By Scott Nichols

Today, let’s talk about goals. Okay, before you turn the page because of another boring article about goals, just give this one a chance. This one will be different; I promise you that. Of course, we will be talking about goals but we will be talking about them in a different light. The problem with goals is that life gets in the way and our motivation lasts only so long. But, what if goals actually do work, but how we use them and implement them is wrong? What if we could find a way to keep our goals going strong?  We all know that if all our goals were achieved, it would catapult us to a new level. Imagine what it could do for our staff and your stores!

Part One – 75-Day Program

I am currently on day 43 of a 75-day program. It’s not a challenge but a program that I committed to. I wanted to see if I could do it because all other programs or goals I have set failed. Think about New Year’s resolutions, how many have you set and failed? How many even do resolutions anymore? I sure don’t! Past resolutions were always well intended but as the days went on I lost motivation and went back to my normal habits. And right there was the problem: I lost motivation. Why is that?  It’s similar to when a sales associate does really well after training but as the days go on their sales go right back to where they once were. The sales associate was all excited and confident after training, so what happened? Let me give you a little background on the 75-day program I am doing first.

The 75-day program consist of:

• Two 45-minute workouts each day and one has to be outside. Weather can’t be a factor. Rain or shine, you must do one workout outside.
• Must follow a meal plan for proper eating. It can be Keto, calorie counting or whatever program you would like. The goal is to find something that can be sustainable long-term.
• Must drink a gallon of water each day. You can drink other things that fit your meal plan but it won’t count towards the gallon of water.
• Must read 10 pages of a self-help book. No audio.
• No alcohol for 75 days.
• Must take a daily progress picture each day. Must have shirt off for males and sports bra for females.

This program, in my opinion, does a great job on helping people reach their goals. It has six steps and each one can be a challenge. Each day in itself has its own challenges but now add six more “things” you now need to do? That seems insane, and I think that is what has drawn me to this program. I really didn’t know what to expect when I started this program, but what I do know right now is I will finish it.

Trust me, I will tell you how this relates to tanning, but I want to point out a few of these steps that I found important.

1. Take a progress picture each day. This was the weirdest one for me but has become the number one reason why I am still doing this program. If you try and follow me on Facebook, you won’t find me. I have been off Facebook since 2013. So, taking a selfie everyday was out of my comfort zone. But, here is why this step is important. I have a daily reminder of exactly why I am doing this program. Sure, in 43 days I have seen progress and that is rewarding, but knowing every morning I have to take a picture of myself sure helps me eat better and drink water vs. other sugary drinks. Also, being able to take a picture knowing I didn’t cheat any meals is rewarding, and I have the pleasure of experiencing that every day.
2. Reading 10 pages of a self-help book. At first, this was a struggle for me. It wasn’t because I had to read 10 pages but rather what was on those 10 pages. The first book I read had nothing to do with anything I was interested in, nor anything that was going on in my life. I felt like I was really struggling with it. I would even go back and count the pages to see how many I had left to read. The struggle was real! The second book I read was about eating healthy and how to make the correct choices to ensure you eat properly. This book is much easier to read because of the 75-day program I am doing. It was fitting perfectly in my life, and each night I am reading well beyond 10 pages.
3. The last one I will talk about is working out two times a day for 45 minutes each. It’s not the actual workout that is difficult, but finding the time. I coach both of my kids in soccer, and with doing so, I have practice five nights a week and games on Saturday and Sunday. I still have a full-time job as well! So, this past Saturday, my son had a game at 9:00AM in the morning and my daughter had a game 2.5 hours away at 4:30PM. I didn’t get home until almost 9:00PM. I had to still do my second workout, drink a half a gallon of water and read 10 pages. Trust me, this was the perfect time to quit and the most justifiable as well. I still pushed through it. The very next morning my daughter had a game two hours away at 10:30AM and my in-laws’ 40^th wedding anniversary party was  also later that day. I knew if I was going to keep with this program, I needed to get my first workout in before we left for soccer. I was at the gym on a Sunday at 6:00AM.

