If professional success continues to elude you, if you never seem to quite make it to the top, you may be falling victim to your comfort zone. It’s human nature. Most professional people reach a point where they can comfortably afford their nice home, the beemer or Porsche, and yearly trips to Europe, and they just don’t go the extra mile to become CEO or even ascend to senior management.
Grant Cardone, Founder/CEO of Grant Cardone Sales Training and author of Sell to Survive, suggests that getting uncomfortable is the only way to reach your full potential. He suggests that complacency is the beginning of the end for most sales or professional types. To reach the top, you have to constantly push yourself and get out of your comfort zone, especially in this economy. He notes that most salespeople he has worked with admitted to being able to do more, but were afraid to try new approaches and techniques. They simply didn’t have the eye of the tiger to find new customers, move to a new city to move up, or even add a new skill.
MVPs Leave Their Comfort Zone
To survive and thrive, salespeople have to push the envelope (and themselves) to explore new markets and go for the gold. If you’re always content with a base run and don’t shoot for a homer, you’ll never be an MVP who rises to the top. Cardone offers four “boot in the tail” steps to get you out of your comfort zone:
- Make the time. If you constantly find yourself saying, "I don't have enough time," add a new task to your calendar, something that moves you forward to becoming a better salesperson.
- Make a new contact. Go to a seminar, conference, tradeshow or business mixer. Press some flesh and introduce yourself to a handful of new people. This not only connects you to possible new sales leads, but it also improves your confidence and people skills.
- Make fear disappear. Whether it’s cold calling or public speaking, practice overcoming your fears until they become small and insignificant.
- Make a switch. Take on a new role at your company for a few hours. “Walk a mile in their shoes” to see what they face every day.
Donna Toothaker, CEO, founder and coach of Step It Up VA Coaching, advises those still stuck in their comfort zone to overcome their fear of judgment, rejection, or failure and talk to prospects—as often as possible. She further suggests that you ask your clients, colleagues and peers for referrals, and to create an incentive-based affiliate program to refer people to you. She also recommends seeking the advice of a mentor, coach, or consultant to guide you up the ladder of success.
Stuck in a comfort zone with success just out of your reach? Take the steps mentioned above to move out of your comfort zone to become an MVP.
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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