Planning for Success: Sales Development Part 2 – Lessons in Leadership

The previous post on Planning for Success introduced you to the idea of a Tactical Map and presented one of the benefits of creating such a map. In this post, we will discuss two more benefits. Sales development will be much easier when you use this highly effective tool.

Let’s jump right in.

Benefit #2:

Motivation is “internal” not “external.”

In order to achieve the plans you create for yourself it is extremely important you begin to visualize not only the end result but also the path you must travel to those achievements. Developing, consistently reviewing, visualizing, and, if needed, changing your written plans, allows you to make better decisions, effectively organize time use, and reduce stress.

We’ve learned over time that “if it’s going to be … it’s up to me!” We can’t count on others to be our motivators. It’s nice when it happens, but we are each in charge of our personal motivation. Visualizing and understanding the path in front of you, while completing the tasks you’ve envisioned to produce your chosen results, motivates you to keep pressing onward. A Tactical Map places the focus on internal motivation by helping you understand the course ahead of you.

But there is an additional value of Tactical Mapping, which shouldn’t be overlooked.

Benefit #3:

Anything you think about long enough and hard enough is bound to come true.

If you consistently think of good things, you receive good things. If you consistently think of bad things, it’s the bad things that manifest in your life.

As we’ve said, we’ve learned that we all need, at some level, personal and positive motivation in our lives. The trick is to find those motivators that can be sustained over time and not just “fire you up” and get you started. Too often people come up with great “ideas” only to have the ideas and the result fade away over time. You need a mechanism that allows you to stay focused and motivated during your journey. Working with Tactical Maps provides you with common and consistent motivation that helps you “stay the course” and achieve higher levels of chosen success. The journey detailed on your map can fill your thoughts.

According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, (The Relation of Strength of Stimulus to Rapidity of Habit Formation), too much or too little motivation can actually work against you in achieving your goals. Too much motivation and we tend to burn out too quickly. Too little motivation and we tend to become frustrated while waiting on longer term results. Tactical Mapping provides the appropriate amounts of stimulation and motivation in order to achieve the most profound short-term and long-term results. If your goal is to improve your selling skills or to learn consultative selling, for example,  a Tactical Map can help you identify the steps you can take to do so.