A continuous rally

Henry is one of the tech persons working the stage, employed by an event organizer doing a “Start of The Year Rally” for an insurance company.

Henry listened intently to the brilliant presentations of the speakers. Got so motivated the next day he quit his job, walked into the insurance company and asks for a job.

“We are not hiring now,” they replied. Henry said, “But you cannot afford not to hire me. I am so motivated I can sell anyone, anytime, anything.”

“Well, we have two prospects that no one has been able to sell. If you can sell just one, you have a job.”

Henry was gone about two hours, returned and handed them two checks, one for P2 million and another check for P4 million.

“How in the world did you do that?” they asked. Henry now, teeming with motivation and confidence said, “I told you I am the world’s best salesman. I can sell anyone, anywhere, anytime.”

The company now asked, “Did you get a urine sample? As standard requirement for insurance coverage?” They asked him.

“What’s that?” Henry asked. Apparently he did not know the requirement.

“Well, if you sell a policy that is this huge in amount, the company requires a urine sample. Take these two bottles and go back and get the samples.”

Henry was gone about six hours and they were about to close shop when Henry walks in with two five gallon buckets, one in each hand. He sets the buckets down and reaches in his shirt pocket and produces two bottles of urine, and sets them on the desk and says, “Here is the two client’s urine samples you require.”

“That’s good” they said, “but what’s in those two buckets?” Henry said, “Well, I passed by a hotel and they were having a Teacher’s Convention, so I stopped and sold them a group policy!”

That’s the power of motivation and attending a Start of the Year Sales Rally.

Professional speakers tell me that the start of the year is like Christmas for them. It is peak season. You have sales rallies, business rallies and all sorts of rallies as business organizations prep up their people to take on the objectives of the New Year. 

I meet these speakers everywhere I go. Shuttling from one talk to another, sipping coffee with them in airport lounges awaiting flights to take us to our respective assignments. Another “similar” peak season would be middle of the year when companies would hold “mid-year sales rallies” in order to push and motivate their people to achieve their goals as they enter the second half of the year.

The start of the year brings an instinctive sense of renewal. Business organizations want to wake up their people out of their long and prolonged holiday slumber and shape them into fighting forms as they tackle the challenges of the New Year achieving higher targets compared to the year before.

The basic idea is that this year we will be better. This year we will not be the same. This year we will ride on the momentum.

In certain cases, especially for companies that did not hit their targets in the previous year; the idea is that this year we will do better, be better and “achieve our goals.”

And now we are about to end the first quarter of the year. But now we have to consider this. The start of the year conferences has gone. Hoodies, pens, jackets and t-shirts have all been given. What now? How do we keep the spirit up and continue to fight the good fight?

This is where you see the difference between the winners and those that are not. There are those who get fired up immediately after the rally, bring in the numbers, but over time especially after numerous rejections they lose their energy and sink to the level of being average.

This does not happen to the winners. They learn from the rallies. They apply the lessons and principles. They are inspired so much such that each day of their lives it is as if they were “Henry” in our story who just got out of the convention all fired up and willing to conquer the world.

They do not need another rally like a junkie needing another quick fix in order to be productive. They exercise the will and the determination to be productive. They do not whine and complain about how hard or high the targets are, they strategize and do hard work fueled by what they have learned and they end the year emerging as recipients of awards and recognitions for their performances.

I have had managers today from different industries who would write me notes telling me that they used to be hotel waiters and would eagerly learn while I did the talking.

They went home; seriously applied the lessons worked hard and now are managers and leaders in their companies. They know that personal motivation does not depend on rallies and conventions but they build themselves up to become self-motivated and achieve great things.

Go back to your notes. Review the lessons again. Apply them and put your heart into what you do. Guess what? Your personal motivation would rise and you do not have to wait for the next company rally for this to happen.

(Bring your leaders to the Shangri-La Hotel Makati and experience two inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed and updated Level Up Leadership this March 15-16.  For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928 559 1798)