I was on a sales call today. I knew the call would be happening hours before it actually happened, and I knew the possible objections of the buyer (who hadn't bought yet, but I was 1,000% sure she was buying)

I made a plan, which took me no more than 7 minutes. I laid out all the needs of my soon-to-be client and benefits to be gained by the fulfillment of these needs. Then, all the tools necessary to actually fulfill the needs (of which, conveniently I had them all). Lastly, the plan to get it all done.

The lists consisted of 3, 6, 5, and 5 items, respectively. 19 in total.

I got through about 6 of them before the potential client interrupted me and became an actual client.

I have preparation tattooed on my left bicep. It's a key to my success and a cornerstone of discipline and confidence for anyone. It takes discipline to prepare when you also have he option of just figuring things out as you go. The more prepared you are, the more confident you can be. And confidence gets lots of things done.

When you're prepared, it's like you know every bullet in your gun. What damage it can do, how far it can travel, what it can kill... And when it comes time to shoot, you work with perfect efficiency. You won't even have to shoot them all. Hell, you may not even have to pull out your gun.

Better to have it and not need it.