“You don’t always get what you wish for, you get what you work for.”

Over the years in business, I’ve been able to observe people, especially salespeople. Truth be told, and this obviously does not apply to all, but some of them are incredibly lazy. They won’t go the extra yard. If they have a goal or a plan, they will execute it to the tee...never thinking outside the box. This really drives me crazy. When you promise someone you’re going to do something, deliver the results AND exceed the goal. I have an experiment I do...I take a bottle of water and I glass and I start to pour it in quarters to give my sales team a perspective on how to exceed their goals. Once I get to the top of the glass, I’ve hit the top - this just creates a “ceiling” for success. I then start pouring the water over the top and show them that you must continue to exceed expectations. It may take a little extra work to clean up, but in the end it is worth it.

This type of salesperson is always looking for the lazy way out or is cutting corners. I used to have a saying “3 minutes, 30 minutes, 3 hours, 30 hours, 3 years, or 30 years.” It defines a career. If you want the lazy way out, get out of sales or running a business.

You need to learn how to recharge your battery. I'm going to share 10 ways you can knock off the rust:

1. Find time for yourself during the day to have 20 minutes in your own thoughts
2. Take a personal day every 2 months and don't discuss business and do something that makes you happy
3. Take a vacation every quarter for at least 5 days and don't discuss business
4. Find a mentor who can help you be accountable
5. Get a good night of sleep at least 7 hours a night
6. Study your business and read articles
7. Listen to motivational tapes
8. Make your business fun and listen to how you pitch people and keep refining it
9. Go to industry meetings and find like-minded people
10. Fall in love with your business and always be helping people

The only way to truly succeed in sales is having the “all-in” mentality. Listen to your body...the reason you're lagging is that you're not recharging your battery. Believe me, your boss would rather you take a day off than have you show up to work doing things half-assed. Take time for yourself and you will start to see a different person. You need to be accountable for yourself. If you notice yourself slacking, do something about it. Be positive and use all the tools in your toolbox.