Our focus for today is the Winning Edge Theory. This is the idea that very small changes in your actions and/or attitude made over a period of time will create huge changes in your results.

All of us at some point have not been satisfied with our results and decided to do something about it. Usually, we decide that it is time to turnover a new leaf. So we commit to ourselves that tomorrow I am going to quit smoking or read that sales book or I will make 25 more phone calls and so forth. What happens though, is we follow through for a couple of days and then we get sidetracked or too busy and the plan falls apart.

When this happens, we have set ourselves up to fail. The changes were too big and took us too far from our comfort zone. We are all creatures of habit and if we are pulled too far too fast, we will step back into our old comfort zone the moment the pressure gets too high and our stress level cannot handle it.

The Winning Edge Theory gives us a way to change without too much pain. All of us can make little changes in our habits or in our techniques that will keep us learning and stretching without pulling us too far from our comfort zone.

At a glance it may not appear that these little changes will improve your results, but ponder this: if there are two sales people working for a sale, and the prospect is struggling with the decision of which person he or she will do business with, what will tip the scale? The sales person who gets the sale gets 100% of the business. Does that mean that they are 100% better than the sales person who did not? No. They may have been only 1% better. They did one or two things better than the other and had the losing sales person done a couple of things better, they would have gotten the sale.

The Winning Edge Theory is demonstrated in numerous sports. For example, in 2003 on the PGA tour, B.J. Staten finished number 1 on the money list with earnings of over $7.5 million in an average score of 68.65. Retief Goosen finished number 10 on the money list with $3.1 million in an average score of 69.20. That translates into barely half a stroke. That is not even a 1% difference in their average score. But it meant an increase of over 139% in their results. B.J.’s total winings more than doubled Retief because he averaged a half stroke better. Does this money total mean that he was as twice as good as Retief? No. On any given day, they would probably come within one stroke of each other.

How can you integrate this concept into your life? Today, find 1 or 2 small things that you can do or do better. If you read for 30 minutes a day, add 5 more minutes. If you make 50 cold calls, make 5 more cold calls. You could memorize one more answer to an objection or exercise for 10 more minutes and then keep making little changes.

Do not ever settle for the result that you are getting, always reach farther and keep growing. If you are not growing you are dying. The preverbal catch to the Winning Edge Theory is that you stick with the little changes and continually add to that day after day.

Self-improvement is not a destination. You will not suddenly arrive at perfection. It is a journey.

Thanks for making me a part of your journey today.

Be Free!

Tom Weber
VP of Sales