A calculated future

The ballroom was packed with hundreds of Tim’s new co-workers — salespeople from around the country. He had been with the company only a few weeks and this was his first convention. The energy and excitement was palpable as the distribution of annual sales awards was reaching its peak.
On stage, the CEO and the vice president of sales had just handed a smiling awardee his prize, shook his hand and applauded him back to his seat.
“Who’s going to be our ‘Rookie of the Year’ next year?” boomed the CEO’s voice.
The sentence had barely made its way through the sound system before impacting one particular attendee. Now on his feet, Tim suddenly felt all eyes upon him. Surprisingly, he felt none of the self-consciousness that normally comes with it. He was completely confident. He knew exactly what he wanted.
While he was brand new to the industry, he wasn’t brand new to sales. He had been a standout in his previous position selling medical supplies — and had quickly established himself as one of the best in his company.
He left only because of a series of leadership changes over a short period of time had given him the impression that the company was unstable and unreliable. His new employer provided him with that stability.
And now they provided him with a challenge.
Tim had already supplied himself with a vision. Soon after he had started with the company, he asked his boss about the various achievement levels the company recognized. He had locked on to Rookie of the Year and decided it was the award he wanted. But deciding was only a part of the effort.
He sat down and repeatedly ran the numbers — he wanted to know exactly how much he needed to sell in order to mathematically clinch the spot.
He calculated the number of prospects, the number of appointments, an estimate of his closing rate and the average sale value. He analyzed his territory, its history and its potential. He reviewed how the weeks in the year would fall with vacations and holidays. He even planned what could go wrong and how he would address it.
Again — this was just a part of the effort.
Shortly after he started and just before his first convention, he put his sales plan into motion. He immediately began to see results and knew he was going to succeed.
When he walked into the awards ceremony that night, he felt like a tiger among rabbits.
“I felt invincible. The funny thing was that I knew that the only way to claim it was to stand up. When they asked, ‘Who will be Rookie of the Year next year?’ I thought to myself, ‘It HAS to be me.’ There wasn’t another option.”
“Curiously, when I stood up, some of the veterans started to applaud — they seemed to appreciate that someone would be confident enough to make a statement. The thing was, I had already pictured it in my head and my plan was set.”
Tim worked. Tim worked hard. By the company’s third quarter, he had rocketed to the top of the rookie rankings. Even more incredulously, he was ranked sixth overall — veterans included.
With six weeks left in the company’s fiscal year, his boss called him to let him know that no rookie would be able to catch him. Tim applied even more gas to his sales engine.
The convention is coming soon. Tim’s convention. Tim will walk across the stage, shake the hands of the CEO and the vice president of sales as he accepts his award to a thunderous applause.
It’s no surprise to Tim. He planned it that way. He saw it.
What do you see in YOUR future?