Be unmeasurable

You know, you can measure a man up pretty quickly if you know the point where he’ll quit…

where when it gets hard, he quits & turns back.

But what about the man who just keeps showing back up? Who keeps driving? Who keeps pulling himself back up?

🔥How do you measure the “unmeasurable?”

You know, if you think about it, when someone says, “I didn’t know you had it in you!” That’s because when you walked into the hard…when you walked into the heaviness…

they tried to measure you up…

They pulled out the tape and they thought to themselves, “THIS is the point where he’s going to quit…give up & turn back.”

And when you kept going…

…and made something out of nothing

🔥that’s the point where you became unmeasurable

Be unmeasurable every day…

Where you’re willing to keep coming back,

go another round,

& lay another brick.

Where you’re willing to hang in there another minute, another hour, another damn day.

To push beyond yesterday’s “far.”

To stretch beyond yesterday’s “hard.”

To make yesterday’s “finish line” today’s starting line.

Unbothered of the obstacles…

Unmindful of how close or how far away you are from the goal…

Just unmeasurable…

~Stay in The Sales Life 💪

You’re good…as of today

Whatever is considered “Best in the World” today is going to be obsolete tomorrow.

Technology is changing…

& if technology is changing so are tendencies…

& if tendencies are changing, so must your techniques.

Oh I get the fact that you’re all that and a bag of hot Funyuns…

You’ve exceeded your wildest expectations…

Making more money than you would’ve ever dreamed of…

You’re good….as of today.

🔥”Laurel” may be a good name for your dog or daughter…

🔥but it’s not a good strategy for your life.

When Kareem Abdul Jabbar broke the NBA all time scoring record, Wilt Chamberlain said, “Had I known anyone would come close to breaking the record I would’ve put it out of sight…”

Laurels…

Wilt was good…as of that “today.”

The sad thing is he knew there was more…

Even sadder is, he could’ve put it out of sight…

but didn’t.

Setting the record made him the “Best in the World….”

🔥Had he kept going…he could’ve been the best ever.

Oh you’re good…as of today.

~Stay in The Sales Life 💪

“Unbelievable” right?

“Unbelievable” right?

You see a salesperson who seems to create deals out of thin air…

He revives what looks dead & creates magic.

…all you can say is “Unbelievable!”

& you’re right…

🔥It’ll always be unbelievable until you test the believable for yourself.

Boldness is disguised as “crazy…”

You say, “There’s no way I could say or do that…”

Saying that you’ll forever be banging away at average.

🔥Take their unbelievability & make it your own.

When you feel the urge to pull up…

Push forward…

Initially it’ll all come out wrong…

You won’t say it right & will probably do it even worse…

But keep testing it…

Over & over…

& the more you test…pushing & repackaging…

The “Un” will drop of the “Believable.”

You’ll stand in amazement & be proud…

Not because they did it…

Because you did it….by yourself.

“unBELIEVABLE” right?

Not anymore.

Stay in The Sales Life 💪

_______________________

🔥Subscribe to 400+ episodes of The Sales Life w/ Marsh Buice podcast on iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app & learn on the go.

AND

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There’s an unedited version too

It may take me 10+ takes to make a 2 min video…

The same is true when I’m recording my podcast…

Some days are tougher than others because I just can’t get what I want to convey to flow right.

But you don’t see all of that…

You only see what I want you to see…

The edited version.

But there’s an unedited version too…

It’s full of takes & retakes; stumbling & slurs; trips & cursing rants.

I get pissed off…

then I get focused.

I try again…

and again…

and again.

Until the final version reveals itself.

All of the jumbled thoughts & efforts become refined and simplified through the try after try after try.

If you thought I was still talking about videos & podcasts you’d be misled.

I’m talking about Life.

Life is full of miscues, redo’s, rants, stumbles, and stalls.

You only see the edited version-the one others want you to see.

But there’s an unedited version too.

ALL of us have an unedited version.

So what you wish, envy, gawk, & wow about are edits.

It’s the version they want you to see.

You see the results…

but what you don’t see is what it took to get there.

