No One Exercises Till They Have A Heart Attack

I've always been fascinated why people are so surprised when something happens to them that others can so clearly see happening.

Denial is a coping mechanism: "If I ignore it, it might go away."

The signs are there to tell you something.

Yet most people never take action until they are forced to take action.

Newton's law of motion explains this human behaviour perfectly:

If it's not health, it might a loss of a different kind like divorce or death.

Only when they are forced with an undeniable reality are they forced to take notice and face what Jim Collins (author of Good to Great) calls "brutal realities."

Worse with heart attack victims is the fact that 42% of patients post-surgery never commit to a healthier lifestyle.

It reminds me of that quote:

"If you don't make time?for?health, you'll?have?to?make time?for illness."

Only when they are told they won't see their grandkids do they actually do something about it. A suggestion like that only works because it taps deeper into their true motivation.?

Only when it matters and becomes meaningful do they take action like taking time to go to the gym, drinking less, making sleep a priority or changing their diet.

When it comes to your rural business, the same warning sales signals might be there but you may be choosing to ignore them right now because you don't like what you see.

No burning platforms but a slow demise or downward spiral that doesn't alert the senses in the same way.

Maybe you've just lost one of your best sales reps or a long-standing customer.

Maybe your rural marketing isn't working and you've been tolerating under-performing ads - or ad agencies - for far too long and not bit the bullet.

Maybe you're getting lots of likes from your digital efforts but little in the form of true engagement and qualified leads.

Take the time to stop and reflect on things by asking yourself:

• What can?you learn from it?
• What actions can you?take?to avoid the same situation happening again??
• Have I committed to?the discipline of a debrief with my?team?
• What do I need to stop/start/continue?
• What's my stop doing list?
• What is vital and necessary and what is "nice to haves" and discretionary?

We learn more from our losses than our wins because "success is a lousy teacher."

Losing teaches us so much more if we're willing to be brave and look deep inside.

We can learn a lot from life.

We have to be gracious and be thankful for the learning, even if we don't feel it at the time because we might be hurting.

That reflection in the mirror can be very hard.

I can tell you this has taken me years to work out for myself both personally and professionally what truly drives me, who and what matters to me most, and what I need to be for my family and the clients and communities I serve.

Feedback is a gift we can choose to take or not. When we do take it on board it usually makes us better people and better businesses.

So what signals are you seeing?

• Are your rural sales team low on energy or burnt out?
• Are you experiencing increased or continual turnover in the team?
• Are you seeing more sickness and absenteeism?
• Are you sensing a growing reluctance and resistance to canvassing more customers?
• Are sales cycles getting slower?

If they are, you need to work out what the drivers of disengagement are so they can be at their best.

Clear the debris in their path first.

• Maybe you need to spend more time with them working out what their real motivations are and where they want to be as individuals? (solve root cause, not surface level symptoms)

• Maybe you need to make yourself more available to mentor and coach your team as it can be super tough on the front line (all important truck time for sales observation and never to be missed 1:1 performance appraisals)

• Maybe their confidence is low because their competencies are low? (did you on-board them properly? Are you training them on specific skills based on their experience or tenure?

Work out why.

What are the root causes?

Lack of leads or lack of conversion? Or maybe your sales team don't feel supported? Do they have the right sales support material from marketing? Do they have a bullet proof unshakeable belief in the product or service they sell? Have you sold them on the thing they are selling?

Taking action on such signs sooner rather than later means mild affects vs. myocardial infarction (the proper medical term for heart attack).?

Like weeds in a garden you need to keep on top of them.

See the signs for what they really are before they take over.

Don't ignore them. Do something about them.

Doing nothing will mean nothing changes.

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I am on a mission to help rural business owners, marketing managers and rural sales reps get the respect and results they deserve.

If you're struggling with rural sales or generating qualified leads, you can grab a free 30-minute rural sales coaching call with me?here

Make sure you get a copy of my 'How To Succeed In Rural Sales' ebook before I take it down. You can download your FREE copy?here

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