Let’s face it! Monday morning motivation is something you think you need but really don’t. It’s funny to me because it’s geared mostly towards people that don’t have the stereotypical “job.” It’s mostly for wantrepreneurs and people trying to lose weight.
For business people, you don’t need Monday morning motivation, you need a permanent kick in the you-know-what to make every day a Monday. That means every day is a good day for business development, and every day is a good day to make more content for your business.
Here’s the last piece of Monday morning motivation you’ll ever need…
Find out how to make more money.
Why Aren’t You Motivated Already?
Some say you’re not passionate enough, or maybe your idea isn’t big enough. Maybe you haven’t attached the cosmic benefit to your daily tasks yet. Whatever it is it leaves you confused and not taking action when you should be.
Why aren’t you motivated already is a good question. A logical person would create a plan and just execute it. The problem is all the emotion that is tied to it.
Fears like, what if I fail, or what if it affects my social life are all very real things and very likely to happen too. You want the high-life but you don’t want to bleed to get there. Believe me I get it, but if you stick around to the end I think you’ll have a much different perspective on how it can be done.
Hint: There is a great story of a man that is just like you that made it.
Monday Morning Motivation is Big Business
If you type “motivation” into the search bar of Instagram (which is a haven for motivation gurus), you’ll see something staggering. Over 149 million posts with the hashtag “#motivation” assigned to it.
What does this tell you?
Here’s another one… #Inspiration.
Do you really need a picture of a Ferrari and a matter a fact quote about your five closest friends? Probably not, if you know what you’re after and what you have to do to get it.
The problem is most people are not taking the time to understand themselves. They are preoccupied with having what they want and less concerned with understanding the true nature of the things they think they should do.
Narrow Down Your Choices
The problem most people face when they venture onto the internet for the answers to their questions is NOT having enough information. It’s having way TOO MUCH information.
Even Monday morning motivation coach or guru out there tells you the same thing. They tell you that you should consume less of everybody else’s information (which is a great business technique). They might even tell you to stop watching their videos, but you never do, right? Why is that?
Building a business or losing weight is hard work. You might not find it fun and you won’t find the pretty girls and the fast cars you see under the motivation hashtags. It’s long days and even nights of conversations with people that may or may not want what you’re selling. It’s going to bed hungry and pouring out sweat to lose weight.
Sorry, but it’s failing and failing and failing some more.
I’m getting pretty real here because Monday morning motivation is worthless when you’re looking at memes with jets and Gucci loafers.
A Process That Works…
First, you have to know who you are. You need to be FULLY HONEST with yourself. Know exactly what you do well, what you do poorly, what you want to do, and most importantly what you absolutely don’t want to do. Get out a notebook and create your philosophy by talking about what you believe in. You’ll realize many things about your self with an exercise like this.
Disclaimer: Figuring out yourself is not something you can do in a weekend. It may take years or decades, but you don’t have to wait decades to build what you want. You can start right now, and I actually recommend starting while you figure it out.
Second, look for career options that cater to those preferences. If you know that you want to like pets, but want to be a millionaire and don’t want a 9-5 job, then being a traditional veterinarian might not be the best choice. However, with the internet today, you could be a veterinarian influencer if you have the credentials to back it up.
Create a YouTube channel about taking care of your pet, and sell classes, products, books, and retreats. It’s been done before. Trust me. Look it up. You can create a monetized personal brand about virtually anything these days. The trick is to become an authentic brand and market the hell out of it.
Winning Strategy Be Thy Name
The problem isn’t your lack of motivation. You’re confused on what to do and why. A lot of people out there are looking for a life beyond what their boss has. They are looking for freedom, money, fast cars, etc, but most importantly they are looking to end their boredom. The good news there is a blueprint and it’s below, skip to the end if you believe me.
Millenials are the target market of the Monday morning motivation epidemic. Millenials want instant gratification, recognition, work-life balance and flexibility. Not all occupations have those 4 things, so many millennials seek entrepreneurial endeavors. The problem is they lack the skills and the patience to execute on their plans if they have one.
“Create a Plan. Then Do The Plan.” The famous words of Charles Schwab in the Napolean Hill masterpiece, Think and Grow Rich.
This is the secret to creating something whether you like it or not. Many times it’s not the plan that’s the problem, it’s you. You’re in your own way and think that you need something to get you moving when things are happening instantly.
Keep It Simple Like a Savvy Marketer
One of the biggest reason for the boom is the overly-complicated strategies people are pushing out there. Combine that with a generation of people that require instant gratification and you’ll deal with a high amount of failures in any endeavors.
Map out your sales cycle using a pen and paper. If you’re a social media marketing agency, you need to get new customers and keep your old ones. That’s it! Now, how you do that can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.