The unedited version.

Everyone has an unedited version & I keep telling you this because I want you to realize that what you’re attempting to improve or change in your Life will not be accomplished in one take.

So don’t compare other people’s screens to your lens.

Their screen is the results.

Your lens is your effort & if you keep looking through your lens hoping to see their screen you’ll quit too soon.

Because you’re still editing.

It can be frustrating to see others vacationing while you’re figuring out how to pay the rent.

It can be overwhelming for him to be publishing his 7th book and you’re just trying to write one page.

Damn right it’s hard to show up at the gym in a size XXL and workout next to a slim, fit medium.

The new house, luxury ride, best schools, or padded bank accounts …

That’s the highlight reel.

Don’t compare their reels, highlighting their life, to your life, low-lighting your real fights, bouts, struggles, deficits, & adversity.

Just like you, they have an unedited version too.

You don’t know their full story…

Besides…their story ain’t your path.

What you see from them is possible…

but it’s not all that’s available.

Keep editing. Your screen is coming.

Stay in The Sales Life.

-Marsh

Catch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Sales Life with Marsh Buice podcast. You can find it on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play

It‘s not called First Replier

Million dollar real estate broker Ryan Serhant observed that one reason why you may not be finding success is because you are replying and not responding. In this automated, ever-growing commoditized world, your greatest asset as a sales person is differentiating yourself by responding instead of replying.

In this automated, ever-growing commoditized world, your greatest asset as a sales person is differentiating yourself by responding instead of replying.

We salespeople often reply when the customer we’re currently working with is the cherry to our crap-filled month. Nothing’s been going right & no one is buying, so it’s no surprise this one isn’t either. While everyone around you seems to be swimming in deals, you just so happened to have caught the one picky customer who has NO CLUE what they want; or the customer who seems to be 11 yrs out from buying; or the customer who you just don’t seem to jive with… In defense, we shut down mentally and lay up lame ass replies to their questions & concerns. Replies are words placed in the right order, said at the right time, yet void of any emotion.

We had a customer come in recently who was all busted up. Her life was turned upside down. She left her abusive husband while he left her with bad credit and a repo’d car. Obviously she was an emotional soup-crying, confused, & no idea what to do from here. A tuned out salesperson would’ve pulled her credit & replied with, “Sorry, your credit is too bad I can’t help you,” but a tuned-in salesperson would respond by saying, “Look, your credit has taken some hits, so which family member can we get on the phone right now, to get you back on track? Today is going to be your new birthday!” The responding salesperson aligned with her emotional state & offered a specific course of action.

Think about it…they’re not called First Repliers, they’re called First Responders because they come onto the scene, asses the situation, & work to get you to safety. Customers need that from you. They come in with a range of emotions & need you to asses and respond in a way that aligns with their emotions & the results they need to see. The one they do business with is the one who responds best.

That might as well be you. 😉

I’ll see you in the Sales Life.

⭐️ Catch The Sales Life with Marsh Buice podcast. You can find it on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play

Stop Apologizing

In his book, “Lose Well,” comedian Chris Gethard  writes,

“When we decide we want to shift the standard of our life to include something new and out of the box, we tend to spend a lot of time apologizing for it and justifying it. People we encounter express incredulity and we scramble to downplay the quest we’re setting out on.”

A’int that the truth…

…as soon as you throw something big and audacious out into the universe, what’s the first thing you do when people snap back with, “You!!…you’re going to do what!!”  “You want what?!” “You think you can be what?!”

You get slippery feet and immediately back away from your loftiness, simply because you expressed your dreams to a small-minded person who has given up on their own dreams.

Look how quick you are to release the reigns of your dreams simply because some else can’t see what you see. 

The minute they push back, express doubt, or look at you like you’re a damn fool, you apologize & justify with, “I know…it probably wasn’t gonna work anyway, but I was just thinking about it…” (Poof) “I was just goofing around..I-I-I was just bullshitting with you.” (Poof)

“Other people’s opinions are one of the most dangerous things to our success”

~Chris Gethard

Stop apologizing for who you are and what you want…if you want it and you’re committed to it..then f’ing do it, and stop apologizing along the way.

