Everything great takes time

Techniques. Updates. Advice.

By Jill Van Dierendonck, JMV Communications

“If you have patience, before you know it, you get results,” says Charlotte Landram, a highly successful leader of sales organizations, professional coach, and founder of High Impact Training & Coaching Systems in Phoenix. “Unfortunately, patience isn’t a virtue many sales professionals work on developing or maintaining,” Landram adds.

Admittedly, finding patience isn’t always easy. Recall how slowly those lines moved at the amusement park when you were a youngster? About as slow as the airport security lines and rush hour traffic move today, huh? Could all those people just hurry up a bit…and step on the gas?! Our sense of time and patience are also tested with each IM we send, and each instant gratification we find. If I can download and upload with a quick click, why can’t I get my client’s ‘yes’ right now?

“A huge number of the people I work with tell me they don’t have the time to do something necessary to ensure the sale, or the patience to adopt a longer term perspective for success,” says Landram. “This discipline is critical, though. You have to develop – and practice – patience. Everything great takes time…and effort.”

To delve into the art and importance of patience a bit more, we sat down with Landram recently and asked her for advice on how sales leaders can become more successful by having a patient approach to their work, their clients, and their lives.

Q: Why do you think demonstrating patience is such an important action for business people?

Landram: I believe patience is a fundamental personal quality – one that allows us to be understanding, considerate, and accepting toward others, and self-aware, calm, and content with ourselves. Patience, and the ability to develop and embrace a long-term perspective, is a huge part of everyday life and business. Entrepreneurs must be patient to grow a business. Scientists learn to wait for the breakthrough answers to complex problems. Savvy investors know get-rich-quick tactics seldom pan out. World leaders know sustainable change takes time. I think patience enables us to be present, rather than stuck in the past or overly concerned about what will happen tomorrow.

Time teaches all things to he who lives forever, but I have not the luxury of eternity. Yet, within my allotted time, I must practice the art of patience for nature acts never in haste. To create the olive, king of all trees, a hundred years is required. An onion plant is old in nine weeks. I have lived as an onion plant. It has not pleased me. Now I wouldst become the greatest of olive trees and, in truth, the greatest of salesmen.
Og Mandino – The Greatest Secret in the World

Q: We were talking earlier about research on time, how it relates to one’s success, and how these study findings can be applied to sales strategies…

A: In the early 1970s, a Harvard sociologist, Dr. Edward Banfield, studied success and priority setting. I believe his original intention was to try to discover why some people become financially successful…and why others struggle their entire working lives. He theorized the answer was some concrete factor: maybe family background, education, or IQ. Instead, what his research pointed to was that the major determinant of success was a particular attitude, or state of mind: a long-term perspective. Banfield’s research revealed to us the most successful people looked into the future when making decisions – and that the key to setting priorities for life and work is maintaining a long-term perspective. This concept is definitely applicable to sales professionals. Product expertise isn’t acquired overnight. Prospecting skills aren’t honed in a week. Relationships don’t develop on the first phone call. Highly successful people choose patience over impatience because they know there are so many more positive outcomes with the former. Highly successful people also manage their lives as if they’re running a full 26.2-mile marathon – and not just sprinting the first 100 yards.

Q: Do you have another example to illustrate how long-term perspective and instant gratification differ?

A: A favorite exercise I use when coaching sales professionals is what I call ‘building a house or pitching a tent.’ Obviously, pitching a tent is a pretty easy task. You may have to read through an instruction sheet once or twice, but after that it goes pretty quickly. You don’t have too many placement considerations – a flat piece of ground, and a spot well away from anything that’s looks like poison ivy, right? Your parts list is limited; tent fabric, a few poles, a few stakes. Building a house, on the other hand, will take you months (if not years) of meticulous planning, and countless decisions and changes. How many bedrooms? A porch, or a deck? What material should we use for the roof? You will carefully consider location and orientation. You’ll likely have to work with a lot of other people to finish the task. You won’t expect to sleep in your new master bedroom next week. You adopt a totally different perspective (or mindset) and approach to the tent and house assignments. I encourage sales managers to think about their business in a similar way. You can realize a huge advantage over your competition if you demonstrate the patience to achieve success in the long run.

Q: You aren’t advocating sitting back and waiting for things to happen in our sales office, are you?

