Peer Pressure Kills More Careers Than Anything Else

There are a ton of salespeople and managers who want to be better and know they can. They want to be more successful, but they’re afraid to step out of the huddle – they’re afraid of what their peers will think.

It doesn’t take a college degree to know that if you don’t do the things you have to do to become successful – you can’t become more successful. And the reasons don’t matter.

The real shame is that most people who do want to become more successful blow their opportunity because they’re too concerned about other people liking them. ‘Like’ could be important if those people they were concerned about were the straight-shooter pros everyone looks up to. But when you toss a career away in something as lucrative as selling cars all because some lazy, juvenile, negative salesperson wants to keep you down in their little world, wake up – it just hurts you and it will ruin your success.

How can you tell if this article is about you?

1. When you’re in a training meeting, or training online with other salespeople around, and you have a question about the training you want to ask, do you ...

   • Ask your question

   • Don’t ask because the peer group will give you grief

2. When you read an article that really makes sense...

   • Do you actually get involved and take notes, do you set goals and create plans? Or...

   • Do not rate your skills and do not set goals or write your plans on how to improve because you worry about some dummy or negative person you work with, who’s headed nowhere, will make fun of you for actually trying to improve.

3. When you read about a script on follow up, prospecting, closing or some other skill you know would increase your sales, do you...

   • Write it out and practice

   • Not write it out, and not practice because you’re afraid the clueless guy will give you more grief

4. When you’re working a deal and you know you could make it if you just had some help, do you...

   • Go ask the salesperson or manager who could close it to help you out so you can make the deal

   • Try to tough it out and walk away from a commission you’re pretty sure you could have had, because you don’t want other people to think you’re too weak

5. When someone else is trying to improve, do you...

   • Support them

   • Snicker, snort and do other stupid stuff just so that the other ‘stupid stuff’ people will still like you

6. After missing sales you know you could make if you just learned more, and did more; when you go home do you...

   • Tell your family the truth about why you didn’t

   • Make up excuses so they won’t be disappointed in you

7. Last question: do you go to work to...

   • Make a living

   • Impress a bunch of people who are going nowhere

Remember the 20/80 rule? Only 20% of the people do what it takes to succeed. The rest carefully explain why they can’t or don’t. Remember, too, that 20% of the salespeople in the car business, take home 80% of the commissions earned. Which group do you want to be in?