How Do You Measure Success?
I had an interesting “a-ha” moment this week. In order to achieve a specific goal, a crucial beginning step is to have clarity on your outcome, right? For me, I have been working on a program that I plan to offer in January. I have a specific goal in mind as to how many people I want to “show up” for my next program. It’s an aggressive goal, but if we don’t aim high, we will never grow.
In all honesty, there’s a piece of me that’s terrified. Of what, you might ask? I am terrified that:
- No one will show up
- For those that do show up, what they will think of me
- What I have to teach will not be of good value and they will criticize it
- I will omit important material
- The organization of my program will be messy and people will complain
We all have these kind of fears when we are about to step up to the plate. My “a-ha” came to me as I finished my run. I heard a whisper in my head saying “Don’t measure your success by the number, but rather what you give.” In that moment, I actually got it. I have been so focused on getting a certain number of people to register for my program in January, that I have lost focus on what I will be giving them, and how it will help them grow…in their business and in their lives.
The thing is, in every personal growth book I have read, or CD to which I have listened, they teach you to pick a number and focus on it, because when you do, you have clarity…and clarity is power. But the realization I had yesterday was that YES, I need to pick a number and focus on it. However, I should NOT measure my success against this number. It’s like you have to pick a number and focus on it to give the universe clarity around what you want…but then, you have to let go of it a little and instead focus your energy on what you will give and measure your success by how much you did give.
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. When you measure your success by a results based number, you give your power away. In all reality, I have no control over what people will or will not do…including signing up for my program. But when I measure my success by the number of people that sign up, I am giving my power to something external, outside of me and my control. No wonder why that feels so scary! What I CAN control is what I give to them, and that’s how I should be measuring my success. And to back up a little, I can also measure my value by what I have to give. How do I know what I have to give? A whole lot of personal growth and discovery.
It made me think of the Law of Circulation. We are all aware of the Law of Gravity – that if I jump out of a 2nd story window, I will fall down, not up, nor will I float. Well, there are lots of other laws that govern our life on this earth and one of them is the Law of Circulation, which is simply that you get what you give. You may have heard of karma. Karma is just another way of stating the Law of Circulation. In fact, you get way more than you give. But the circuit starts with giving. So, if you want to get (like I want to get my number), I have to start with the giving side.
Your assignment today is to identify one or two things that you have to give and then give it to people all day long. It could be something as simple as a smile or a sense of humor. Or it could be a little more intellectual like a great tip on a secret restaurant for a client traveling to Italy. Change your focus on what you have to give, not what you can get, and go give it. Do this on a daily basis and you will see significant changes in your life.
Your Experience is Priceless
As a travel agent, you have traveled many places, experienced hundreds of destinations and have a world of value sitting right in your head. But, how often do you give yourself credit for the things you REALLY know well?
Here’s a great story I would like to share, that just occurred for us at Hills of Africa, yesterday. A travel agent contacted us about assisting with a potential journey for clients interested in traveling to Tanzania.
The clients didn’t contact the travel agent first. Instead, they started searching on the internet and found a small tour operator, based in Tanzania, that offered itineraries with prices that appealed to the client (on the low end). The clients e-mailed the tour operator and requested a quote. A day later, the tour operator presented the clients with a proposed itinerary. Since the clients had never heard of the tour operator, and they were considering dropping thousands of dollars on a vacation to a destination they may never travel to again, they decided to seek an opinion. This is when they got in contact with their travel agent.
So, the travel agent contacted Hills of Africa to see if we could provide a quote for her clients, hoping to get the business. We put the agent in touch with Mark Homann, our fabulous East Africa specialist. The agent forwarded Mark the proposed itinerary for a look, opinion and also requested that he put together an itinerary and quote.
Mark Homann
Mark is from Zimbabwe, but it’s possible, he knows the safari terrain in Kenya and Tanzania, better than the back of his hand. Mark is an East Africa specialist because he has years of experience as a private safari guide in the area. He also spent time as the head safari guide at one of the most luxurious lodges in Tanzania.
Mark is not one to seek attention – but his reaction to the itinerary sought mine. He flatly told me it was the worst planned itinerary he has ever laid eyes upon.
In his lovely Zimbabwean accent (albeit softened by several years living in the USA), he said to me “the clients are traveling in February and at that time of year, the migration is close to the Crater. They are going to drive past the migration, all the way to the other side of the Serengeti. The whole point of being in the Serengeti is being close to the migration so that you can spend time with it. One of their transfers is going to be 7 hours long and this is 7 hours of driving AWAY from the best animal concentrations at this time of year.”
For Mark, it was as clear as day that this itinerary was all wrong. But the clients had no idea. They were focused on price. They found an itinerary whose price matched what they were “willing” to pay. The quote Mark created had a price tag almost double the original itinerary, and it remains to be seen if the clients book our itinerary. Even if they don’t book our itinerary, Mark’s expertise just saved the client thousands of dollars.
The lesson I want you to take from this story is that what is plain as day to you, thanks to your experience and expertise, is often not on the radar screen for your clients. Take a moment to really appreciate the value of your expertise. When you value your expertise, your clients will too!
