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How Good Habits Trump Good Intentions

Guest Post by Brian Royer - Strategic Sales Executive with Frontline Education • September 1, 2019

How Personal Structure in an Office Setting Leads to Efficiency

What you are about to read comes from over 20 years of sales experience…

For those of you that have your work and life balanced perfectly, or couldn't possibly be more efficient then I don't really think this piece will be of benefit to you, no need to continue. For everyone else who is working hard and still can’t figure out why things are tough, please read on.

Allow Me To Introduce Myself

My name is Brian Royer and I hope you’re tuned in. I write like I speak and I hold nothing back. My career started in NYC selling and then buying commercial airtime for NBC and then BBDO Worldwide respectively. Like many of my fellow sheep I worked 60-70 hours a week and let’s just say the pay was less than spectacular. Honestly at the time I didn’t really mind. I was 24, single and enjoying all the perks the Big Apple had to offer. What I didn’t know was that I was creating a blueprint for the person I am today, a 47-year-old separated father of 3 writing an article about good habits and motivation. At 24 what most don't know is that they lack the experience to make the right decisions that will impact their future but believe that with time on their side there is not much of a particular need yet to care.

So along the way I spent 20 years persuading and selling solutions/services for various companies. I’ve worked in the following fields: Advertising, Payroll, HR, Retirement Solutions, Medical Benefits, Website Design (PPC and SEO marketing), Talent Mgmt Software, Construction, Health and Fitness and I even owned my own bar/lounge. So what did I learn from all this various experience throughout the way? Well, I can say with 100% certainty that motivation should not be the KEY WORD in your plan towards success. Structure and Planning will trump motivation 99% of the time. For it's “BAD HABITS” that will destroy you and if you don’t start creating “GOOD HABITS” you’ll always be worrying about the “NOW” instead of enjoying the “FUTURE”. If you aren't establishing small goals to bridge you to your big goals and building structure around your plan to achieve these goals then you will live on a glorious plateau and never reach the mountain top.

Motivation vs Structure

You’re probably like, what’s this guy talking about? How can motivation not be the key ingredient to my success or failure? Every Talent Acquisition Specialist duing the interview process will ask, “What Motivates You?” Almost everyone answers the question in the same generic fashion and for that reason, I’m telling you it’s the wrong question to be asking. Corporate America loves things they can sell. Words are no exception. With the right words, you can get anyone to do anything. The problem with the word “Motivation”, in my opinion is that one’s motivation can change in an instant, allowing a person to become distracted from their current task at hand. So I ask, what is more important, your motivation or the plan and structure put in place to help you reach success?

Channeling My Inner Timothy Ferris

For example: a young man or woman is sitting at their desk making their morning calls and 5 mins into dialing they get an email alert from an irate client demanding an explanation about something. Fearful of losing the client, the employee stops dialing and emails the client back. After a few emails, the employee calls the client and begins an hour-long conversation about what happened and who is to blame; all the while ignoring their allotted time to prospect. Does this mean that the employee is a good employee because their answered a client question promptly or does it mean they are a bad employee since they did not make any dials during their blocked time? It’s neither if you ask me. It does illustrate how important little “good” habits are and how your motivation can distract you from the task at hand. The employee’s motivation was to make dials initially, but after seeing the email alert their motivation changed to protecting their client. Now I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have addressed the client’s concerns, but……What if the employee turned off their email for 1 hr and allowed that 60 mins to be spent prospecting? Do you really think the client was going to leave if they didn’t get a reply within 1 hr.? I sincerely doubt it. After they make their dials and hopefully set a few appointments, now they can email the client back and address their needs. The point is that if you create a lifestyle with simple good habits no matter how small those habits might be, the likelihood of becoming distracted and not achieving your goals will go down drastically in my opinion.

How To Get Started With Structure

So, how do you start? The easiest thing to do is make a list. Yes, make a list. Put things down on paper so you can see it. Say what you are going to do that day and then go and do it. For instance, start tomorrow by waking up and getting ready for work like you would normally do. Allow yourself 15 mins to sit down and write 5-7 things you want to accomplish that day. Don’t make a huge list. Start small so you can get some “wins”.

For example:

1. Make 20 dials to totally new prospects and find out 3 things about the company at a minimum

2. Visit 2 clients and ask what they like/dislike about the business relationship

3. Ask for 2 referrals (one from each client, providing they are happy and willing to give you one)

4. Coffee/lunch with 1 business partner (Broker, Banker, CPA etc)

5. Set at least 1 appt that day. (may require you to dial more)

6. Go to Gym

7. Call your parents

8. Help someone you don’t know.

Notice that they are not all work related. This isn’t just about your job, it’s about becoming a better person both professionally and personally. You’d be surprised how much satisfaction you get out of crossing things off your list. The feeling of personal satisfaction is fantastic. After doing this for a month I realized that I was treating people better and getting more things done in a shorter period of time. My relationship with my kids got stronger and my outlook on life took a turn for the better. I’m not saying this will fix everything and everyone, but It has made a tremendous difference in my life and more importantly the people I interact with on a daily basis.