The Three Keys to Sustained Motivation in Sales (part 2)
We’ve been covering the four key areas high leverage in prospecting.
- Market
- Message
- Medium
- Motivation
Motivation is the fourth key area and last time we discussed how to get and stay motivated in sales. There are three keys to sustained motivation and the first of the three keys is to have clarity around what you really want.
Why Do You Want What You Want?
Once we’ve determined what we want, we have to ask ourselves why we want it. And here’s the truth – it is the answer to the why question that creates long-lasting motivation.
There’s no getting around it. Willpower alone and the fear of consequence only work for a brief time.
To attain long-lasting, sustained motivation we have to tap into something much deeper and more meaningful. That’s what answering the why question does for us. It connects our goal and our activities to the things we really care about.
“Answering why we want what we want connects our goal and our activities to the things we really care about.”
How To Discover Your Why
How do we discovery our “why”? It’s easier than you might think. Let’s do a little exercise on the fly.
- Write down what you want right now. Why do you get up in the morning? What are you trying to accomplish? Maybe it’s financial independence. Maybe you want to be recognized for being the top in your field. Or maybe it’s the happiness that comes from sharing with your family and others.
- Now answer this question – Why do I really want that? What does it let you do that you couldn’t do before? Most the time you’ll have to ask this question more than once to get to your true core motivation – your foundation “Why”.
Let me walk you through it a bit more.
Once you answer the initial WHY question, (let’s say your answer is “To make more money.”) then ask yourself “Why do I want more money? What will that let me do that I can’t do now?”
And let’s say your answer is something like, “So I can buy something – an RV (or whatever).” Then ask yourself, “Why do I want that? What would having an RV let me do that I can’t do now?”
I’m sure you can see here that we are peeling the onion of your motivations here.
Peeling The Onion Of Your Motivations
Repeat this with each answer. Keep going. You may need to repeat that and go deeper three or four times. So go ahead and do that.
And when you do – and this is key – it will take you to a very cool place. It will surprise you.
We do this at the beginning of each of my workshops. I’ve done it many times and it tends to always land in the same place. I won’t tell you what that is. I don’t want to ruin it for you.
The cool place it takes you will give you clarity. And with that clarity you will be able to tap into a virtually limitless well of motivation.
And I want that for all of you. And that brings us to a key point.
Key Point: When your “Why” is clear, your “How” will become easy.
What Is Your Necessity?
There is one more element in understanding your Why – and that is necessity.
High performers are motivated by necessity.
They tap into the reasons they must perform well to stay motivated.
That necessity is typically a combination of two things:
- Internal Standards – which is your identity, beliefs and values.
- External Demands – which includes things like family and social obligations.
So the question is: “What is your necessity?” “Why is it necessary that you succeed now?” “Who is counting on you to succeed?”
Stop what you’re doing and write your answer right now. You’ll feel the power of this the moment you write it down, so invest the tiny amount of time it takes to write answer. Why is it necessary that you succeed now?
The Unpleasant Truth
Here’s the unpleasant truth – you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to show up for work, your family or life. You don’t have to be extraordinary or remarkable. Yet, high performing individuals are extraordinary. They are remarkable. In fact, they feel they have to. They have necessity. And that necessity stems from the emotion in their “Why”.
Conclusion
So that’s the second of the three keys of motivation – know your Why. Knowing your why will drive your identity, your duty and create urgency. To attain long-lasting, sustained motivation we have to tap into something much deeper and more meaningful. That’s what answering the why question does for us. It connects our goal and our activities to the things we really care about.
Motivation Secret: Answering why we want what we want connects our goal and our activities to the things we really care about and is a key to sustained, long-lasting motivation.
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Until next time!
James
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