Aurelius on Crossing The Line

 

“Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretense.”

–Marcus Aurelius (121–180)
Roman emperor, philosopher

 

With everything, there’s a line.

On one side of the line is a greater chance to make good things happen (better results, better relationships, more responsibility). This is where you’ll find all those people you admire.

On the other side, there’s less of a chance.

And with each line, there’s a choice. You want to cross the line or you don’t. You want the better chance at making good things happen (meaningful things) or you settle with the lesser chance.

Your choice.

It seems simple but…

Then there’ll be those times. Those times when in the short run it’ll seem like you can’t cross the line (no matter what you do).

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Aurelius on Objectivity and Focus

“The first rule is, to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”

–Marcus Aurelius (121–180)
Roman emperor and philosopher

Prune. Not the fruit. The verb.

To prune a tree is to remove the branches and shoots that don’t serve its growth and vigor. But it goes a step further.

A diseased branch or low performing shoot not only doesn’t serve the tree – it drains the energy that can be used elsewhere – the energy that can produce more fruit, more flowers, and stronger branches.

When did you last evaluate your sales day activities against what’s most important to you succeeding (e.g., getting new customers, retaining current customers, driving profitable revenue)?

212 thought: Removing just two diversions from your sales efforts each week eliminates more than 100 distractions throughout your sales year.

Aurelius on Getting Wasted

“Be not careless in deeds,
nor confused in words,
nor rambling in thought.”

–Marcus Aurelius (121–180)
Roman emperor and philosopher

Sales reminder…

Be careful to minimize any tendencies to over promise or say what you feel needs to be said in a sales call. After getting someone’s attention/ interest, the most important thing is that you learn what your prospects/ customers really want or need and why (not to show what you have or know).

The simplest way to do this is to forget about yourself, your company, your products, and your competition.

Focus only on the discussion and them. Be real. Ask questions and listen (top 30 open-ended questions here).

Care for them and they’ll more likely care for you… by buying. (Get a printable reminder to be real.)

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New printable calendars, wallpapers, and salesdays are up for Q1.

No Gomo talks today and tomorrow with Sam (how to keep your team or yourself from going through the motions in 2-11… that’s 212ish for 2011).

212ers: Did you catch the back of VA Tech’s helmets during the Orange Bowl on Monday night? And those 212 wristbands? (see the pictures)