I don’t care how minor or major your pivot is, whether it’s learning a new language; if it’s taking swimming lessons so you can enjoy the summer with your kids; if it’s writing a book, blog or starting a podcast; or owning the damn company you for work for now….Go!!! and don’t look back nor explain yourself with weak ass apologies.

For 10 seconds, look up from this & ask yourself, “What do I want to do, go, be, and have?” No explaining…no justifying…and damn sure no apologizing.

If you want to be a stand up comedian, go to Open Mic Nights-yes you’ll be terrible, but you’ll never be good until you get worse first.

If you want to begin speaking, turn your phone on and contribute to the world-yes you…YOU have something we need to hear.

If you want to teach school enroll in online classes…but you’ve racked up a bunch of student loans and the government is already looking for you, then start by becoming an aide just to see if it’s something you really will commit to. (And work out some sort of payment arrangements with the gov, because they will get their money eventually. Trust me, I know firsthand.)

If  want to become an area manager, become a local one first. If you want to be a top producer, learn how to be a consistent one, then stretch the goal. If you want to be a better parent or just a better human being, then go right a damn head, step forward and stop apologizing.

We apologize too much and too long. We apologize over and over and over for our past mistakes and downfalls.

When you keep apologizing for then, you’ll never live your Now.

No wonder you can’t get ahead because your spending your current days apologizing for all of your yesterdays.

And get this...even if you were blemish free, they’d still dis, judge, and talk about you because people would rather judge you than account for themselves. It’s cool though, because they’re not on your bus anyway…

You want it, then do it, & stop apologizing.

I’ll see you in the Sales Life.

Is it worth my time?

One of my salespeople wants to double his income this year. “If you want to double your income then you’re gonna have to at least double the amount of customers you work with too,” I told him. We calculated specifically how many customers he would have to work with each month to realize his goal. When I wrote the number down, I saw his eyes widen & the wheels of doubt began to churn.

51…

Calling out his fears I asked, “I bet you’re asking yourself how in the hell am I going to do that, aren’t you?” But when we broke the seemingly big, overall number down to a per day digit, it worked out to a manageable 2 customers per day. That’s it! To move his goal from a wish to a reality, he only needed to work with a little over two customers each day. Then I talked a little shit to him, “Are you telling me in at nine or 10 hour workday you can’t find two customers to physically work with every single day?!”

Of course he nodded emphatically in agreement- it seemed easy, but it’s not. The math is the easy part; doing it consistently for 23 straight days…well that’s the hard part. Sales by design is simple, but when it comes to putting that simplicity into action, it ain’t easy because as the rejections mount up, the effort wains. One way your brain works to protect your fragile ego is to disguise itself is being a “timesaver;” instead of taking a risk and working with the wrong customer, your mind whispers to you to selectively pick & only work with the perfect customer-the ones who look like they can & will buy today. What we really want to know is, “Is this customer even worth my time?”

Funny isn’t it when you were new in sales you didn’t even know to ask that question. Each day you spent more time working with customers and less time hanging out with salespeople and today it’s opposite; you spend more time with salespeople and less time with customers because you’re always trying to figure out, “Who’s worth my time?”

Maybe instead of self-sabotaging your success, when you’re mind flares up and asks, “Is it worth my time,” you should shut your mind down and push on by saying, “I don’t know, but they’re worth my two.” Two is all you need today! Just 2 everyday to put in your bucketful of 51 customers for the month. So the next opportunity is just a part of your bucket list this month. Regardless of the outcome- can’t buy, not ready to buy, or did buy, make it a part of your 2 (or whatever # yours calcs out to be).

Maximize the opportunity and whatever the end result throw it in the bucket and move on to the next customer. Selling is a little bit of a Jedi mind trick. To shortcut & conserve energy, your mind works in patterns. It compares your current pattern to past patterns (& outcomes) and if it doesn’t like the pattern, it tells you to bail out by asking limited, “Sorry I can’t help you,” questions. Take control of your mind & your success; when it asks, “Is it worth my time?” You respond with, “I don’t know, but it’s worth my 2!”