A: Absolutely not. Patience shouldn’t be confused with passivity. We all have to take the appropriate actions every day to be successful. Patience can’t be used as an excuse for procrastination. Taking a short break is fine; remaining idle for weeks is not. Patience shouldn’t be confused with an ill-conceived strategy like ‘We’ll just ride out this economy…’ either. My reminder to sales managers: ‘You have to take action. Maybe massive action! You can’t sit in your office and hope things will change/headquarters will give you a bigger budget/ineffective employees will quit.’ Sales professionals receive similar coaching advice: ‘You have to keep prospecting. You have to keep asking for the sale. You have to be prepared to help your clients every day.’ The key point here is, whatever business you’re in, identify what the right actions are – what you need to do to be successful – and do them every day. Take the actions that produce results – and learn how to do them better, or more efficiently, every day. Your discipline and long-term perspective will drive out that screaming voice, ‘I want it now!’ and enable you to be patient for the real, sustainable results you deserve.

Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.
Brian Adams -- author

Q: What advice do you offer people who need to improve their patience quotient?

A: If you have a tendency to act and react impatiently, you have to work at replacing bad habits with good habits. Bad habits hinder our effectiveness and ultimate success. Good habits, on the other hand, help position us for success and help us reach our goals. Take a hard look at your home and work habits, and compile an honest listing of the bad and good. Do you routinely end your work day early…or leave several ‘To-Do’ items undone? Do you have good intentions of getting to the office early to plan your day…yet arrive 15 minutes late because you stopped for coffee…ran into an old friend…got to talking…? Can your co-workers and clients count on you to follow through with the paperwork you promised? Do you have good (productive) weeks…and less-than-good (unproductive) weeks? Are you short with others – or quick to lose your temper? Do you have good ideas – but something routinely keeps you from acting? The key, of course, is to replace bad habits with good habits. The best things in life (and business) require hard work – and often waiting for the best to develop. Fortunately, patience is a virtue you can work on and improve. [See the accompanying sidebar for more tips on upping your patience quotient.]

Q: Can people actually see better results by becoming more patient? It seems a little counterintuitive…

A: Yes. And, I know, and my clients will push back on this point. They’ll say, ‘No, I need to just keep pushing!’ In fact, patience, planning and perseverance are all related – and they are keys to success in sales. They’re also sustainable factors. Being patient means you can achieve your goals without experiencing frustration – or an unnecessary rise in blood pressure. Patience enables you to take things in stride – even the occasional (and inevitable) roadblock or setback. Patience allows you to be a better person – and a person others feel comfortable around – which ultimately helps you form richer personal and professional relationships. Finally, patience helps foster healthy self-esteem. You can constantly remind yourself, ‘I can handle that. I know I can make that happen. I’m comfortable with achieving that goal next month.’

Patience Rx

Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.
Titus Maccius Plautus, well-known Roman playwright

If you need to add a little more patience to your work (or life) perspective, try these steps:

Identify your stressors. What things (or situations) make you lose your cool? Is it a chock-full daily schedule? Phone interruptions? A line at the grocery store? You may feel anxious, frustrated, unhappy, or worried…and not even realize impatience may be the actual culprit. Maybe you’re trying to over-commit yourself every day. Maybe you need to reserve 30 minutes each day to return phone calls or text messages. Once you know what can easily trigger impatience, you can work to avoid these situations…or take steps to relax yourself before impatience escalates.
Let some stuff go. Did some insensitive clod cut in front of your car? Is your assistant asking for your help (again!) with the month-end reports? Are you anxiously waiting for a prospective business partner to call you back? Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing when it comes to managing patience…sometimes it’s helpful to take a couple deep breaths…and sometimes you’ll benefit from taking specific action on your behalf. Watch the merging maniac speed away. Offer to lend your expertise (and undivided attention) to your assistant and the reports after you finish your current task. Make the call you’re waiting for yourself.
Do something that takes some time and effort. A highly enjoyable and rewarding way to discover the benefits of patience is to take up a hobby that’s going to require time and effort. Or, plan an activity you’d normally eschew because you can’t be bothered with it. Put together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Hand wash and wax your car. Play bocce for an entire weekend afternoon. Pick fruit or vegetables at an organic farm. Make dinner from scratch tonight. Knead bread dough, and wait for it to rise three times.
Focus on what’s important. No one likes to waste time, and no one wants to wait for things unnecessarily. But, if we can slow ourselves down and focus on what’s truly important, we’ll enjoy the journey so much more. Remember…just about everything in life that’s truly worthwhile takes time, effort or dedication – or all three. If you’re in too big of a rush you may just miss the turn you should take…or miss connecting with someone special who can help you reach your goals.

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