I have often reminded my people that “consistency is currency”. Those that have a clear and well thought out plan, applied consistently over time, and evaluated and adjusted based on results, spend less time thinking about what makes them money, and actually doing what makes them money. It’s a very simple thought that appears obvious, but isn’t as obvious as you would think.
One of the key components of consistency is persistence. Often people stop making the effort, right before that effort would have achieved the desired outcome. Sometime, people aren’t really clear about what they are trying to accomplish and the message they are presenting over time, and they don’t make adjustments and fail to reach the target.
Persistence to me means, you think the plan out clearly, put forward a schedule of actions associated with the target; and then have an expectation of the results over time. After all, if we aren’t clear about what we are going to do, when we are going to do it, and what we expect from the effort, how do we know if we have succeeded?
Coaching people for as long as I have, you get to see it all. Some people do the work and see results right away. Other people do the work and are a little slower to gain traction, but find their footing and go on to be successful. But a vast majority of people either don’t do the work, or give up on the process too soon. Now, as a coach, you can’t actually make people do the work; but you can coax them along to keep trying and making the effort. Those people, the ones that struggle at the start but remain committed to their success and the belief in what they are doing; they are the success stories that are most meaningful to me.
Now clearly I don’t believe that working the wrong plan or a flawed system will work over the long haul. Clearly it won’t. But following the paths of those who have come before us and been successful, you are very likely to succeed, if your plan is well thought out, your schedule is reasonable, and you work that plan over time, you will very likely reach the desired destination!
Every week I have clients who want to give up on an idea or a potential referral partner. Each time I ask them what their plan is, what the time frame was, and what the expectations are? Often, it’s just being consistent and persistent that generates the desired result. In fact, very early on I had a friend that was working renters via direct mail. When he told me about his plan and what he was going to do, I thought it was a very practical plan. He met with a company that was going to handle the mailings for him and shared it was only 20% more to execute his mailings for a year than it was for six months. He agreed to the one year deal.
About five months into the mailings I saw him again and asked him how it was going? He told me that he thought it was the biggest waste of money and that he was so upset of being “sold” on spending the extra money for the year instead of the six months. I told him that he had already spent the money, just see how it goes. That sometimes you need more repetitions to make an impression. A few months after that he called me to let me know that he received his first few deals from the marketing he was doing and that he was likely going to make a tidy profit on the investment. Each month after, the deals kept coming in! In fact, to this day some twenty years later, he is still doing the mailings and still generating a steady flow of opportunities!
Had my friend stopped at the six month mark, his investment would have been a total loss! Because he was committed for a longer period of time than he thought he needed, he ended up making a profit and building a steady stream of business year after year! All because he was “sold” on and extra six months! That extra 20% investment was the difference. A HUGE difference!
Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com or connect with us online at http://imtcoaching.com
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