Are You Celebrating Your Wins?

Salespeople know that when we close the deal on a big account, it calls for a celebration!

Meeting our goals for the year? Office party! Major milestone? Balloons! We might even celebrate just for making it through a difficult work week. You need to celebrate the wins, right?

YES. YOU NEED TO CELEBRATE YOUR WINS!

Let me say it again. You need to; you have to; you must—celebrate your wins! Here are some examples of wins you should be celebrating:

• You washed the dishes even though you were really tired
• You finished the first task on a mile-long to-do list
• You made it to the gym even though you didn’t want to
• You kept your streak of meditating every day—even on vacation
• You dialed the first number on this week’s list of prospects

Small Wins Are Still Wins

“But Dew,” you’re saying, “I’m not sure those are WINS.”

Yes, those are wins worth celebrating, every bit as much as when your team wins. Sure, you might not brag about these wins to your friends. But try being honest with yourself about what is a win for you and celebrate it!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may know that I exercise every day, no matter what. I’ve learned that I won’t melt in the rain, and I won’t freeze to death in winter. I just put the right gear on and get my walk in. Every single day.

Here’s the thing: My win doesn’t happen when I finish my walk. My win isn’t reaching the end of that third mile.

My win is when I leave the house.

The hardest part of exercising every day isn’t the exercise. It’s getting yourself ready and getting out the door. As soon as I walk outside, I know I’m getting my three miles in.

The win isn’t always at the end.

Keep the Win Going

Celebrating wins is critical—even when they’re small, silly wins. Your goal is to keep the win going. I’ll admit, sometimes designing the way I’ll celebrate a win takes longer than actually doing the task, but that’s how important celebration is!

Here’s an example of keeping the win going: I wanted to make 25 calls one day last week. I made a stack of post-its numbered 1 through 25. After every call, I tore one post-it off the stack—it was my little celebration to keep going to the end.

Another way to keep a win going is to go for a streak—and celebrate the fact that you’ve kept the streak alive. I am a streak queen! Little things like closing all the exercise rings on my Apple Watch give me a reason to celebrate. It’s a small win that represents a bigger, ongoing win.

I set a goal of setting time aside to meditate every day. But how can you “win” at meditation? A streak! I use the Calm app to track my progress and could see my streak getting longer every day. Today I’ve meditated over 1700 days in a row! Every day added to my streak is a reminder to celebrate.

Go Celebrate Some Stuff!

Try it next time you’re dialing prospects, especially if that’s a task you dread. When you’ve dialed your first prospect, celebrate! Remember, starting is an accomplishment too—because once you start, the momentum will follow.

Whether it’s prospect calls, exercise, or a diet change—celebrate however you need to, to keep the win going!

Until next time—go sell some stuff!