Put your 2 in the bucket every day & at the end of the month, you’ll pour out a pipeline of working customers, more sales, & a strong ass work ethic.

I’ll see you in the Sales Life.

⭐️⭐️Subscribe to my weekly podcast The Sales Life w/ Marsh Buice. You can find it on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play

Why didn’t I think of that?

Have you ever used a product or an app and thought to yourself, “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?! I mean the idea was so simple – it’s been sitting there in plain sight my whole life,” slaps forehead), “Why didn’t I just see it?”

You didn’t see it because you’re not trained to see it…

VC firms have what’s called Idea Flow. Masses of people line up & pitch a continuous flow of ideas & projects to the VC members. If they like the idea, these firms will invest millions of dollars in hopes of reaping multiple millions if not billions of dollars in the future. Fewer than 1% of these ideas make it through the next stage, but some go on to become Facebook, Airbnb, Uber, and Twitter (Waitr an online food/grocery delivery app based in my hometown named sold this past summer for $308 million.) (Slaps forehead again)

Now I know what you’re thinking, I don’t have millions to spend nor years to invest, but you & VC firms share one thing in common, you both have “idea flow.”

In the book Disrupt You!, Jay Samit challenges his students to write 3 things that you notice that could be improved every day. He says that at first it’ll be easy, but as the days roll on it’ll become more and more challenging, but if you discipline yourself to do this every day it’ll cause you to become more introspective and more observant to the world around you.

Anything… Everything is up for grabs… “How can this be improved?” Recently Tesla founder Elon Musk looked at the bottleneck of Los Angeles traffic & posed the idea of building an underground tunnel were people seamlessly commute in a capsule. Will it come to life? Who knows, but that’s one of hundreds of ideas that Musk spitballs and asks, “What if?” Instead of taking life at face value, why not generate your own idea flow? When you’re standing in line, ordering, shopping, or just taking a piss, ask yourself, “How can this be improved?”

Think about Poo-Pourri, a small bottle that you can drop into the toilet bowl after you take a crap at your friend’s house to hide the stank… “Why didn’t I think of that?” (Quickly slaps forehead.)

Even on your job…what’s the bottle-neck? What can be improved? How can this be disrupted? Frustrated? Good! The more frustrated the better, because frustrating times are prime opportunities for you to take notice and ask, “How can this be bettered?” See, while the rest of the world stands around pointing and bitching, you’re strategically thinking about capitalizing on disruption. Uber took the status quo taxi service and flipped it upside down. Airbnb, which started as an air mattress on the floor and breakfast in the morning, disrupted the entire hotel industry.

Not all of your ideas will come to life, but you need a continuous flow of them for the best ones to rise to the top. Three ideas per day, that’s 90/month-that’s 1000/year. Just imagine if 1% of those ideas disrupted your life for the better? Change starts with an idea.

Try it this week and let me know how it goes.

Subscribe to my weekly podcast The Sales Life w/ Marsh Buice. You can find it on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play

They owe you nothing

Coach Nick Saban tells a story of three baby birds who fell into the ocean. The mama bird was frantic because her babies were about to drown so the daddy bird flies out and scoops the first baby bird up and sits him down on dry land and asks his son, “Now that I saved your life what are you going to do for me?” His son looks up at him and says, “Dad, when you get old I’m going to take care of you,” and with that, the dad picks up his son and drops him back into the ocean. He then scoops up the second son and brings him to dry land and asks the same question, “Now that I saved your life what are you going to do for me?” The second son says, “Dad you don’t have to worry about anything when you get old because I’m going to take care of you,” and with that the dad does the same thing he did with the first son, he drops him back into the ocean and scoops up the third son and asks the same previous question. The third son says, “Dad, I promise to do everything for my sons as you did for me.”

Your children & the people you lead– the ones who came in with bad credit and today they bought their first home; the ones who used to ride a bike or took a bus to & from work, leave today in their own vehicle; the once shy & inhibited one, who can now talk to anyone; the one who turned his life around & is married with children…those people, your people owe you nothing.

