The first step to being successful is wanting success. Success does not happen by chance. Success will not magically happen. Success takes lots of hard work. And you have to want it.
It is surprising how may people come to my workshops and never intend to do the work it takes to get better. They simply are not willing. To get better you have to want it. If you are happy with what you have been getting you might not even want to get better.
Want it. Do it. Get it.
In my training classes, I always ask the participants if they want more than what they have now. They all respond with “yes.” Every one of them wants more. More toys. More vacations. More Christmas gifts for their family. More money for their children’s college. More income.
The amazing thing is that it doesn’t take long to realize that about half of them are not willing to do the work to get better… to get the things they and their family want and deserve. It takes grit and hard work to change. To earn more you must change. If you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you’ve always gotten. That’s a fact! In order to get better, you have to change. In order to change you have to put in the work. Change is hard. Change is a lot of work. Change will only take place when you want different results than you have been getting from your efforts.
You have to want the better things for yourself and your family. People who need to quit drinking or doing drugs will never quit until they decide that that is what they truly want. People who need to lose weight will never truly diet, exercise and lose the weight and keep it off unless they really want it. You have to want it so bad that you are willing to put in the work and change how and what you do. Change also means you will need to give up some things that you don’t want to give up because you need that time to learn, study and practice. Change isn’t usually fun, but do you want something so bad you are willing to make sacrifices? You better be.
Then you have to do it. Make the effort to change the actions—the words you use, the activities—and start studying daily to get better. Change takes a lot of effort. Make a plan and set goals for your transformation.
Use the SMART Goal technique:
· S – Be specific. Outside of just making more money, talk with your family and decide what should be in your budget. Then make a stretch goal for even more than that.
· M - Set a very specific monetary income goal and decide how you will achieve it daily.
· A – Make sure your goals are achievable. If you set goals that are not realistic you will fail. Set goals high but make sure it is possible. Don’t set yourself up to fail.
· R – Realistic (but high). Don’t set goals that are too low. You can do this. Shoot for the stars. Just don’t shoot for a faraway galaxy that is unrealistic.
· T – Set a timeframe for completion. Set a one-year goal to start with. Longer than that gets a lot of people in trouble because they are not seeing enough results, it is spread out over too long a time. Keep it tight.
Next, find an accountability partner. If you have ever tried to quit something, you know that if you don’t tell anyone, no one knows that you failed and you can go right back to doing it. No big deal. But when you tell someone, it creates accountability—“if you see me doing that I want you to kick my butt.” Find someone who will hold you accountable and help you get better too. Finding someone at a training class that is designed to help you earn more money is a great way to get better. Class participants who learn new techniques just like you—people who can help you, and you can help them—will be better than your friend who doesn’t understand what it takes to help you get better.
Then, get to a class. There are many choices of workshops, training sessions and seminars that can give you the tools you need to earn more income. Pay the entrance fee, go to the class and pay attention. And don’t just take one class. Get to as many as you can until you find what works for you. You will learn something at every class that will help you, but you have to get involved, do the homework and practice. Then commit to learn something new every day. Study your products. Read installation and instruction manuals. Google products, services and techniques you hear about from others you work with and your customers. If you want to earn more money, it will take real dedication. Do it!
Get it! You have to get the fact that if you keep doing what you’ve been doing you will keep getting what you’ve been getting. Do you get the reality that you have to work hard to get better? You have to put in the time and effort to be able to do the things that you and your family want and deserve.
People just like you are making six figures and more with the same customers you have. How? Dedication to a process.
Classes, workshops, seminars, accountability partners, goals and hard work. Work is hard but when you get really good at what you do, it ceases being hard. It can actually be fun.
It’s all up to you. No one but you can affect a change in your results. When you want it, you’ll do what it takes to get better and when that happens you’ll get the results you deserve.
Are you ready to take the plunge and begin your mindset and self-improvement training in earnest? Visit EGIA.org/CBS-Mindset to download a free mindset training package complete with an online course, mindset training video and webinar, and much more!—just a small sample of the on-demand and live training materials and classes EGIA Contractor University has to offer.
Mike Treas brings experience in the contracting industry as a sales manager and comfort advisor for one of the largest and most well-respected residential heating and air conditioning contractors in the United States. He has personally worked with hundreds of contracting companies across North America conducting training and consulting in the areas of sales, sales management, business management, customer service and technician lead generation training. His background consists of 35 years in sales and sales management bringing expertise, knowledge, techniques and strategies proven in the contracting industry to increase sales. He is an EGIA Contractor University faculty member.