Who Cares More?

Training intensity makes a difference.

In the gym the other day I was running on the treadmill when I spotted a woman walking around with a personal trainer.

Well, I smelled her before I saw her.

She was wearing perfume – lots of it – and so much make-up it looked like she was headed to a club on South Beach.

Her sneakers were bright white with no scuff marks.

Her water bottle was one of those fancy bright pink things with a clip on the top.

As the trainer showed her each station in the gym I got the sense she was concerned about the glistening of her forehead because she kept patting it with a monogrammed hand towel.

In my mind, I envisioned the conversation between her and the trainer three months from now.  She will be upset because she will have invested $3,000 (or more) in personal training sessions and not seen results.

Is that a fair assumption?

Think about it.

We’re excited, even enthusiastic, when we begin something new.  We get fired-up about the outcome.  We want it so badly we’re willing to invest in an expert to offer us guidance.

But then comes the hard part.

Change.

You know – doing something that feels uncomfortable.

We ask ourselves:

Do I want this outcome that badly?

What will other people think when I achieve the results?

What if I go through all this work, this struggle, and success doesn’t look like I imagined?

What if I work hard and I fail? That would feel terrible.  Isn’t it better not to start this?

This is what people think when they start a new program

And they remember the conversation with the trainer on the first day.

He said:

“This is going to be hard.  You’re going to need to be motivated.  Sometimes even paying for the gym membership and the personal training is not enough motivation.  You’ll need to find it within yourself to come here and put in the work.”

So now, you’re three months into your six-month commitment.

And you have not approached the training sessions with the intensity necessary to get the results you desire.

You have three choices:

Choice one:  You can quit.  Things will stay the same.

Choice two: You can summon up the courage and get going with the level of intensity necessary to achieve the results you desire.

You squandered the first few months of your time with the trainer; you cannot do anything about that.

But you can take control of things and make the most of the next three months.

Choice three:  You can blame the guy in the gym.  The guy you paid all that money to.  On some level it’s got to be his fault, right?  There he was. Waiting for you to show up each time you canceled your training appointments.  Why didn’t he talk you out of canceling?

And when you went to the gym, and you refused to do the exercises he recommended, why didn’t he have other exercise ideas ready for you?

And when you did the workout he outlined, but only half-heartedly (because you needed to save some energy for going out later) why didn’t he push you?  Why didn’t he shame you into working harder?

In fact, when you didn’t call to schedule appointments with him two weeks in a row, why didn’t he call you?

What are you paying that guy for anyway?  Some of this has to be his fault.

Right?

Wrong.

The problem is you.

You are not ready to take responsibility for your success.

You hired a guy to train you.  He’s successfully trained hundreds of people.  The transformation stories and photos hang on the wall of his office.  All of those people had the same ability as you.  The people who were successful simply brought more intensity to the gym.  They showed up. They did what the trainer told them to do. They worked hard – even at stuff they didn’t like.

They didn’t argue with the trainer when he led them through an exercise that made them uncomfortable.  They didn’t refuse to do something hundreds of others had done.

They didn’t ask for another workout without putting a full effort into the workout designed specifically for them.

At some point, you will look in the mirror and realize you cannot blame the trainer for what you see.

You can only blame the person who eats the food, sits on the couch, and makes the excuses.

The trainer cannot care more about your fitness than you do.  It’s not possible.

So that leaves you with two choices.

Choice one: Start over.

Keep your commitment to yourself.  Call the trainer and get back in the gym.  He’ll be happy to see you.

And no, he won’t judge you.

He’s a professional, and he’s been through this more than a few times before.

Choice two: Quit.

But realize when you quit; you’re quitting on yourself.

You’re not quitting on the trainer.  He’s got plenty of other people who are killing themselves with him.  People who are getting results.  People who really had a desire to change.

It’s pretty simple when you look at it that way.

So I finished my run on the treadmill.  I walked past the trainer and the lady with the perfume.  She was complaining because she broke a nail trying to do a bicep curl.

You and the lady in the gym are in a similar situation.

We’ve just begun our relationship together.  I share great training information with you – information like this article.

Do you take it and implement it with intensity, or skim the information waiting for something to motivate you?

But, like the woman in the gym, if you don’t bring the motivation to the workout, you won’t get it from anyone else.

Amp up your intensity when it comes to sales training. Take the ideas I share with you and challenge yourself to implement them immediately.

Remember, in training intensity makes a difference.

Here are three great ideas you can implement right now:

Forget Branding Focus on Sales

Too many “gurus” will have you focus on building a brand.  That does not put fod on the table.  What does? Selling.

How to Make More Money In Sales

The formula for making more money in sales is simple.  Take more action.  This article explains.

How to Overcome Rejection

Everyone in sales gets rejected.  Here’s how to keep that from damaging your mental health.