I am taking this opportunity to reveal my key mindsets in this article relating to my experiences, techniques and my philosophy of selling. I firmly believe that this article will help you regardless of whether you are selling automobiles, insurance, pharma and other products. I will precisely tell you what I did. How I raised my self from failure to success, from anybody to somebody, sold more than 1100 cars in one year and achieved Diamond Awards in car sales from Honda Motor Co. Japan.

Are You Ready?

I put my foundation for success when I started selling cars as a sales executive with nothing to start me on my way but a telephone, a phone book, a desk and a computer with internet in a smart car display center “Honda Fort Lounge”, Lahore. From that humble beginning I took many steps toward success, mastered them and there was no luck involved. My mentors always called me passionate and reservoir of energy. So, I discovered the finest Metaphor PASSION for myself. My Passion took me out of ranks of failure, despair and helped me to transformed into one of the best Ultra-high performer car salesman nationwide in Honda. So, my Key mindsets neatly summarized by the acronym PASSION. Reason behind acronyms, it hooks into your mind like a catchy pop song. So, you will never forget them. Work and live by this little well-known code and you are guaranteed breathe taking results.

P in PASSION stands for Power of Self-Determination. Most people fail in life not because they lack talent but because they lack a burning desire to succeed. If you look at the successful people, their success didn’t come instantly. It took determination. The same goes to my story, when I started my career as a sales executive, I haven’t so big dreams in sales but have a burning desire to excel and make the mark in my field. My CEO, Khalid Toor and GM Marketing & Planning, Nadeem Azam infused energy in me to do more, set my direction and then I never lookback. In March, 2004, I set my 3 Years goal to achieve ‘Diamond Award’ and ‘Manager Sales’. Then, i was keep on challenging myself to improve. I had no one else to beat. First I would try to top my previous week’s record, then the previous month’s, then the previous year’s. Despite obstacles and setbacks, I never stopped trying to get better and better. Finally, on 11th December 2006, hard work paid off, efforts were rewarded and my dream came true. I become ‘Manager Sales’ at Honda Point and subsequently achieved ‘Diamond Award’ in July, 2007. I learned that no trainer or coach or expert can make you good or great or unstoppable if you’re not going to do the work, if you’re waiting for someone to make it happen for you. It’s on you. Bottom line if you want success of any kind: you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. If you have determination nothing can stops you and nothing can deter you from a particular course of action to achieve your goals or realize your dreams.

A in PASSION reminds you about the importance of Attitude, A Winning Mindset. Attitude is criterion for success. Just make sure you are motivated to succeed by what YOU are doing for yourself rather than only by what someone else is doing for you. Nobody can guarantee where you’ll wind up in this life, not even Honda or Toyota. Your best shot is YOU. I’m looking for that thing that drives motivation to insure you successfully achieve your goal or objective at the end of the day. I’m after the weapon I need to get me there! That weapon is simply ATTITUDE. Yes, attitude. And that’s what drives Moazzam Abu Bakar. I focused on having a positive attitude. This is where motivation really begins—from within. Never leave your home for work without taking a positive attitude with you each and every day. Arriving with a bad attitude is the surest way to ruin all the hard work you put into your preparation. Your biggest enemy will be YOU because you brought the “wrong” person to work with you. And let me tell you, I have faced lot of obstacles, complaints while selling cars like Product quality issues, frustrated and angry customers due poor service quality and calling customers against Special Service Campaigns for field fix. This is the time to kick your positive attitude into high gear. If you don’t, you’ll sink into the quicksand with all the others. The real test of a positive attitude is when you’re “under fire,” not when things are sailing smoothly You must believe in yourself. If you do, you will be successful. I hope you get the picture now about why a positive attitude is so important and how motivation will flow naturally from it

S in PASSION stands for SELF AWARENESS (Self – Concept & Self-Esteem). Greatest discovery of this century in physiology and human performance was the discovery of self-Concept. Your self-concept is the bundle of beliefs that you have about yourself. It is the way you see yourself and think about yourself in every area of your life. Self Esteem: it means how much like yourself. It is that deep down, inside the self, feeling of your own worth. How much you like your self is the critical determining factor of your personality and of everything that happens to you. The more you like your customers, the more customers like you and more willing they are to buy from you and recommend you to their families and friends. I learned key affirmations and self-talk concept in a sales training workshop held in March, 2004 which fueled my self-confidence and enhance productivity and effectiveness. I used to repeat it to myself many times a day. This is a self-talk of a winner and positive self- talk is the key to develop positive self-esteem. Each time you say “I Love myself” or “I am a Champion, I am a great” your self-esteem goes up. The more you say “I Love myself” or “Yes, I am a champion, I am a great” the more you feel confident.

