I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “Success is a journey, not a destination.” Old clichés like this stand the test of time is because they are true. Knowing what you want is not enough because the path you take to get there is what will ultimately define your success.

The key to creating a proper strategy is setting short-term goals that will lead you to your ultimate destination. You can’t say, “I want to be a millionaire in seven years” and not think about some of the steps you need to take to achieve that level of success.

Many people don’t set goals because they can’t see themselves actually attaining them. Their excuse is: “I can’t see myself as the vice president of sales.” That’s okay! Can you see yourself as a regional head of sales? If not, can you see yourself as the leader of your sales team? Or,if you didn’t make your quota last quarter, can you see yourself making quota next quarter and exceeding it next year?

After you achieve those baby steps, you’ll see farther, and you can start achieving larger and larger goals.

Whats Your Strategy? Let me know in your comments below:

Goals are dreams with deadlines. Goals are a means of measuring results and keeping score. Most people don’t know what they really want so they wander around with no clarity about what they want to do or have in life. They have no purpose and, therefore, they have no passion.

The top salespeople know what they want. They have specific goals and dreams that they are shooting for and they stay clearly focused on their target until they hit them.

I have found that the biggest mistake people make is not writing down what they want. You may have thought a lot about your goals and dreams, but if they aren’t written down, I’ll be willing to bet you aren’t getting the results you desire. If you truly want results, you must get them on paper.

So, do this: Make a list of 5 things you want to accomplish personally and 5 things you want to accomplish professionally in the next year.

Comment below on what you think!

I learned years ago to use the power of visualization in my sales career, and then I started teaching others to do the same. For 12 years I managed a sales office and our team ever had fewer than five of the top 20 salespeople in the company. The secret to our success was that each salesperson developed goals and then regularly visualized hitting the target.

Using visualization techniques enhanced my team’s beliefs, attitudes, and expectations. Visualizing their success improved my team’s behavior and instantly elevated their
performance. When their performance soared upward, so did their sales and our business. It is a small difference that gave them an edge.

Top-notch businesspeople routinely rehearse their presentations in their minds. Legendary motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said he usually spent two to three hours mentally preparing before he gave a speech, even though he may have given it many times before. His goal? Give a fantastic speech that exceeds expectations, and he knew mental preparation — including visualizing himself performing the speech — improved his results.

The key to visualization is to not merely think about your dreams and goals, but also to see, feel, and touch them in your mind’s eye. Feel the success of completing your goals with strong emotions. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, and mentally picture what you want to happen as if it were real and actually occurring in the present.

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Early in my sales career , I attended a training seminar several hours from home by catching a ride with an associate named Ken. Ken was an experienced salesman, doing a great job and making lots of money. I was a young rookie who asked a lot of questions. I could tell Ken got tired of answering my questions, but I kept asking because I was eager to learn.

Eventually, he threw me a book and said, “Read it.” I did and from that day on I became hooked on learning the strategies of success. I started reading books like The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar. As I read those books, I began to understand that we become what we spend the most time thinking about. Then I remembered what the Bible says: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This concept, that we become what we think about most often is actually one of the foundational concepts of most self-improvement or high-performance principles.

Our thoughts determine our actions, our moods, our self-image, how we present ourselves to others, and even the words we speak. The simplest and quickest way to change our situation in life is simply to change the way we think. In short, our thoughts determine our destiny. You are today where your thoughts have brought you, and you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. If you want to improve your life, grow your business, and generate more sales, you gotta think like a winner.

Give your comments below – what do you think?

Did you know that to perform at the highest level, you must practice mentally as well as physically?

Larry Bird was one of the greatest basketball players of all times. I once read a story where he was doing a television commercial in which he was supposed to miss a shot, but it took him 15 shots before he missed one. His unconscious was programmed to make every shot!

The same is true in sales. When you have repeated a process over and over again it starts to flow easily and naturally. It becomes part of who you are as a person.

When I started my career in sales I knew that I was not as good as the top performers. I realized that I had to practice if I was ever going to perform at a higher level. I studied my program and listened to the top producers. I applied what I learned over and over again until it became a natural part of my everyday life.

Share with me your comments below.

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A dream is what inspires you to get off the bench and get into the game. Dreams are the big vision of what you would be, do, or have if money and time were no object. To accomplish

your dreams you gotta turn them into specific goals. They are the targets you strive for and the signposts that move and guide you in the direction of your ultimate dreams. Goals are also a means of “keeping score” so that you can determine if you’re winning the game.

Dreams and goals help you know where you’re going. But they can do more than guide you. As a salesperson, goal-setting is without a doubt one of the primary determinants of your income. Salespeople who have dreams and clearly defined goals make 80 percent of the money.

