Long-term success does not come from one-time, single-shot sales. Long-term success in sales comes from what you do day in and day out and is impacted in a huge way by who you associate with. I’ve recently spent time with several different sales people and I’ve been amazed at how each of them view success and how they determine their goals. In each case, their frame of reference had a direct correlation on who they network with and the frame of reference the other people had. I hate to say it, but narrow-minded people have narrow-minded goals. Big thinkers have big goals.
I’m fortunate enough to have two kids (or I should say young adults as they are both in college). When they were little kids, we always monitored their friendships. As parents, this is natural because we wanted our kids to not be hanging out with others who were bent on causing trouble. In the same way, adults have to monitor who we allow ourselves to be influenced by. Is their any wonder why successful people associate with successful people?
A challenge I push myself to do is to ensure my network, my friends, and the people I come in contact with are big thinkers with big goals. The last thing I want to do is to be bogged down by people who could negatively impact my goals, the quality of my thinking, and, ultimately, what I accomplish.
A final comment: I was just in a sales office where the entire sales team was having a blow-out month. It seemed as if everything they were touching was turning into a sale. In talking with them, they had a level of energy and drive that permeated every corner of their office and every corner of their brains. Great sales people were hanging out with great sales people.
