“Success has little to do with the skills you possess, the product you represent, how great your company is, or how hard you work.”
Shocked? Don’t be.
Let’s break down that statement and really think about it from the perspective of the Certified Contractors Network (CCN) processes, and your thought processes
Skills - We all know highly skilled individuals who are not appropriately applying the CCN processes. They give the Processes lip service but when push comes to shove they cave in. During the CCN University Sales Boot Camp, and out training tapes we train “the best selling practices” only to see, in some cases, they are not implemented, or they are fixed so they don’t work by some people.
The Boot Camp, and training tapes, can teach you the exact WordTracks, the exact words to say, the exact answers to the Client’s questions, the exact questions to ask, as well as, the exact actions to take and not take – these are proven “Best Practices” by CCN Members to lead to success.
Yet, there are people after being exposed to these “Best Practices” that upon graduation from Boot Camp, or after hearing the training tapes return to their day-to-day and do the same things they have always done wondering (and complaining about) why they don’t achieve success or how unlucky they are.
I have seen intelligent sales personnel fail, and I have seen contractors pile up debt and eventually fail because they won’t apply the “Best Practices” to their business.
SUCCESS IS NOT ABOUT SKILLS!
Product - The Product in the construction business is a combination of contractor services and the product applied. Many sales people try to sell product. They focus on the product, and claim their product; the quality of their craftsmen, their insurance, their long time in business, the materials used, etc. etc. is the reason why the Client should buy from them
There are lots of high-quality contractors producing high-quality product, but why aren’t the sales people making high-quality sales, high-quality personal incomes, and their company is highly profitable?
Sales people claim, “But my company is different…. we are truly better…than the pickup truck bandits”
It is probably true for you, and of course you need a belief system and passion that it is true. You must have a solid belief in your craftsman and the building products you sell. But, the key to success is not the product. If high-quality product (contractor & materials) was the driving force that made clients buy then every salesperson representing a high-quality contracting firm would be highly successful, and they are not.
It is a huge mistake to think you can win business by telling Clients how great you and your companies are. You are telling the Client exactly the same thing the competition is telling them.
Do you think the competition is telling the Client that they are lousy contractors and use inferior products?
Who should the Client believe? With everyone telling the same story (both quality contractors and sub standard contractors) how much lack of trust and confidence do you think there is in the Client’s mind as a result?
In today’s market you don’t have to be or work for the highest-quality contracting firm and sell the best building products to win – you cannot be a lousy contractor with an inferior product, but you don’t need the best. There are many contractors that provide GOOD craftsmen and GOOD materials that are winning BIG!
SUCCESS IS NOT ABOUT PRODUCT!
So if it is not Skills and it is not Product then what is left that makes success. It must be hard work. We all know someone who works incredibly hard, they work long hours, maybe even hold multiple jobs and yet they are barely making ends meet. They work hard! And yet, they are not successful.
“The wealthiest people I have ever met have not worked a day in their life.”
Robin Leach, Lives of the Rich and Famous.
Does this mean that all the wealthy were born wealthy? Not really. A great book on wealth building is “The Millionaire Next Door.” The book explains that over 85% of the millionaires in today’s world are “self-made” and living a relatively modest lifestyle. They began with absolutely nothing. They also typically put in an inordinate amount of hours. Seem incongruent? Maybe these achievers have a different definition of the word “work”.
SUCCESS IS NOT ABOUT HARD WORK!
So what is the answer? The answer lies in “getting back to the basics”….the basics of ALL behavior, all results, all success…. Your Belief System, or your Paradigm!
For example, take a poor golfer and give them the best Big Bertha driver made (high quality product) will the Big Bertha make them good at driving off the tee? Of course not, however, you can give a shabby driver to Tiger Woods and he will drive the ball far.
Some people will say, “Tiger has great skill, and he has worked hard at his sport for years.” They would be absolutely correct. But we are talking about his Belief System or his Paradigm. What makes Tiger Woods great? Why did he work so hard at getting great? The answer has to be his Belief System, his Paradigm.
It is his belief in himself, his focus, determination, commitment, persistence, and self-image, which I believe leads to No Option Behavior.
He doesn’t allow himself to think about slacking off. He doesn’t allow himself think about not playing his best possible game. He doesn’t allow himself to think about the problems or challenges of the day that could take his mind off his ability to play great (present circumstances aside).
All thinking that comprise the “inner game” of success drives all the behavior and results in the “outer game” of success.
How hard have you been thinking about your sales career? How much practice have you put into your career? How many sales books have you read? How many sales tapes have you listened to……really listened to? You know the tapes that you stop, and write down the steps towards success that are discussed on the tape?
Or, are you one of those “experts” that knows it all. You know the type, they claim to have 25 years of experience, but they really only have 1 year repeated 25 times. They haven’t done anything in years to improve their skills. They just repeat and repeat the same old behavior. They may sell some work, but they seldom have the sales skills to get the right price. They “buy work” with their schmoozing and low price, rather than “sell work” with the CCN processes.
How often have you gone the extra mile during the Measure Call to differentiate yourself and prove you are the Wizard to the Client? How many times have you cut corners in the Measure Call trying to squeeze in a couple extra measures so you don’t have the time to bond with the Client and go the extra mile for them?
How intensely do you debrief your initial Measure Call Questions and determined:
1) What are the going to buy?
2) Why are the going to buy now?
3) Why will they buy from me over anyone else?
4) What could cause them to not buy?
How many times have you cheated and just ran on Robot Mode?
How many times did you stand tall and work through your fears about the 4P Flip Chart and use it anyway? How many times did you chicken out using the 4P Flip Chart because you though the Client would think it was hokey, or you would look foolish?
How many times did you not use the SCSP, because you thought it would blow the sale, or you thought you could grab a little extra money by not telling the Client about the savings?
How often do you stick to your guns and follow the CCN Processes step-by-step? How many times have you shortcut most of the CCN processes thinking you had the sale in the bag, only to lose it?
“Success is not the result of making money…. making money is the result of success.”
“Results follow action and actions follow thought”
(Short cut the actions…short cut yourself)
“What you think is what you get”
“Control your thoughts, and you can control the results”
Your work, your skills acquired and applied, and most of all your results, are a direct reflection of you.
Master your “inner game” and the “outer game” has no choice but to follow.
The results you have today are nothing more than a visible mile marker of your previous thoughts.
If your performance is not up to your expectations then change your thoughts today.
Remember the definition of insanity “Continuing to repeat the same behavior, but expect different results.”
If you are cheating on the CCN processes, and walking away from sales calls without the order, then think about what that cheating is costing you. Get back into the Sales Boot Camp Manual, get back into the tapes.
Get into HOW
H = Get Honest with yourself about your current results.
O = Make yourself become Open to new ideas that can improve your performance.
W = Be Willing to step out of your box, your set of limitations, your current thinking, and try something new.
Become the champion you really are.
