[E285] Where was your sales career 19 years ago?

So like everyone, I. Remember clearly where I was on the morning of nine 11. I remember what I was doing, what it felt like when things were happening and what it was like after that, even though it was 19 years ago, it's still very vivid in my mind. Like most people who experienced their own version of it. Now, at that point in my life, I was not even in sales yet. I was in between contracts at Microsoft and working for a totally different company doing a completely different type of project. Sales wasn't even on my radar or anything that I thought I would end up doing or being good at. I was still doing everything I could to not have to really deal with people, especially not having to try to convince people to do anything or change anything or buy anything. It was not even in my mind at any point. Then, a year later, I was in my first sales role. I was doing residential mortgages as a loan officer. And that's literally where it started in 2002. And like most who got into sales or are in sales, no real structured training scripts plan, learning the hard way by losing deals, messing up conversations, making mistakes, just the classic way of learning things the really hard way. Then fast forward to 2011. I had been in sales and sales leadership roles at four companies by then and had just left the world of sales again to work as a government contractor. So 9 11 2011 was my first day in Iraq that then marked the beginning of many deployments that spanned over four years, the next four years. And keep in mind, if you don't know my background, my story, my bachelor's degree is in marine biology. That's how much I didn't think I was going to be in sales or dealing with people. That's what my bachelor's degree is. Then I ended up in sales and then I ran away from sales completely. Now, during that time, I had enough kind of space and time away from sales and business to reflect on what was at the intersection of what I was good at and what I enjoyed the most. And that is when I decided to set the aspiration of being consultant. Coach and trainer to help others succeed. Now I tell this background story as a reminder that we never know where life will take us. If you're in sales right now, just starting out or struggling to succeed, or maybe you've plateaued in your results. Remember that life is long for now, today, reflect on where you were in life 19 years ago, or 10 years ago, or five years ago, just as a reminder to take stock of how far you've come, whether it's in sales. Or in life, one of the things is to look where you're going. And we'll talk about that next. But one of the things that I've also done recently, just to take stock of how far I've come in life and even in recent ventures is I actually have a progress wall, which is small achievement steps and things that I've done, not talking big certificates and awards, just various things that I've done over the last few years. To help remind me of that progress and where I have come from and where I'm at now. And I recommend doing that as well. Take stock, like I said, of how far you've come, whether it's in sales or it's in life, it's in relationship, it's health, it's business, whatever that looks like. And if you're in sales, that one is huge because a lot of times you get stuck or you get depressed. And I know so many people who struggle with the mental wellness side of sales because in the moment. It just feels like a challenge and it feels like a struggle and it feels like failure or you're winning and things are great. And then the winning stops in that period, right? You just hit a dry spell or a slump, or it's just in between deals. And then that's when the devil is in your head, trying to convince you that you're not successful. And so it's always important to take time to reflect back and look at how far you've come, what you've done, what you've accomplished to remind yourself what you're capable of doing and what you've proven that you can do in the past. Then, and here's where we want to go next, is I challenge you to take stock on your current goals. Do you have goals? A lot of times people, they're just going through life without goals. Sales people generally have some kind of goal, but is it written down? Is it documented? Is it somewhere that you see it all the time? Is it clearly in your mind? And then what's more important, and this is where most people fall short with their goals, is do you have a big why behind? Why you want to achieve those goals and why it's important to you. Do you know why you want that? And money is important. Money is valuable, of course, but money is energy and money is something that leads to other things. So why do you want that? And what's the deepest, most powerful, emotional reason internally for why you have that goal that you've set. And the more important that is to you. The more you'll push through these barriers. And then do you have a timeline for when you want to achieve those goals or that goal? Whatever that looks like. Don't let another five years slip by without you being intentional on where you want your sales career to go. If your company provides support and training uses many of those resources, you can, I see a lot of salespeople who have resources. They have. coaching or accountability or training or mentor available at their company and they're just not using it. So if that's you and you work at a company, check and see what's available. Your company is in business to succeed and win and they want to support you. They're there for you. A lot of. Times. It's so amazing how salespeople think they have to do it all on their own, or they're used to struggling on their own and trying to figure it out on their own. And companies want you to win. They don't want you to lose. They want you to win. And then of course, if you're self employed or you work in as a leadership role, Then you're going to have to go outside of that. And if your company doesn't have those resources, then where can you find them? Where are they available in your non work time? Read, study, work on perfecting your skills. I'm telling you, especially this is where you look at your progress board and your life, take some time reflecting. You can get a lot done in the next five, 10 or 19 years. And I'm not saying life will take you on a straight path, but on emotionally historic milestone days like 9 11, it's a good reminder to look back, then look forward. And I'm telling you, this is what's fascinating about today, is it's very rare that the whole country, and most of the world, can all simultaneously remember back to exactly what happened on one Particular day. And for many people, depending on your age and your generation, that is 9 11. And that's why 9 11 is such an important, interesting day because everyone has an emotional attachment to it in one way or another. And more than just focusing on that, which I think it's always good to remember, and reflect, and then focus on better future. It's also one of those good emotional reminder days to help you focus on what you want to achieve in life. Because you can look back and know pretty much every year on 9 11 where you were, and maybe in memory and in milestones. And so that's why it's so important. That's why I want to use this episode and support you more than sales training tactics or lines to use or mindset or other things like that for you to use this day. And this podcast as a way to figure out what support, what training, what coaching, what wisdom you need to achieve your goals so that you can then move forward. And down the road, you're achieving what you want if you're not currently. And so how can you use this? Utterly tragic anniversary for our country as a reminder for this year and every year to make the most out of your time available. That's the question I have for you is how can you use this as the day where you reflect backwards and then forward every time and to shift your sales career into something amazing. Something positive and something that's just forward charging in the direction you want to go. So that's it for today's episode. This is just personal. Remember to appreciate each and every day. Remember to spend time with those people you care about and remember to live the life you want and To get there and to do it by helping others get what they want. That's it for another episode of the Sales Experience Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. If you find yourself on iTunes, can you leave the show a rating and a review? It helps other salespeople and sales leaders find the show, and please subscribe to the show and share episodes you find valuable with anyone you know in sales. Help me on my mission of changing the way. Sales is done. And if you're ready to work together, go to Jason cutter. com. Again, that's Jason cutter. com to find out how I can help you or your company create scalable sales success. I will see you on the next sales experience podcast episode, and keep in mind that everything in life is sales and people will remember the experience you gave them.