Modesty is over-rated. 

It's okay to stand in front of the mirror or your peers and proclaim that you're going for sales person of the month.  It's okay to claim to achieve the highest gross in the coming month.  Simply put, it's okay to choose the prize.  Actually, it's better than okay.  It's essential.

Choosing the prize means you understand what it takes to get there.  Deciding on excellence and the benefits that come with such an achievement causes one to understand the ingredients necessary to fulfill such an endeavor.  In fact, making that choice is the very thing that keeps us going when the task seems too much to handle. 

Too often people are trained that goal setting is about finding things that are realistic and attainable.  I grew up in New Jersey - that's crap.  Goals should be biger than anything we've ever done before.  That's because to achieve them, we're going to have to work harder and longer than ever before so it should be something worthy of such an effort. 

When I'm interviewing potential trainees for one of our dealerships, I'm often asked if someone new to the business can really make six figures.  My answer is always the same.  "Absolutely!"  I pause and then continue, "But, you have to do a hundred thousand dollar job.  You aren't going to make that kind of money with $40,000 worth of effort."  Look at it this way, the best part of our profession is that every payday is a report card.  It reflects our efforts of the past pay period.

Here's another way to look at it.  How many of you would like to succeed beyond your wildest dreams?  Well, here's step one.  You need to have wild dreams.  Shocker.  You can't possibly achieve the top level of success without first wanting to get there.  And, you can't get there without doing the work.  So, it only stands to reason that the first thing one needs to do in order to have a shot at the prize is to first claim it and then do the work.

It's your choice.

John Fuhrman is the Senior National Trainer for Carolina Automotive Resource Services, a unit of The Dealer Resource Group.  His ten books have reached 1.5 million readers and he has trained sales professionals around the world.  Currently, he is training new sales people for dealers through his cutting edge programs.  Learn more at http://www.thedealerresourcegroup.webs.com and see the previous "Choosing" series and other articles.  (c)2011 by John Fuhrman - Permission to reprint this post in its entirety, including contact information, is hereby granted.