Drive is a choice that begins with two beliefs;

  1. An expectation that you are suppose to and will win.
  2. A belief that everything happens for a reason.   

These are the words of Jeb Blount in his book Sales EQ and in my estimation, something that has not been discussed as much as it should.

Some of us have an incredible drive and are always in overdrive passing everyone on the road and laughing all the way. While others are still in second gear doing everything we can to get to third, but are having challenges in getting it into the right gear.

Both of the people above have had the same training, similar education, work in the same firm, therefore, why the difference in, drive?

We cannot start analyzing the differences unless we have the baseline. At this time, we should be asking ourselves: “What is Drive?” It is at this point we may begin to see the reason for the differences in the above two individuals.

Drive is made up of three specific non-teachable traits:

  1. Pursuit of Excellence: Someone with a high degree of drive always wants to achieve their goal be it their immediate needs or the final number at the end of the fiscal year end. They strive for excellence as they know perfection is only a myth and can never be achieved. They know when they get too good enough and will adjust on the fly to make it excellent.
    1. Our poor person stuck on second gear is always looking for perfection and while they chase the myth which does not exist they never find third gear. Pity, it’s in all likelihood ‘good enough.’
  2. Love of the win: Our overdrive person is fueled by the win in everything they do. This speaks to the number one reason as stated by Jeb Blount above. It is this desire that keeps them in the game longer and deal with the contest of wills between buyer and seller. This is a friendly, respectful and professional process, but make no mistake about it, it is a contest the overdrive person in not willing to lose until all possibilities have been exhausted.
    1. Our other person usually ‘folds like a cheap suit’ when the contest of wills begins. They accept the ‘no’ as the finite answer and they pack their presentation and wares and move to next prospect.
  3. Handling rejection: Our overdriver likes getting no’s. He has a plan for it and moves on to the next one with a smile on his face and a spring in his step, all the while changing something in their approach. They think about the second belief from Jeb above. It happened for a reason and they feel what is coming up next is the reason as it will be a much bigger win. They are optimistic and never get down due to rejection. Optimism is a must in this industry. Otherwise, the industry will chew you up and spit you out.
    1. If our second gear person had some optimism which would allow him to find third gear they would already be in third and quickly moving to fourth.

There you have it, three non-teachable characteristics which will define your ability to take on your next call. After all, as I have mentioned before: “If you get out of your own way, you will find this is not as hard as you originally thought.” It is all about you.

Did you the difference between I can’t and I can is only one letter?

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