If you’ll learn more, and then go to work to work harder and work smarter than anybody else will, you’ll earn more than anybody else can, for the rest of your life!

Salespeople and managers always ask me about what I think it takes to really succeed in sales (or in any other business). The answer is surprisingly simple, if you think about it:

 Always Work Hard

And Always Work Smart

That’s simple enough ... and in real life almost everyone reading this has worked “hard” before and most people are pretty “smart” overall, but there’s a catch, there’s a word missing…

Sustained Hard, Smart Work

 Again, a lot of people work hard and smart, they just don’t do it long enough to have much of an impact.

I worked with a guy who sold 7 or 8 cars a month and made $2,500. His wife needed an operation, they didn’t have insurance and needed $12,000 right away. So what did he do? He worked real hard and real smart and made the extra money the next month. And then what did he do after the bill was paid?

Exactly, he stopped working hard, he stopped working smart and went back to his 8-car, $2,500 comfort zone. But as soon as the motivator (fear / hate / love / need / hunger / ego / pleasure) is gone, almost everybody lacks the conditioning and determination to keep on going.

Like building your stamina to run up 20 flights of stairs one flight at a time, you build your stamina to work harder and smarter the same way. You may only make it up one flight at a time the first day, but if you keep stretching yourself, before long, the 20 flights that were initially impossible, are now something you do.

I never said work longer. I am not talking about working bell-to-bell every day or working all of your days off. For my first 5 years I sold about 8 units a month and worked 12 hour shifts. One day I finally realized I was just a 4-car guy working two shifts so I quit selling cars. Then I learned to sell, got back in the car business and made more money in 7 months than in my first 5 years combined – and you can, too.

I learned how to sell, close, negotiate, follow up, prospect, use the phone and get organized so I could work smart every day, and I’ve increased my personal income every year since then.

Smart without hard still isn’t enough, though. It’s about stamina again! You have to learn how to go to work to work every single day – not just when you feel like it or when you need the money.

Anybody can work hard & smart for a day, most can put in several good days of work in a row. Many can put in a solid month, a few can duplicate a solid hard & smart month, month after month. But when you really get down to the wire, only a few have the skills, determination, and the discipline it takes to work hard & smart long enough to make it a life-long habit.

And here’s the best part...If you’ll work harder and smarter than anyone else will for just five years – you’ll build such stamina and momentum and you’ll have developed yourself, your skills and your self confidence to such a high degree – that you’ll make more and achieve more for the rest of your life than almost anyone else can.

To work smart – you need skills!

After 5 years of double shifts and not much to show for it, I quit and started a business. When I did, I also realized I better learn how to sell my products or I knew I’d fail there, too. I bought books and started learning more about how to sell, close, follow up, prospect, set goals, use the phone, get organized, get commitments, do the paperwork, negotiate and everything else that had to do with “selling”.

From 8 to 38 units a month – For 5 years I explained to anybody who’d listen why selling more wasn’t my fault and why I had no control over it. Do this instead and totally believe one thing: You have total control over your career in sales if you take charge. If you will, and then if you’ll go to work to work – you’ll sell more and earn more than anybody else can.