Who Are You Really Competing Against?

Sports newscasts typically talk about the upcoming games of the day.

They say things like, “this pitcher is going against that pitcher”, “this quarterback is matched up against that quarterback”, or, “this coach is playing that coach.”

The announcers pit one person against the other person even though these people NEVER compete directly against one another. The pitcher is pitching against the team. The quarterback NEVER sees the other quarterback across the line of scrimmage. The coaches are NEVER on the field fighting against each other.

The same can be said for every salesperson; there’s only one person you are competing against every sales day. It’s you!

If you truly want to beat your competition, you’ll first need to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Compete With Who You Were Yesterday

You are the only person that matters in the game of sales. Too often, salespeople look at the rankings and judge themselves against other salespeople on their team, in their company, or even on LinkedIn.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to be competitive. A little competition can actually be healthy for us. Competition drives us and gets our juices flowing. But we tend to get it all wrong when we think about just who we’re competing with. Instead of other people, you need to be competing with who you were yesterday.

How to Win Every Single Day

Here’s what I mean.

If you only focus on beating your “yesterday self”, you’ll win more often. You will incrementally get better because you’ll be focusing on the traits and practices that YOU need to improve upon each day.

For example, if you made twenty phone calls yesterday, your mindset should be to make twenty-one calls today. That one extra call each day could mean the difference between a mediocre commission check or a life-changing one.

Be Better Than You Were Yesterday

Try this: At the end of each day, spend five minutes summarizing your activity for the day. Write it down and post it so that it’s the first thing you see in the morning. When the new day arrives, focus on beating your activity from the day before.

Each time you do, cross it off the list. Repeat this every day and before you know it, your productivity will go through the roof.

Not Just For Your Sales Day

By the way, this rule applies to other areas of your life, too, not just activity your sales day. You can incrementally improve in any area of your desire— reading a book, taking a walk, smiling at people, spending time with friends and family, etc. 

Your mission every single day is to beat your competition (and newsflash— it’s not the guy in the cubicle next door).

Check out the Sales Gravy Podcast for more tips on sales productivity. On a recent episode, Jeb Blount and Jennifer Smith, CEO of Scribe, give you tips and tactics for working smarter, dealing with repetitive tasks that slow you down, and getting more done in less time with better outcomes.