It’s The Little Things That Add Up in The Long Run
Having big ambitions is great – but if you want to achieve your long-term goals, you need to know there’s no rapid escalator to success.
Only by learning the art of self-discipline and taking small and consistent steps will you reach your ultimate target.
Here’s how smaller steps can lead to bigger things.
Prospect a little every day to keep the sales funnel full
Setting aside five hours a day to prospect may be unrealistic. But if you set aside just one hour per day and stick to this religiously, by the end of the week you’ll have prospected for five hours. By turning prospecting into a habit and making sure you book in that one hour every day, you’ll open many more accounts. So, don’t spend your time preparing to prospect – go ahead and book those hours in on the calendar right now.
Don’t overload yourself: Break down your career goals into steps
Imagine where you wish to be in 5 years’ time, then work backwards, identifying key targets to hit along the way. Then break these targets down into tiny steps i.e. short-term goals that you need to hit on the way to your desired ultimate outcome.
By breaking things down into smaller components, you won’t over-burden yourself or give yourself unreasonable timeframes (key factors likely to make you throw in the towel). It will also stop you from getting distracted.
Small steps require less discipline – and hitting each target will make you feel good and help you gain momentum.
Taking small steps will also help you overcome inertia
Breaking things down into small steps will also help you put rejection and acceptance into perspective. It will help you stop imagining the problems you’re going to face. Once you have started attempting to hit your targets, you’ll be able to celebrate the smallest of victories and with each successive step your self-confidence will grow. There are few things more satisfying than knowing you are moving successfully toward your goal.
You can’t wish yourself down the road – you have to start taking steps to get there.
It’s the little things that will help you build a business based on trust
There are some instances where you can establish trust very early in the relationship with a client, but those instances are few and far between. We generally establish trust by virtue of our behavior over time.
By acting honestly and sincerely and showing over and over again that you are a confident, mature, smart and trustworthy person you will establish yourself in clients’ minds as a confidant and friend. You will become an important person in their lives. However, it takes a long time to build trust (and just minutes to destroy).
So, always remember that it’s the little things that show you care.
For example, always do what you say you are going to do. Call when you say you will call and always keep your word. Don’t ever be late, and tell the truth even when it hurts. Be open and own your mistakes. If you keep on doing these things then little by little over time, you will earn your clients’ trust.
Get clients to top up their account regularly
Saving money needs to be a habit so make a point of insisting that anyone who opens an account with you adds to that account regularly. Make them see that if they save a bit of money each month they’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much money they could save by the end of the year.
And, by insisting clients put a bit away each month – and year – you too will be pleasantly surprised – at how much you gain in terms of additional fees. But delayed gratification requires discipline and vision. So, try coupling a teaching story, explaining the benefits of long-term investing, with a vision story that paints the future in glowing colors.
If you truly want to succeed in your career, take things one step at a time.
Devise a set of steps that you can do over and over. Create a successful way of prospecting that is repeatable and acquire good habits. Get consistently good at what you do – start today, get a rhythm going and you will be on your way to success.
Make the first step – start your 30-day trial with Don Connelly 24/7.