I wrote below affirmation on my room and I used to repeat following affirmation to myself many times a day:

I am a champion, I am a great

Today is my great day and I will do something great!”

Talk yourself up! There is no time to loose.

SET HIGH GOALS
S in PASSION will remind you about the importance of goal setting. Over the course of twenty years of my sales profession, I’ve met with thousands people who’ve achieved massive success like top sales professionals, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, professionals, and teachers. All relentlessly pursued their passion in life and all had well-planned and defined goals. Like me, you have also goals & dreams too and has burning desire to move to the next level. To achieve that all we need is a plan. In my opinion, ultra-high sales performers know in advance how much they are going to earn each week, each month, each quarter, each year. They know how many sales call they will have to make to achieve a particular level of sales. Goals must be rousing and must be in writing. Well written goals increase your likelihood of achieving them by 1000%. Stay focused and Keep your eye on your goals at all times. Don’t get ahead of yourself and don’t get bigheaded about yourself. Make the most of every hour in your day. Make every moment count for something. when I arrive at work, I am there to work. When I go home or take a vacation or with friends, I’m there to play. Don’t mix the two. Trust me. It doesn’t work. Business and pleasure are not good companions. If you waste your time in taking gossiping with your friends, buddy’s and colleagues instead customers only you know for sure what’s really going on. If you don’t achieve your sales targets who will suffer? Besides the company, YOU & YOUR FAMILY!

I in the PASSION stands for Innovative. I can define innovative in simple words ‘it’s all about making today better than yesterday’. I constantly flex my mind and elevate my abilities by constantly asking myself ‘what can I improve myself today?’ ‘How can I boost my productivity?’ ‘How can I work more efficiently and effectively?’ ‘How can I wow my customers even more?’ I always put myself in customer’s shoes and experience what its look like to do business with me. I always woke up and repeat my affirmation in front of mirror. ‘I am a Champion, I am a Great. Today is my great day and I will do something great – a little better than the day before’. As I mentioned earlier, i was keep on challenging myself to improve. I had no one else to beat. Me vs Me. I always tried to get my next level of excellence in my work by taking initiatives. Develop an innovation mindset, making your present better than your past and without innovation life is death. Keep challenging yourself to see things as you dream of seeing them.

Dreams Big, Start Small and Start Now! 

ORGANIZE

O in the PASSION stands for organize. Organize your life. This habit applies to everything you do in life, both on and off the job. This is how you prioritize your time and goals. Give your life meaning—organize a list of priorities! Don’t just do it for you—do it for your family! I did! No matter how positive you are, if you don’t have some kind of organization to your day, time will become your enemy the minute you set foot in the place where you work. I haven’t never the part of the group who was busy on morning tea gossips, newspapers reading and politics. Believe me, because of that I was never liked by any of them. I did more of things that paid me money like Prospecting, making appointments and staying in touch with my existing customers. I did less of the things that didn’t paid me like spending time on unnecessary work and chumming around with other sales person. I did all my home work ahead of time and cultivated work habits and routines that maximized my productivity and efficiency for the upcoming day. Organize your yourself by prioritizing on the paper. How well we organize is usually matched to the priorities and goals we set for ourselves. Be proactive, take the initiative and self-manage yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to decide what happens to you.

NEVER GIVE UP.

N in PASSION stands for Never Give up. There are two thief’s or enemies of human. They are the fear of failure and fear of rejection. The fear of failure is the biggest single reason for failure. The second major obstacle to selling or closing the deal is fear of rejection. They are both mental. You thinking creates your reality.  If you think that something cannot occur in your sales career, then there is no way you will take the action required to make that goal or dream a reality. I always keep on trying, struggling and pushing myself out of my comfort zone despite many people around me tried to discourage me. They tried to knock me down but I was committed to my goals and my dreams until I achieved them. We are born with the instinct not to give up. As babies, we cry and scream until we get we want. No matter what you want for yourself, whether your ambitions take you to the office or the gym or anywhere else you want to be, your ultimate power source will come from the neck up, not the neck down. Do. The. Work. Every day, you have to do something you don’t want to do. Every day. Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable, push past the apathy and laziness and fear.

Great Muhammad Ali said,

I hated every minute of my training. But, I said, don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest the rest of your life as a champion.

Thanks of reading.