Motivation is a word we often use in life, from the root word motive: to impel a person to a certain action or emotion. Most of my younger years were spent around sports, and I often heard the word. As an athlete, I tried to find things to motivate me.
There are several similarities between playing sports and selling insurance. To be a good athlete, you have to self-motivate, and the insurance business is no different. You sometimes have to make yourself do what you don't want to do!
For example, basketball players go through an unreal amount of running to get in top shape for games, and if a player take a couple days off, it shows. Similarly in sales, when you get into a groove and the machine is running well, taking time off affects your ability to get back in the groove.
I remember my main motivation was wanting to make the team. One thing that really stood out to me was seeing the older athletes in their letterman jackets. I'd go to the sporting good stores and feel the leather sleeves, and wonder how long it would be until I could wear one. I would see the star athletes with letters and achievements all over their jackets and to me it just said, "I am a stud!"
Now, I don't know what happened to letterman jackets and why athletes today don't wear them anymore, but they are missing the boat. The point of the letterman jacket is that it was a huge motivational tool for young athletes.
Find out what motivates you; for some, it's just being among the top sales leaders. For others, it might be incentive trips.
Personally, I always set a list of goals to accomplish at the beginning of each year. I write out a list of things I want to buy or accomplish through my business over the next 12 months. That list goes on the refrigerator, and I cross off my goals when I reach them.
I hope you find the letterman jacket that motivates you to be a varsity player and that you surprise yourself with what you can accomplish if you will just lay out some goals.
Happy selling!
What motivates you? Share it below!
