Over the summer, I wrote a blog titled “Day 1 = Complete” about my then 13-year-old son Zach. If you missed it, the gist is that we all need to be willing to do the hard work necessary to achieve whatever it is we truly want.

All too often, we will lie to ourselves, trying to convince ourselves we want something less, something easier to achieve. Instead, we all need to take ownership of whatever it is we really want and then go out, one day at a time, and make it happen.

In that post, I shared how Zach was struggling in making the commitment to play football, that the daily practices, and the intensity of those practices, were a bit of a concern for him as to whether or not he was ready. But, after thinking about what he really wanted, he decided to go out and get started, one workout at a time.

Well, he has moved beyond his self-directed workouts and joined a sports-related workout program. They work with the kids on overall fitness levels, but also do some sport-specific training. It’s a great program; they work the boys really, really hard, but do so in a way that is fun.

As he and I were leaving yesterday’s workout, he made some interesting comments.

• He commented on how working hard like that made him think about his fitness and diet the rest of the week.
• He commented that having someone watching and pushing him made him work harder during the session. (He figures he probably gets as much out of that hour as he would in 2 or 3 hours on his own.)
• He commented that he would feel guilty if he missed a workout, especially during the hour when he knew he was supposed to be working out.

What great lessons for us as salespeople!

Even an hour of focus per week has an effect on how we behave the rest of the week.

We all talk about finding time to work “on” our business versus just showing up every day and working “in” the business. I think Zach’s workout is the equivalent of our “on” time. During his sessions, they work on endurance, strength training, agility, and discuss nutrition. That weekly hour of focused time spent working “on” overall fitness has an impact on how he behaves the rest of the week.

Think of how powerful it would be if you took even one hour to work on your business’s equivalents: pipeline development, sales process practice, business acumen, marketing, etc. If you spent an hour of focused “on” time each week, every other hour would be more effective as a result.

We all work harder when we know someone is watching.

For Zach, he knows he works harder because the trainer is there pushing him, correcting him, and encouraging him. Of course, the natural competition of working out with other kids also helps.

We need this to improve our sales fitness as well. Someone in the agency needs to be the trainer: structuring practice sessions, pushing producers to new levels of performance, suggesting improvements, and encouraging the effort and progress. If this role doesn’t exist, producers can do it for one another.

If producers are anything, they’re competitive. Leverage that competitive spirit in the office during practice sessions, but don’t stop there. If having a trainer’s eye, or the competitive eye of a peer, makes them better in practice, use that in the field as well. If a producer knows a sales manager or another producer is going to be following along, I promise they will be better prepared in front of a prospect and execute at a higher level.

Make your “on” time so valuable that you feel guilty if it’s missed.

The only way to ensure a continued commitment to working “on” your business, to making it stronger and giving it endurance, is to push yourself hard. Plan ahead as to what your focus is going to be in your next session. Some sessions you may want to work on “foundational issues” and spend time working on pipeline development/progression. Other times, it may be your equivalent of “strength training.” This may mean video recording your presentation and then asking a team member to review it with you and offer feedback.

The key is to leave your “on” time session having pushed yourself to some new limit, but, more importantly, leave knowing you are better prepared for success as a result.

It’s sort of like Zach waking the day after an aggressive workout. He “complains” about being a little sore, but it’s obvious he is wearing that soreness with pride. Pride that he pushed himself hard and can feel that he is a little stronger as a result.

You can have that same sense of pride and accomplishment in your professional fitness. You just have to ask yourself, “How badly do I really want it?”