Not a damn thing…

And the best thing they can do- the only thing they should do “for you,” is to be a better parent, manager, & leader, for their kids, for their employees, for their community.

Besides what you want from them anyway? I mean when you keep throwing it up in their face when you stood in the gap, bailed them out, and turned them around…how you made sacrifices, worked two jobs, & made a way out of no way.

What really do you want from them anyway? You don’t want to thank you, you want power and the minute they resist you- the minute they push off and stand on their own by making their own mind up- the minute you feel your power slip, you try to get it back by slapping them with a reminder of all that you’ve done for them.

They don’t appreciate that, they resent it. They don’t feel all warm & fuzzy when you re-open wounds and bear their scares of weaknesses & downfalls just so that you can get the upper hand and pull their strings again.

Nothing…they owe you nothing.

The only thing they owe you is to the pay it forward- improving on what was passed down by you when they were passed up by others.

Hopefully all that you’ve done-the long talks, the sacrifices, the discipline, the love…hopefully you did all of that simply because someone did it (or didn’t do it) for you and you just wanted to improve on that.

Catch The Sales Life w Marsh Buice daily podcast. Find it on iTunes or your favorite podcast platform.

The Heavy Box Mentality

Marcus Luttrell wrote a book that went on to become the movie titled Lone Survivor…& Marcus has a Heavy Box Mentality- he had to have one in order to become a Navy SEAL-the best of the best,  but he also needed to have a Heavy Box Mentality when he was recovering from his injuries and surgeries…

Even though people were urging him to join a gym, he refused… he didn’t need a gym-he had a gym right there in his mind and in that gym was his Heavy Box. Even though there were days that he could only do one push-up against the sink…even though there were times when his progress skidded back down to the bottom… that Heavy Box was right there. Luttrell pushed that Heavy Box into the corners of his mind, out of the way, but still within view- he kept it right there because he was determined to work towards picking that Heavy Box back up.

We all need a Heavy Box Mentality… a Heavy Box Mentality  is the gap of choosing between doing the easy or taking on the hard…that 5 seconds when you can make a choice to slide by with the routine or make that split second decision to yank the heavy box… you’re Heavy Box.

See, the reason why most of us don’t pick… the reason why we won’t choose the Heavy Box is because a Heavy Box Mentality is strictly voluntary… it’s not mandated… it’s not a prerequisite… it’s voluntary and most of us won’t step up and volunteer-to do what is hard in our own lives.

We pick the light box instead…

 So what are they heavy boxes in your life right now? What are the hard choices – the one staring right there at you…

The ones that trip you when you’re dark… the ones you stub when trying to find light… the ones you elect to go around instead of going through…

 I get it… going through causes you to sweat… causes you to strain… going through may cause you to admit that you can’t lift your heavy box…it means you’re defeated…

… but only temporary.

The fact that you stepped up, squared your shoulders, got a wide base, and wedged your fingers underneath…

…the fact that you yanked on your Heavy Box is a start and like Luttrell, it starts with first trying, then testing your limits, then-even if it’s at your base camp, working your way back to the Heavy Box ever so present in the rooms of your mind.

That heavy box is there, we all got ’em. That Heavy Box where you can take the easy dollar $1.69, 10 piece Burger King nuggets or you can grab that salad from Wendy’s that’s four times the price. That box that you can numb the differences through silence and alcohol or that Heavy Box where you sit him down and say, “We’re” done, this ain’t going to work.” That box when you sell just enough to cover your $3000 monthly bills or the Heavy Box where you say I need to make $3000, but I’ll make five and next month I’ll make seven..then you do the math- you break the numbers down to a daily plan and go to work on your box.

The box with no sweat, no strain, no fatigue or the Heavy Box where there’s no way out but through… 

It’s voluntary…

…and you got five seconds to decide. Always pick theHeavy Box. 

Don’t forget I have a weekday podcast The Sales Life w Marsh Buice found iTunes or any of your favorite podcast stations.