A Styrofoam Cup and 25 Pennies

"What can I do," the sales counselor asked in exhasberation. "I can't seem to stay focused on getting my calls made. There are just so many interruptions!"

FAST FACT: In his book, "The Age of Speed" speaker and author Vince Poscente said that on average a person gets interrupted 11 minutes after starting a task. It generally takes 30 minutes to get started again and sometimes one never restarts.

No wonder staying focused on the one thing that you need to focus on is so important and so difficult.

SALES TIP: I'm no different than anyone else in sales. I like to do what I like to do and avoid doing those things that don't "turn me on" - like making calls - especially cold calls. Yet, if I am to succeed in sales, we all would agree that making those prospecting calls is critical. So here's a practical idea that worked for me, and I've seen work for others.

Step 1: Take a simple styrofoam cup (doesn't have to be large) and write you name on the outside - claiming it as yours.

Step 2: Place 25 pennies in the cup. (Why pennies? Well, the represent ONE. And, no one will take them cause you can't use them in a vending machine - just a helpful tidbit)

Step 3: Each morning when you get to your workstation, empty the pennies out in an obvious place somewhere on your workstation.

Step 4: (The last step)! Commit to yourself, for your success and personal benefit, that you will call 25 "true" prospects today, before you leave. Each time you reach a "true" prospect (answering machines and kids don't count), place a penny back in the cup. When you've placed all the pennies back in the cup. YOU'RE FINISHED PROSPECTING!

Sound easy. It is! The only thing it requires is doing it!

What I found is that those people who had a visual reminder of the task at hand were more apt to complete the task. The pennies are kinda like a visual to do list. Further, having something tangible - something you can touch makes the experience more real.

Unless you just love cold calling (and I've only met a few people that are turned on by that activity), you need to commit to something that will prompt, help, encourage, push (whatever), you to achieve your sales goals.

I am quite sure that there are sales professionals far better than I, but by using this simple technique when I was in direct sales, I became the #1 performer for the region I was assigned to. I can assure you it was solely a function of my prospecting focus and placing 25 pennies in a cup every day.

CHALLENGE: Try this for one month and then report back. If you're presentation opportunities don't increase dramatically...I'd be shocked.

Let me know the results!