Is your road to success under construction?

Is your road to success under construction?

We are all in control of our own sales and marketing efforts and the success that comes from those efforts.  At times it might not feel like it, especially when you hit roadblocks, ruts and potholes. If your road to success is under constant construction, it becomes harder to navigate toward success and make any progress. If you’re resistant to change and the behaviors that create wealth, it will be difficult, if not impossible to be successful.

Sure, it would be easy for you to blame the economy for low sales volume and decreased revenue, but you still only have one choice. Either you’re taking action toward fixing it or you’re stuck in the resistance to change it. You choose how long your road to success stays under repair.

I encounter this type of resistance when working with clients and companies. They’re certain that the economy and their customers are to blame and don’t see how their actions and behaviors are playing a part. They avoid what they know they should be doing in order to grow their business. They justify the inaction and make excuses. When you make excuses and repeat them often enough, they become a belief. The belief then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I hear a lot of excuses, such as; too tired, too busy, too difficult, no money, bad economy, my customers want the lowest price and the competition is cheaper. The list goes on, but the theme is the same.  Their self-imposed roadblocks keep getting in the way.

If your road to success is under repair and filled with potholes, you need to take a look at what you can do about it. Resistance comes in the form of excuses, reasons, justifications and procrastinations. You can either get stuck in them and buy into them. Or you can navigate around them so you get on your way to achieving the success you desire.

Are you spending more time and energy coming up with creative reasons why you’re not selling, rather than taking the actions that would generate immediate income? You know you should make a few more calls, contact a few more people on your list or follow-up on a project you’re working on. But, you know all too well what happens, you don’t.

Procrastination sets in and becomes the daily theme of your business. Procrastination is a choice. We all have the same number of hours in a day – we just choose to spend them differently. If something is really important to you, you’ll find the time and you’ll act upon it immediately. I talk to business owners who convince themselves that they’re too busy to expend energy in the most important part of their business.  Sales! Yes, sales are the one area where they can create immediate revenue and produce results.

The best professionals guard against procrastination. They work hard with discipline to insure that every day is spent as effectively as possible. They recognize the temptation to procrastinate and build tools, practices and disciplines into their routines to prevent themselves from falling prey to it.

Instead of searching for additional excuses that justify mediocre performance, start keeping track of your default excuses and try to uncover the areas where you could continue to improve. Become fully accountable to your success. Be honest with yourself about where you succeed and thrive as well as where you still need work.  Are you open for business or closed for construction?