Over the past few years, as I head into
the holidays, my kids ask me to watch a few movies with them. It’s our time to
just sit back, chill out on the couch, and spend a little time at home. As we
were talking last night about what movies we wanted to watch, I started to
think about my weekly blog, which then led me to think about all of the “business”
movies I’ve seen. And then I busted out in laughter for which my kids thought I’d
finally lost my mind.
I was running through scenes and quotes
in my head from Wall Street, Glengarry
Glen Ross, Tin Men, The Wolf of Wall Street and Boiler Room. Why was I thinking of these and why was I laughing so
hard? These are the movies that over time have become hits because of the
actors and story lines. But, in the world of business, and sales in particular,
these movies have become almost cult-like. You must first realize that even
when based upon some manner of truth, these movies are still fictionalized by
Hollywood. Yes, they are fun to watch, but no they are not educational.
And so, as I sat and pondered on my
weekly post, I am reminded that we should be managing our own sales careers as
if we are making a movie. In fact, we are making our own movie, and it is
called our career.
As other recent posts have captured,
this is a time to reflect upon the past while planning for the future, and a
time to evaluate our sales plans. In many ways, your journaling is like a
script. You can look at where you’ve come from so far in your career, and then
you can plan accordingly for how the plot should play out. If you take this
approach, you can forecast what it may take or what may be needed to reach a
certain milestone in your career. As your plot unfolds, or as you look further
ahead (as in years down the road), you will begin to see more clearly what
steps you will need to take in your ongoing career development to then reach
the climax of your own movie.
Now for a bit of fun in this exercise.
You must decide what type of movie you want to make about your career. It is
certainly safe to say that we all wish to avoid the horror flick. I, for one,
would like to void the drama. Rather, I would say I’m heading more in the direction
of a romantic comedy with my career. I’ve had opportunities that I thought were
“the ones for me” only to escape my grasp. Through a few funny changes or
mishaps along the way, I’ve come out better than expected. I’ve now found the
one and with a little careful planning every so often I’ll live happily ever
after. That is I have found the organization best suited for me with a
challenging role balanced with rewards.
During this holiday time I hope you’ll
have a moment or two to think about your own movie. Go back in time mentally
and watch the clips in your mind of where you’ve come from. Have you reached
the climax of the plot yet? Where does the story go from here? How does this
next year play into the overall theme? Most importantly, take note of what you
need to do to move your story forward, and then act upon those tasks. Good luck
and keep selling.