In this Expert Insight Interview, Alison Edgar, the first MBE ever on this podcast, discusses her latest book, Smash It! The Art of Getting What You Want. Alison Edgar is a Member of the British Empire (MBE). She was awarded her MBE in 2020 as recognition for her long-term work with entrepreneurs and businesspeople. The Queen awards this honor, and only a tiny percentage of these are handed out to business people.
This Expert Insight Interview discusses:
- What it means to “smash it.”
- How to set better goals
- How SMART objectives help us achieve our dreams
Smash It!
The phrase “smash it” has a different connotation in the U.S. than in the U.K., where the term originally comes from tennis and means to really go for something and succeed.
For Alison, smashing it is really about getting what you want in every aspect of your life. Obviously, this is important in sales, but part of the reason people are good at sales is that they have their priorities right and a balance in their lives overall.
Setting Goals
Many people struggle with the fact that they don’t really know what they want. This makes it hard for them to “smash it” because they don’t really know what it is they’re trying to smash. One of the statistics Alison talks about in her latest book is that according to Inc. Magazine, only 8% of people hit their goals.
She thinks the main reason for this is that many people don’t set goals in the first place. They might have thoughts and vague ideas of what they want, but they don’t actually write them down, create a vision board, or put their goals in any tangible form.
SMART Objectives
In sales, we’ve all had those days when we feel that it’s all gone to hell and stop believing that we’re ever going to be able to hit our targets. On days like that, when you don’t feel like “smashing it,” it helps to look at what you’re striving for and have it written down.
SMART objectives are another thing that Alison talks about as a tried and tested approach. It is always a great idea to think about whether a goal you’re looking to set is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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