Your Personal Sales Trainer

YOU can prepare for success!

There is an adage that has been around for years, and for good reason—it’s valid! “Most people don’t plan to fail, they simply fail to plan.” Success requires preparation. Map out your day, and commit to taking the time to prepare. Successful people from business, sports, and sales will tell you that they don’t win during the time of play or presentation; they win by being prepared to win.

Perhaps the most celebrated boxers of our time, Muhammad Ali, understood that wining did not take place in the ring, but in the fight of self-discipline far from the ring. He was famous for saying, “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses—behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

What does it mean to prepare for success?

It means doing your homework.
It means having a map.
It means making a commitment.

Homework
Unless you prepare, when opportunity comes, the opportunity will make you look ridiculous. It is only by proper preparation that you can be properly prepared when opportunity comes. This requires planning your day, rehearsing your scripts, and knowing your products and pricing. Remember, you prepare far away from the presentation.

Map
Just as you would in preparing for a trip, map your day. After all, each day is a journey toward reaching your goals. Determine when you will study, when you will prospect, and when you will make presentations. Mapping your day will help ensure you reach your goals.

Commitment
It is easy to say you will take time every day to prepare, but doing it is another thing. Only with a strong personal commitment to planning will you take the time to prepare adequately to win. Ask yourself: Do I prepare to win? Do I just hope to succeed? Have I made the commitment to being prepared, and do I stick to it?

Remember what Abraham Lincoln said about preparing for success:

I will prepare and some day my chance will come.

Abraham Lincoln