Why wait to Get a Round-Tuit?

Several years ago, I met a man who sold insurance. He handed me a Round-Tuit. You may have seen one of these things. It’s a wooden coin that says, “Tuit” on it. Aside from being a clever gimmick for a man selling insurance, it provides an important lesson for the rest of us. A Round-Tuit is of those things – a project, an email, a phone call, a conversation – that you’ve been putting off. When asked about it, you say,

“I’ll get around to it.”

Get it?

“I’ll get a ‘Round-Tuit.’

Very often, it’s a mistake you’re unwilling to correct. The man I met told me that my decision not to buy insurance fell squarely in that category. He said that just because I haven’t been able to take care of it, didn’t mean I shouldn’t address it right then and there. Putting aside for a moment his old school hard-closing ways, we can all learn a lot from his “Round-Tuit.” Based on our conversations with leaders, managers, and salespeople alike, we think the phrase “haven’t yet been able to take care of” could be replaced with “unwilling to confront.”

You see, a lot of people – it’s human nature – don’t like to address something that’s difficult like admitting a mistake. We would rather take care of all of the little things that are easy to handle rather than attempt to deal with difficult or large projects. True leaders separate themselves from the rest of humanity with their ability to confront the difficult things — like their mistakes. They understand that it makes no sense to wait to correct a mistake or work on a difficult project. They know it’s better to work when things are new than when they’re old. So, here’s the call to action:

1. Think of the Round-Tuit that you’ve been putting off.
2. Stop thinking of it.
3. Go do it.

Of course, the most important question remains: What’s the best way to get started?

If you’ve been thinking about improving the performance of your sales team, why wait another day?