
Here is a variation of your morning routine courtesy of my 101 year old great aunt that she calls the “4 UPs”: Wake UP, Get UP, Dress UP and Show UP. I treat days working at home the same as going into the office- wake up at a set time, get out of bed (no lounging around), get cleaned and dressed up, and get to work.!