Straight Line Sales Psychology : Inner World "Standards"

Your Standards ultimately dictate where you end up in life. 

In the absence of high standards you will struggle to achieve meaningful success. You can’t ensure your long-term sales success or succeed in any aspect of your life if you continue to allow yourself to hold low standards or if you are willing to settle for second best. In fact, the long term predictor of where you will end up is what you will not lower your standards on. It’s an insurance policy for long term success.

Understanding the power of personal standards will completely change the way you think and ensure you reach your full potential, not only as a salesperson, but in every area of your life. Because most people misunderstand their power, standards are often underestimated and overlooked. In reality, your personal standards define your identity and operate as a long-term indicator of where you will end up.

Standards are like an internal thermostat. They are your set point for where you feel comfortable in your life. You have standards for everything; your finances, relationships, health and of course your sales results.

There’s nothing right or wrong about what your standards are, as long as they serve you. Your standards must serve you — they must match what it is you want in your life. For example, if you want to be wealthy, and yet you hold yourself to a low standard, good luck trying to obtain that wealth!

Defining Your Standards

The difference between those who succeed and those who struggle is the standards they have about the results that are a ‘must’ for them to achieve.

There is either dissonance or harmony between your standards and the path you’re on. Harmony is achieved when your standards are congruent with the path that you are on and you have the skill set and resources to achieve your goals.

Dissonance means that you either have high standards with low skills or you have low standards with a high skill level. Danger arises when you have high standards and the path you are on doesn’t support them, whether it’s because you are lacking a skill set, or your beliefs or something else is holding you back. Eventually if you feel enough pain you’ll lower your standards. The other side of the equation is even worse! This is thinking that average and just ‘getting by’ is okay.

The key thing to understand is what your situation is so you can address any areas of dissonance. For example, raising your skill levels to match your standards, or raising your standards to match your level of skill.

In addition – its crucial that your standards match your vision.

Turning Shoulds Into Musts

Language is the software of the brain and you can use it to empower or disempower yourself. One of the most disempowering words in the English language is ‘should.’ We often tell ourselves, “I should have done this” and “I should have done that,” and yet nothing ever gets done. As the saying goes, if you keep using the word “should,” you’re just ‘shoulding’ all over yourself. It’s time to reframe that ‘should’ and turn it into a ‘must.’

Your ‘musts’ are the things in life that you ‘must’ have. We always get our ‘musts,’ but we very seldom get our ‘shoulds.’

Raising Your Standards

The first step to raising your standards is to identify where your standards are right now and then commit to a higher level.

Are you living your life in pain and misery? Or are you basking in happiness, passion and success? Your answer to this will be highly dependent on the Standards you hold for yourself in the various aspects of your life.

4 Levels of Standards

1. Extraordinary Standards - are found literally millimeters above Excellent Standards. However, this is where all happiness, passion, reward, and success are found.
2. Excellent Standards - are another giant leap above Good Standards. People with these standards demand more from themselves than average person. However, excellent standards often only yield "good" results.
3. Good Standards - are a giant leap above Poor Standards. People with good standards, however, get poor results. They still feel pain in their lives because they are disempowered.
4. Poor Standards - exist at the very bottom. People with poor standards live a life of absolute pain and misery.

Are You a Duck Or an Eagle?

There are only two paths in life — the empty path of reasons and the driven path toward results. Reasons are the story of what can’t be done or why you can’t have what you want. Results, on the other hand, are proof that you can create whatever you desire.

Eagles seek Results ; Ducks search for Reasons.

Creating powerful personal standards will completely change the way you think and ensure you reach your full potential as a salesperson and frankly, in every other area of your life. The single biggest difference between those who succeed at the highest level and those who just get by is not skill; it’s the standards they have about the results that are a MUST for them to achieve.

By Jordan Belfort's "Straight Line Sales Psychology : Inner World "Standards""