Wait, what are we building?!

I think I have a sweet tooth this time of year, with Halloween and Thanksgiving on the horizon. What I mean is that we talked about “Easy as Pie” not once or twice but three times. And now we’re back in the kitchen for more talk about intaking a few more tasty calories. But only as another metaphor.

Imagine you have a box in front of you right now, and in that box are all the parts you need to build a beautiful motorcycle. Everything you need to build the motorcycle, including step-by-step instructions, is in the box—there are no extra parts and no missing parts.

Now imagine that you accurately follow all the instructions, and piece by piece and part by part, you begin assembling the components that are in the box. You put the handlebars where the handlebars go; you put the engine where the engine goes, etc. At some point, you look down, and the box is empty. You have followed the instructions and properly assembled all the components.

What is the likelihood that when you step back to admire this beautiful mechanical creation you have built, you realize that instead of building a motorcycle, you have accidentally baked a cake?

Not very likely, is it? You can’t focus on following the instructions to build the motorcycle with the motorcycle components and accidentally bake a cake. The universe and the laws of physics simply don’t work that way.

The box is a metaphor for your mind; whatever is in your mind is all that you can build. Your thoughts are the instructions, and your expectations are the components of your life and business.

Piece by piece and part by part, your life comes out of your box in the form of your decisions, which are a reflection of your habitual thoughts and expectations. Every time you make a choice, you are reaching into your box, making a seemingly inconsequential decision, and pulling a little piece of your life and business out of your box.

At some point, you will be at the end of your sales career, and you will have removed all of the box’s contents as you make a multitude of seemingly inconsequential decisions.

You can only remove from the box those things that are in it. You don’t accidentally create your sales results any more than you can accidentally bake a cake out of motorcycle parts. Your sales results are the reflection of the contents of your box and the instructions you are following.

Therefore, the results in your sales career are simply a reflection of the instructions you are following to assemble what’s already in your mind. Ask yourself if you ever experience thoughts or expectations like these:

• Customers are only interested in a cheap price, nothing else.
• Customers don’t care about our service, value, and quality.
• Customers don’t want to hear my spiel.
• Customers just want to know how much it costs.
• Customers won’t change suppliers unless we’re cheaper.
• Customers always have to get three bids.
• Customers always have to “think about it” before purchasing.
• Our prices are too high.
• These leads suck.
• Cold calling is a waste of time. I’m too good for it.
• I’ll never make enough money to buy that new house.
• I’ll never make enough money to send my kids to a better school.
• I’ll never make enough money to buy my spouse that new car.
• Salespeople are snake oil peddlers, and I am better than them.
• People who make a lot of money in sales are high pressure, and I am better than them too.
• I am also morally superior to salespeople.
• I can’t wait until I get a real job so I can quit this sales job!

If any or many of those thoughts and beliefs make up the contents of your box, what do you suppose you will pull out of it? What seemingly inconsequential decisions might you be making regarding your daily sales activities without giving them a conscious thought?

What impact might those seemingly inconsequential decisions have on your sales results? Will you ever become a professional in sales if the contents in your box are missing the ingredients and thoughts needed to become successful? I don’t think so.

Life occasionally has its happy accidents. But they’re rare, and luck is not something to count on when there are mouths to feed at the table. The gamble simply isn’t worth the risk.