bonuses

Whether you realized it, or not, you are in sales. How dare I say that? Isn’t sales a grimy and nasty word? I shared that same feeling, not that long ago. I’d hear advertisements for “salary based sales staff” and “non-commissioned consultants” and think that this was a benefit. To me, I took it to mean I was getting someone who wouldn’t be pushy and who wouldn’t use tricks to swindle me out of my hard-earned money and sell me more than I wanted. Little did I realize, I was the problem.

That hard-earned money was truly hard-earned! At that point in my life, I was an employee, trading my time for money. It didn’t matter how hard I worked, my pay was based not upon my abilities, nor was it my performance. My pay was based solely on the amount of my precious time I gave, in exchange for a predetermined number of dollars per hour. If you recall my last post, Win Your Day, Win Your Life, you’ll recall that I value my finite days on this planet… and the hours! What my government job didn’t offer me was performance based pay and passive income. I had no clue what I was missing out on.

Lured by the promise of a pension, a benefits package, and modest pay, I entered a career in public service, like many others, because it seemed safe and it earned the respect of my parents and grandparents. I was taught at a young age that salaries and pensions were safe. Before I lose you and you blow up my comment feed, I am not condoning we all work for commission and contracts. Some have different priorities and to be honest, there are still jobs I would accept a salary to do.

Remember back at the beginning when I said we were all in sales? What was that all about? Yes, you, are in sales. Even if you’re not, you are. You sold yourself to a human resources panel to get your job and you’ve sold yourself to your manager at every raise you’ve received and at each time you’ve reconciled a disciplinary complaint. If you are dating or married, you’ve sold yourself to your mate and every person you’ve dated. If you have a friend, you sold them too!

We all have the ability to earn performance based pay. It may require ingenuity and outside of the box thinking, however, you too can earn more for your effort and retain more of your time. If you don’t believe me, I don’t expect you to. I would, however, encourage you to read The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. He provides a great roadmap to maximize your time by reducing the wasted hours and to get your required work completed quickly, thus liberating you from 40+ hour workweeks.

If you are already in sales (I know… everyone is) and you are earning commissions or contracts, you too can increase the fruits of your labor. It requires purposeful attention to the sources of your business. How do you earn money? From where does your business come? The answers to these questions will present you with your lead sources. Leads are the life blood of your business. You must always cultivate new leads if you are to build your business. This will require intentional focus on the most fruitful lead generation activities, time blocking, and the removal of all distractions standing between you and your next paycheck.

If you’re not certain where your next sale is coming from or if it has been too long since your last raise (cost of living increases do not count), it may be time to sharpen your sales skills. Salesman, saleswoman, and salesperson are not bad names. I’m proud to be a salesman and you should be too! It’s time to sell our next client or boss on the value we bring. You are worth top dollar and you deserve to retain as much of your time as you choose, all-the-while achieving your goals!

Let’s commit never to settle for mediocre pay or unfavorable hours! If you’re ready to take command of your day and your pay, reach out to me and also pick up TIm Ferris’ book. Finally, keep an eye out for an upcoming lead generation class I’m teaching, in August! Until then, go make a sale!