Now that you know what your activity level needs to be, make sure you have a game plan. You do this with “Correct, Consistent, Daily Activity!”

Most salespeople have CDA: Consistent Daily Activity, but it isn’t necessarily correct daily activity. I was included in this group and, as a result, I wasn’t achieving many objectives. During a self-analysis session, I also realized:

a) I didn’t have “Correct” activity
b) I enjoyed playing more than I enjoyed working
c) Playing wouldn’t pay the bills and wouldn’t pay for the play

I also realized I enjoyed playing games and being involved in sports. All sports involve numbers and scores. Sports are also fun. So I decided to take the best parts of playing and add them to the work mix of tracking to at least make working fun.

I came up with a tool to make sure that I was having fun with my work and that I was tracking my activity to give me the results I wanted. The result was “Correct, Consistent Daily Activity” or the CCDA Checklist.

Keep score of your daily activities and reward your self based on your correct, consistent daily activity (CCDA), rather than only on your results.

Play the game and control your own results by controlling your activity. In every professional and amateur sport, athletes keep score. Salespeople generally have no idea how to develop a daily plan to organize their sales activity. To help you do this, use an activity checklist.

Salespeople need a tracking system for the high activity level required creating sales. This system is based on the 80/20 formula (Pareto’s Law): 80 percent of the things you do are accomplished in 20 percent of the time. If you can isolate those activities that are most important and spend more time doing them, you will accomplish more and realize a higher payout (these are your HPAs that you’ve developed).

Begin by giving each of the tracking activities a point value. I made sure that the activity, which was the farthest from the sale, received the fewest points. The closest activity received the most points. Also, I made sure that the activities I had the most control over also had the fewest points. I then decided on the daily activity objective. You’ll notice (in the example) that the objective is twice what a sale is worth. I realized that if a sale were equal to the daily point objective, whenever I made my sale, I’d quit for the day.

I then developed an objective for a Bonus Day. By achieving this level, I allowed myself to buy something. Or if there was something I really wanted, I had to achieve my bonus total before I could have it. Let’s say I wanted new clothes. Before I could buy anything, I had to hit my bonus. That was the incentive (more about the bonus later).

The CCDA checklist prioritizes and applies a point system to the high-payout activities that need to be accomplished on a regular basis. Here’s an example of how a checklist might look:

In this example, the daily commitment for the salesperson is to reach 200 points. Salespeople need to make an absolute commitment to achieving their objective daily.

But the focus is on activity, which is controllable, rather than on sales (results) which are not. When the focus in on the correct activity necessary to reach the sales objectives, then your mind is directed toward what is important and necessary to achieve the results, rather than just on results.

My daily result statement was:

The objective was 200 points, and I had to achieve these points in any way possible.

Again, the CCDA checklist apportions fewer points to those activities that you have less control over. Thus, to achieve the daily objective, you must maintain high activity in the areas over which you have control.

For example: Let’s say that today I have no sales and no closes. I made three presentations for seventy-five points. I made five appointments for fifty points; received five referrals for twenty-five points and made ten contacts for ten points. By 5:00 pm I had a total of 160 points. What do I do now?

Now we go back to controlling the controllable. Remember that I made the commitment to achieve my objective of 200 points every day no matter what. So I now need to get the additional forty points by doing the activities I have control over: Contacts, referrals and appointments. By getting on the phone and making calls, I can get my forty points in any number of combinations.

This is the “Law of Delayed Return.” By working your activity correctly and doing what’s controllable, sooner or later the correct activity leads to a sale.

CCDA also works when you pursue your activity focused on the results you want to attain. This is the “Law of Averages.” This law requires patience. It can’t be forced or hurried. But if you do the activity necessary, the result will be there; we just can’t predict exactly when.

A number of years ago, a nine-year-old girl set a record selling Girl Scout Cookies. As a matter of fact, she sold so many, Disney made a movie about her called, “The Cookie Kid.” Here’s how she focused on her CCDA:

This young lady focused on the correct, consistent daily activity. By understanding what it took to become successful, she simply did the activity necessary, and the results took care of themselves.

Most salespeople consider the day a success only when a sale is made. In many sales careers, a daily sale is not a normal occurrence; or, if it is, the salesperson considers the day a failure if there isn’t a sale. More people don’t buy from salespeople than do, so by focusing on daily activity, you will achieve and have control over the intended results.

For the highly motivated salesperson, add the “bonus day” to the CCDA. When you hit your bonus points, reward yourself from your “want” list. Catalogs are a great list source for these “wants.” You should write down what you want in the $25 to $100 price range. These items are generally items you want but don’t need – in other words, items that can motivate. This idea also helps solidify commitment toward an objective. When there is something of value that you want this week, the bonus serves as the target and motivation for achieving it.

As we discussed earlier, it’s all right to set an objective and do everything you can to achieve it, yet possibly just miss. It’s also all right to achieve the objective by working on the activity and accomplishing it. But it’s not all right to set an objective and passively work toward it. That’s setting up the habits of failure. So make sure you do not go home until your activity objective for the day is achieved.

Tracking sales activity with a point system provides feedback to the salesperson. Feedback corrects your course toward your objectives. To help improve your performance, increase your feedback. The more you work on where you’ve been, the more effective you’re going to be in increasing your results. Realize that this is a self-competition. You can’t compete with somebody else because you can’t control others. You only have control over yourself.

Keep track of your best days, best weeks and best months in all activity categories. Remember,

If you want to improve your closing (negotiation) skills, track your negotiation average and ask 10,000 people to buy. Whatever you track and focus on will improve. If you know where you are at all times, you’ll become more effective. You have to know where you are starting from to get to where you want to go.

When the focus is on the activity necessary to reach your sales objective, then your mind is focused on what’s important and necessary to achieve the results, rather than on the results themselves, while neglecting the correct activity.

Winners are prepared and prepared ahead of time. Winners have a positive expectancy to win. They believe in advance that they are going to make it happen. Winners are specific and positive about their winning. They accept personal responsibility for their actions. “It’s my fault and no one else’s!” They pay the price willingly because they know it’s a bargain. Winners set objectives and achieve them.