Choose Wisely, You Become Who You Hang Out With.

As we start our journey together, I ask you to think about this for a moment... If you have a burning desire to grow, who are you hanging out with?

And why this quote courtesy of Amy Poehler rings true,

"Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you and spend a lot of time with them. It will change your life."

The decisions you make today will significantly influence who’ll become in the future. However, it’s who you choose to surround yourself with which has the most impact.

These people will either hold you back or propel you forward. One thing’s for sure, it’s that they’ll change you.

So, who are you surrounding yourself with who will hold you to a higher standard?

“Surrounding yourself with people who have higher standards than you is the fastest way to change. In fact, I believe it’s the only way to truly and permanently change.”

Benjamin P. Hardy

The standards you set for your life will determine the quality of your life.

Set low standards and expect to have a low-quality life. Set higher standards for yourself and watch what starts to happen.

More than anything else, it's the people you associate with that will influence where you set the baseline standard for yourself.

If you want to professionally grow, then let this one sink in from Tony Robbins,

"If you want to turn your goals into reality faster, then get yourself in proximity with people who are playing the game at a higher level than you do."

You become who you hang around with!

How many people have found their pathway to success or simply lost it, all because of the friends they keep or the people they mingle with?

I ask you to think about how this applies to you and your sales career.

SUCCESS OR FAILURE, WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH

Warren Buffett warns,

"If you hang around with people that behave worse than you, pretty soon you'll start sliding down the pole."

The people you choose to associate with truly do matter for career progression.

When you choose to surround yourself with better and smarter people, learning from their success habits, you start to absorb their knowledge, subsequently becoming a bit smarter yourself.

On the flip side, if you hang out with the whiners and complainers, you'll become just like them. If you hang around people who are depressing, angry, the always blaming, you will become just like them.

And all this has a severe impact on your ability to succeed.

When it comes to success, the age-old quote applies to all,

"Birds of the same feather flock together."

What kind of accountability are you creating for yourself?

Being around those who set high standards and hold you accountable for your actions push you towards success.

Your success ultimately depends on your own efforts and choices. Who you associate with plays a monumental role in shaping your journey.

In Proverbs 13:20, I ask you to think about...

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

If the people we associate with is super critical to our success, why do most select people at our same level of success?

WHO IS INFLUENCING YOUR SALES GROWTH?

Your friends and circle of influence will...

• Influence you indirectly with what they do.
• Influence you directly by teaching and giving you advice.

Stephen M.R. Covey in the classic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, explains that truly effective people who expand their influence live a life focused on things that they can change—their circle of influence—and not things they have no power over, which can be categorized in a circle of concern.

Covey goes on to say,

"Proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging and magnifying, causing their Circle of Influence to increase."

Let's pause for a moment as you reflect upon these questions...

Are you proactive in your efforts when it comes to building your circle of influence within your professional career?

Within your client base... Who is in your circle of influence?

Who is lifting you up and who might be tearing you down?

To quote Tony Robbins,

“The only thing that will change your life, change your business, change your relationship, is that you must raise your standards”.

The standards you've set for yourself, your career, and the people you associate with must be high and continually evolving, elevating you to grow.

Surround yourself with people who lift you up, lend you their knowledge and connections, and are strong enough to help you learn from your mistakes.

The key to unlocking your sales growth comes directly through the circle of influence you build with your current clients.

At some point in your career, you’ve heard some version of the Jim Rohn quote, “you’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with”.

The truth is who you spend the most time with is who you eventually become.

Shut the front door and stop right here... Think about your sales career and now think about your clients... Are you surrounding yourself with the right type of clients?

When you elevate your client relationships you will elevate your sales growth.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT TYPE OF CLIENTS

I believe the same rule applies to your sales career. The types of clients you work with will either lift you up or break you down.

Start visualizing your current clients - As you start thinking about them, start asking yourself...

What kind of energy are they bringing? And what kind of energy am I bringing to them?

What can you learn from them? And what are they learning from me?

How do they support you? And how do I support them?

How do they feel after spending time with you? And how do you feel after spending time with them?

Again, are you aligning with the right type of clients?

The clients you surround yourself with should bring out the best in you. If they are bringing out the worst in you, then this is a serious red flag signaling this may not be the right fit.

Imagine having the right type of clients with the right type of relationships. How would this make you feel?

Answer me this...

• What do you REALLY know about your clients?
• What do they REALLY know about you?
• What circles do they associate with?

The more you invest in your client relationships, the more you will collect from your client relationships.

Think about this one... Your sales net worth is directly related to your clients' network.

And like any smart portfolio, you want to diversify your investments to mitigate risk and limit your losses.

Well, the same holds true when it comes to your client relationships and who you surround yourself with.

More often than not, many in sales invest way too much into relationships that turn sour, failing to disengage at the appropriate time, which leaves them accumulating great loses and sorrow.

In other words, how many times have salespeople jumped through hoops, dropping everything they're doing, only in due time to have their client go elsewhere?

I know you all get what I'm cooking up here.

A large portion of your client investments should go into relationships that continually yield returns into the foreseen future, a portion into relationships providing short-term returns, and divest from any relationships that have no returns.

PROXIMITY TO POWER AND INFLUENCE BECOMES JET FUEL TO YOUR GROWTH

Think about all the decision makers and influencers out there within your client base... Are you putting yourself in proximity to the people that they know?

I believe you're one relationship away from your best opportunity... Who are you putting yourself in proximity too?

In digging into proximity through the lens of Wikipedia, I discovered the "proximity principle".

Theodore Newcomb, an American social psychologist, professor and author was the first to document the effects of proximity on acquaintance and attraction. He first documented this effect through his study of the acquaintance process, which demonstrated how people who interact and live close to each other will be more likely to develop a relationship.

"Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are?"

“Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes 

One of the best ways to grow your sales is to have a greater impact, greater influence and add more value to your clients. Simply surround yourself with people who have the power to support your vision, your product or your services.

Proximity to power is your ability to surround yourself with influence. People who can help to elevate your activities by simply making one phone call, one introduction or a recommendation.

Again, I am asking you, who are the influencers you're surrounding yourself with?

Are they people who can direct traffic towards your business? If you're having a hard time answering, then maybe it is time to start surrounding yourself with bigger players.

If you hang out with a group of successful, positive-minded people who believe in taking responsibility for their lives, you will move to become a proactive individual who shapes his/her future.

I encourage you to push your boundaries and get uncomfortable. Meet and surround yourself with bigger players, power players, influencers, and watch how sales magic starts to happen for you.

"Who you spend time with is who you become. Proximity is power."

Tony Robbins

Originally Published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.