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If you aren’t producing the results you want right now, it’s because you didn’t do the work you needed to do some time ago. One of the fundamental laws of our Universe is that you plant in spring and you harvest in fall. Not to plant in the spring means later having nothing to harvest.

When it’s time to harvest, you can run around taking massive action. You can rush to plant more seeds than ever, and you can plant them with lightning speed. You can throw water on these seeds, and you can fertilize them. Still you will have nothing to harvest now. For you to have something to harvest now, you would have had to the long, patient, lonely work when it was time for planting.

You aren’t getting fast results now because fast results defy the laws of nature.

If you find yourself in need of fast results, then you aren’t doing some part of the long, patient, lonely work that producing that result requires. In business-to-business sales, your number at the end of the quarter is based on the work that you did (or should have done) two quarters ago, not the work you did in the final weeks. Those seeds needed to have been planted long before harvest time.

Our ability to rationalize our actions distorts the laws of nature. We overestimate what we can achieve in a short period of time, and we underestimate what we can achieve over a long period of time. We rationalize that we can put the work off until tomorrow and still achieve our goals, but we can’t. They can’t be achieved in the short period of time we have available when the reality of time finally eliminates our ability rationalize. Once the time is gone, it’s gone.

Whatever result you want is possible. To get that result you simply have to pay the price in advance. Most of those results require that you do the lonely work of planting in the spring.

Questions

Why do you need fast results?

What should you be doing now in order not to need fast results in the future?

Why does producing results require some element of time? Why do they take so long to produce?

How do you use your time and energy to produce your future results, instead of wasting time and rationalizing that there will be time later?

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Sales 2012
Post by Anthony Iannarino on June 12, 2012

Written and edited by human brains and human hands.

Anthony Iannarino

Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at thesalesblog.com for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success.

Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. You can reach Anthony at thesalesblog.com or email Beth@b2bsalescoach.com.

Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at iannarino@gmail.com

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