Based on my experiences and observations, I’ve concluded that at least 90 percent of success derives from having a dream and knowing what you want. When I coach others, I stress that they have to focus on their dreams. If they already have dreams, they almost always need to redefine them and make them bigger. Then I teach them a simple but powerful system for achieving their dreams and goals.

What is your dream?

More from Billy Cox

• A Dose of Hope Part 2
• What it Takes to Get in the Game–Part 1
• The 3 Parts of Leadership Vision

When it comes to sales performance, I believe that initiative is the power to originate something and the drive to finish what you’ve started. Some people get started but never finish

Initiative gives you the power to win and to help others win. Individuals who take initiative commit themselves to completing their tasks—for their benefit and their team’s benefit.

By taking initiative, you become successful and ensure the success of your company and team. In doing so you do more than just survive, you thrive. Having the right products and services is important and timing is crucial to the selling process. However, initiative is what sets the top salespeople apart from those who are just average.

More from Billy Cox

• A New Beginning For Your Dreams
• The 3 Parts of Leadership Vision
• Are You Waiting to Lead? – Part 1

There’s power in dreams. From all that I have seen time and time again, 90% of success derives from having a dream

Goals are dreams with deadlines. Goals are a means of measuring results and keeping score. Most people don’t know what they really want so they wander around with no clarity about what they want to do or have in life. They have no purpose and, therefore, they have no passion.

The top salespeople know what they want. They have specific goals and dreams that they are shooting for and they stay clearly focused on their target until they hit it.

I have found that the biggest mistake people make is not writing down what they want. You may have thought a lot about your goals and dreams, but if they aren’t written down, I’ll be willing to bet you aren’t getting the results you desire. If you truly want results, you must get them on paper.

I suggest you make a list of five things you want to accomplish personally and five things you want to accomplish professionally in the next year.

More from Billy Cox

• What it Takes to Get in the Game–Part 2
• What it Takes to Get in the Game–Part 3
• What it Takes to Get in the Game–Part 1

I believe personal vision, team vision and organization

Vision is the way you see yourself, your team and organization in the future.  It is what you feel and something you clarify for others so they experience the same emotion.  What you feel on the inside will be seen and felt in the expectations you project to others.  Your feelings become the mental picture that illuminates your path from where you are now to the results you envision.

Leaders envision great personal rewards such as a happy marriage, loving family, “salesman of the month,” “employee of the year” or financial freedom.

Your vision is reflected in the way you play the game.  Star athletes who are true leaders execute their vision and inspire their team in giving extra effort and making exceptional plays.  These same athletes have played the game in their mind’s eye well before even stepping onto the field.  Since they have rehearsed victory in their minds, they are more apt to achieve the outcome they desire.

If your personal life is better will you be able to lead others more effectively?  The answer is always yes.  Your goal should be to have a business vision as a leader and a personal vision as a leader.  How can you effectively lead others if you cannot effectively lead yourself?  When you have congruency between your personal and professional images, you create a powerful, magnetic and compelling force that other people will follow.

What are your own tips for aligning your personal and business vision? Please comment below.

More from Billy Cox

• The Real Connection with Prospects – Part 2
• Three Steps To Change Anything
• Sitting Still Is the New Sliding Backwards – Part 2

Leaders with vision see what others can’t,

In business, most average people think about the day-to-day tasks they need to perform. Visionary leaders think about the big picture – the skybox view of the organization.  That’s what sets them apart from someone who is only in the game to earn a paycheck.

World class leadership requires a big, bold, passionate and long-range vision that takes into account the scope of the entire team.

Children primarily think about completing their homework while parents focus on how they will pay for their children’s college education.  A store employee mainly thinks about stocking shelves with inventory while the owner strategizes about the competition and how to raise the business to the next level.  The President of the United States has a staff that schedules his appointments and advises him on national security matters while he focuses on improving the long-term condition of our country and maintaining our superpower status. Most people focus only on today, while visionary leaders dream of what they can accomplish over the horizon.

Leadership vision gives people direction on where they need to go.  I have found that people in most organizations have an incomplete picture of their life and how they fit into the big picture of their company and organization’s vision.  Most people have just one or two mental pictures that they play back time and time again.  These pictures include retiring one day at age 65 or 70 and celebrating with a gold watch and a going-away party – only to expire a few years later.  Isn’t that exciting?

Leadership vision helps people see beyond their business or industry and sets their eyes on living a long, joyous and prosperous life full of health, wealth, love, passion and purpose.

*Comment below and tell me your ideas!