Three Simple Strategies
Some people create a portfolio, then cold-email companies until their hands turn numb and then close the clients over the phone. This will work, and the evidence is below.
If cold-email isn’t your thing, you can try social media strategies. Reach out to people on Twitter and point people in the direction of your portfolio. If they like what you do and after a few follow-ups on your part, you’ll develop a relationship and start working together if they have the need.
Another strategy is to create ads leading to your website with three great offers, and one that really stands out among the others. When the client sees the offer was designed just for them they will contact you.
Each of these strategies will work, but none of them will work immediately. Depending on the skills you have, the time you put into getting clients, the quality of your portfolio, etc. will all determine how fast you move up the ladder.
None of the above strategies require a huge investment on your part, except the ads. That could be expensive if you’re new to the game or offering a product that is difficult to sell.
Let Sales Be Your Motivation
Next time you’re itching for some Monday morning motivation to think about sales. Instead of reaching for your phone to check out some inspiring quotes or watch somebody talk about this could your last Monday on earth, send out some cold-emails or get into some conversations on LinkedIn with some of your target market.
Don’t waste your time with inspiration. Be your inspiration and know that you’re the next big client is just an email away. It may take 1000 emails a day or it might take one. Either way, won’t you be happy when you get that client?
Chop Your Expectations in Half
Expectations are a huge problem with many business people out there. All the time, I see people looking for a quick fix (that is a huge problem) and then looking for these outlandish results. I’m not trying to rain on your parade, but you’re not going to have a Ferrari any time soon. This isn’t to say it’s not possible, but it should put some things into perspective.
If you think that you can get a Ferrari great, but if you don’t would you be ok with a Mustang or a Corvette? That’s not too bad, right? What about not driving a car at all for the first few years and using the bus to get around? Would you be ok with that?
Look the point isn’t to lower your goals, that’s never a good thing. My point is to learn to keep your goals in the back of your mind while you enjoy grinding it out in the short term. The more comfortable you are with making that extra cold-call or having that conversation with a possible client at midnight.
A Quick Story In Case You Still Need Monday Morning Motivation
“Behold, I send out like sheep among wolves.” Matthew 10:16
I have to finish this post with a quick story of one of the best online entrepreneurs out there.
Once upon a time, there was a young hungry salesman that wanted something more than a 9-5 job and 48 on the weekends. He wanted to live freely, so one day he went on Facebook to see what was out there. He discovered the wonderfully appearing world on online marketing and saw a pioneer that could show him the way.
This young salesman was not a marketer by trade, but he had the work ethic and a good head on his shoulders. He knew he needed three things to live the way he wanted to, so he went out there to get them. Here are those three things…
- Credibility
- A Solid Offer to Sell
- The Ability to Close Business
Number 1: Credibility
This young businessman found a great mentor that everybody in the business knew. This is key because he could name drop this pioneer and instantly be seen as an expert. He immediately reached out to this pioneer and begged him for training. After six months of grueling work and zero pay from this pioneer, our hero decided to create the business he always wanted.
Number 2: A Solid Offer To Sell
To do this he cold-emailed 3 businesses per day that fit perfectly into his target market and posted multiple times a day on Facebook. His offer was customized to their needs, which made his conversions very high. Also, his posts weren’t the ordinary content like his meals and nights out. These posts were geared towards showing his expertise.
When his emails were read, (they almost always were because his subject headings were very interesting) they would check out his Facebook and knew they were dealing with a professional. All this took about 3 hours per day.
Number 3: The Ability To Close Business
After a few weeks of 3 emails per day, he had more meetings than he could handle, which meant it was time to start raising his prices and taking on partners. After 4 months, he was making 4 times what he made in his first month. Since the emails and his offer were perfectly tailored to companies he knew had the money to pay for what he was offering, needed the service, and knew his credibility was for real it was easy for him to close over 90% of the people he talked to.
If you keep those three things in mind, you’ll be fine and grow your business quickly. However, keep in mind that it wasn’t a 4-month journey to riches, all the posting and the work he did for free before he started looking for clients made all the difference. With patience and knowing exactly what he wanted, he was able to conquer the internet marketing world and create the life he wanted.
Final Thoughts
Stick to the basics, and stay away from Monday morning motivation.
Look at this sentence again… “Since the emails and his offer were perfectly tailored to companies he knew had the money to pay for what he was offering, needed the service, and knew his credibility was for real it was easy for him to close over 90% of the people he talked to.”
If you take a long hard look at that and then recognize the degree to which you have those bolded things, you’ll know exactly what you need to do when you need to do it. Monday morning motivation won’t even be a factor and you’ll replace all those quirky inspirational memes with checks in the mail and a high bank account.
If you’re looking for more useful tactics for growing your online business this year, check out this article for a way to get off on the right foot.
