I was excited yesterday. My son was home for Christmas break from LSU and we were together to watch the Miami Dolphins game.
Ever since he was a little boy, we watched the games together almost every Sunday. Then he went off to college and one of my favorite traditions ended.
We were fired up because of the previous week’s “Miami Miracle” wear the Fins scored a last-second touchdown to beat the dreaded New England Patriots. But before we could blink, our beloved team was losing 21-0 in the first quarter. Miami ended up getting blown out 41-17 and for all intents and purposes lost any chance of making the playoffs.
The exhilarating win the week before and the drubbing yesterday reminded me of when I was fresh out of college selling radio advertising.
I had just made a big sale to a car dealership. I was flying high. The commission I was going to receive was sweet plus I had the bragging rights amongst the other salespeople.
The sales manager had a sheet of paper on his desk where the salespeople wrote down what they sold for the day. At the end of the day, he would read off the sales. I was top dog, baby.
I was living large. Basking in the glory of my big win but I quickly discovered that glory is fleeting.
The next day, I decided to rest on my laurels and not make as many sales calls and, as a result, I got shut out. I remember vividly what happened next.
The sales manager picked up the sheet from his desk to review the sales. He looked up at me, looked down at the sheet, looked up at me again and said, “What the hell are you doing out there? You sure ain’t f*#king selling nothing!”
Ouch.
Maybe you had a great 2018 and your sales were at an all-time high. If so, I congratulate you. You should celebrate your success but not for too long. 2o19 is right around the corner and if you’re not careful, your big wins in 2018 won’t amount to a hill of beans. Just ask my Miami Dolphins.
Make it a great week.
Dave “Licking His Wounds” Dee
P.S. On Friday, at 2:00 PM ET, I’m doing a live webinar I will share with you the secrets for creating a one-to-many sales presentations that close sales for you whether either in-person or online. This is the same teaching presentation that I did in Italy this year that earned me a standing ovation. You can reserve your spot here: