Small steps can make many kilometres

Hi [name] and welcome to your Weekly Salestip from Ian Keightley @ Salescoach for [date]

Small steps add up to many kilometres if you take enough of them

Sometimes when you haven't seen an old friend for a while you get a big surprise when you get to meet them again after a gap of several years.

Because of the reach of our database now, we often receive calls from old friends who touch base with us again because someone has sent them one of our Weekly Tips or Newsletters. Last week I had a call from an old school friend who suggested we catch up. I hadn't seen Bruce for about 15 years and last time I saw him he was about 150kg. I was not expecting to meet the "new" Bruce - in fact I almost missed him because he had changed so much.

He was looking very fit and trim - said he now weighed about 73 kg. Bruce told me he had run 2 marathons and was now working on his swimming and cycling and planning a triathlon.  When I last knew Bruce he hated walking - and now triathlons!

Bruce told me his story - high blood pressure, sore knees, mild heart attack - all the usual warnings and after seeing the likely path his then lifestyle was taking him, Bruce decided to change.  On day 1 Bruce walked to the 10th power pole from his letterbox and back again. After a week of this, he added a power pole a day until he was walking 10 km. He then started to jog the first 10 power poles and the last ten on his 10km walk. Each day he added another pole until he was jogging the whole 10 km. Bruce had also changed his diet - not in one big turnaround - He started with healthy Monday's and over a period of 3 months added a day every two weeks until all 7 days were healthy.

When he started Bruce had no intention of running 1 marathon, let alone 2. In fact if Bruce had thought then that he would be doing these things and now be this weight, he probably wouldn't have started at all.  Bruce did however take the first step and then another, then another. Rather than making a wholesale change that was both physically and mentally impossible for Bruce, he made small changes every day and the result is HUGE.

Business is a bit like that - this is a market that is demanding change - asking more of us - challenging our traditional activity and thinking. Changing everything all at once could mean no business at all. Making small incremental changes every day may be the best way to make a huge difference. Take a look at your business and see what you can change today, no matter how small, and make another small change each day this week. Watch the changes compound for you. The risk is that if we don't see the change as big enough we may make no change at all, when in reality the sum of the small changes makes a huge difference.  

Quote for the Week

"Things do not change. We change"

Henry David Thoreau

ONLY ONE WEEK TO GO  TO REGISTER  for my 3 DAY REAL ESTATE PERFORMANCE ACADEMY  IN AUCKLAND  - JULY 21 - 22 - 23,  Log on to  www.salescoach.co.nz. Still places available.

My $20 for 2 hours in Auckland attracted 500 sales people and managers  and we released a 2 CD set of Strategies and Dialogues for Tougher Markets - ONLY $40 gst incl. We sold out in minutes and are running another production run this week. We are also doing a final edit of another 2 CD set on Winning Listing Presentations - also $40.

Order yours today at http://www.salescoach.co.nz and we will forward it freight free in NZ. Every office should have this set.   

Here is a shot from the Seminar on July 1st, 2008.

The 2 Hours for $20 is also being presented in

Wellington - Tuesday 19th August  10am - 12.30pm

Christchurch - Wednesday 20th August - 10am - 12.30pm.

Rotorua - Wednesday 27th August - 10am - 12.30pm

Book on-line today. These three dates are already looking very popular. 

Well [name] - have a truly positive week.

Have fun, make money and friends