Now why am I telling you this? It’s simple: Too many (including myself) say we don’t have enough time. I say you’re wrong and you’re just not willing to put forth the effort. Everyone has 24 hours, and everyone is busy, but what are you busy with?  What can you afford to give up to introduce something better in your life?

Part Two – 75 Days to Change Your Sales Program

The reason most training fails is because it doesn’t impact you enough. There needs to be enough impact that it changes your habits. For instance, receiving training once every quarter doesn’t have enough impact on your selling habits. As stated before, it will change your sales for a few days, but shortly after you will be back to your old habits.

What if you had a program that you did for 75 days vs. training that happens every quarter?  I think you will see a tremendous improvement.

Here are the three things that I would work on each of the 75 days:

1. An after-action report. I have talked about this in prior articles, but these do work. I won’t touch base on an after-action report too much (if you want to go back and read it, it’s one month back). Create a chart the employee must fill out at the end of each shift. This chart should include their daily sales, number of memberships sold, sunless numbers and lotion sales. This should be kept in an area or binder that will allow the employee to see what they are doing each day. Just like the daily selfie, the after-action report will give you a daily snapshot of the progress you are making. Employees need to see that the training and program is working. Once they see it is, they will be on board.
2. There is a lot an employee can do on their own but much more when you can direct them. Get a list of books (that you recommend) and encourage an employee to read 10 pages a day. You can allow them to bring them home or if there is downtime behind the desk encourage them to take advantage of that time. These books must have some relationship to their job. A few topics would be sales, time management and how to train employees. In 75 days, an employee could be reading four or five books that would help them reach their goals.
3. This last step is important for management. Spend time each day (twice if you can) working on your business. Do NOT confuse this with working in your business. Take 45 minutes at the start of the day and build your business. What can you improve and what needs working on? What direction do you want to move your business? Do you want to increase sunless or increase EFTs? You are able to look at the employees’ after-action reports and get a good idea of what is working or not.

You might say that you don’t have 45 minutes, and I will call you out on that. I can hear people saying how they don’t’ have the time. You don’t have time to spend building your business? Then this is exactly why you need to do this. Spend just 45 minutes one time, that’s right just once, and give yourself the task of finding how you can incorporate 45 minutes a day building your business. You might have to wake up 45 minutes earlier, which means you need to go to bed 45 minutes earlier which means you might have to stop watching one more TV show before bed.

Once you have incorporated 45 minutes, can you take another time frame and do the same?  I am talking about 1.5 hours a day building your business. I don’t recommend you doing 1.5 hours all at once but split it up. Do one 45 minutes in your office or store and do another 45 minutes away from the store. The idea is to push your abilities to a new level. If you were to do this 5 days a week, you are spending almost 400 hours a year looking at your business and building it.

If you reread the first paragraph, I talked about goals, and I asked to give this article a chance. See, the real point of this article wasn’t about goals, but it was about changing your behavior to create new habits. Our habits are formed usually by comfort and by doing things that make us feel safe and happy.  If you’re not used to writing an after-action report during shift, then you need to create this new habit.  If you’re not used to reading 10 pages a day, then you need to start doing it today. This all can be difficult, but if you do it one day, you can do it another. If you can do it two days, you can do it three and so on. What is being asked of you won’t take up too much of your time, but it will change what you do with the rest of your time.

Each of these three steps complement each other. You won’t know if reading 10 pages a day will help unless you see some type of daily progress report. After a week or two, you can see the progress that is being made. The third step comes in to play as the most important step. This is where you can study what is happening in your business and make the changes. The after-action reports will give you exactly what you need to improve your staff, see what specials are working and much more. If you are struggling on how to improve your business, make sure our 10 pages a day are related to this.

This whole process can be an amazing experience. It could have a huge impact on your business if you follow through on it. These are just three steps that you could do for the next 75 days. The result will be new habits formed, progress shown daily, staff that is trained and motivated, and almost 400 hours building your business. It’s up to you if you want to get started. Either way, I challenge you to mark off 75 days from today on your calendar on your phone. When that 75 days happens (because it will), either you will be happy you started or regretting you never did. 75 days is coming!