Any Olympian or successful sales person will tell you: Personal commitment takes hold waaaaayyy before the start of the race. 

Personal commitment? You could say it’s in Jeremy Quinn’s blood. His mother is entering her 58th year of teaching first grade, with no signs of letting up soon. His father worked until he was 72 and remains a busy body, “always doing something.” Jeremy was raised in the spirit of one infamous Nike slogan that’s become commonplace in popular culture: “Just do it.”

“Growing up as far back as I can remember, if there was any leisure time to be had, it was after everything else was done,” Jeremy recalls.

Such a commitment carries over to the office for Jeremy, and his commitment to himself to do what is needed to produce successful outcomes. In fact, during the course of the phone interview, he openly expresses his anxiousness over the need for some net new business. He could go home, but expresses that as soon as we hang up, he’s headed out to knock on some doors and see what he can muster up in the last minutes of the workday. It’s not unlike doing laundry or washing dishes back at the house. It doesn’t matter whether he wants to or not. Just do it.

Jeremy’s drive has also been recognized among his colleagues. More times than he can recall, he has been awarded the “Gung Ho!” sales award, which rewards top performers for number of sales activities each period. These range from phone calls, appointments, door knocks, etc. By exercising routines like “five to the left, five to the right” and “10 calls before 10 a.m.” he keeps his activity up without really even stopping to take count.

Just do it.

Just Do It: 5 Tips That Help Drive Jeremy’s Commitment to Himself.

1. Have your day planned.

Jeremy’s general rule of thumb? Arrive before eight and have your day planned out so you can “hit the day running.” Have that goal of making 10 calls before 10, and schedule at least 2 meetings per day.

“Things come up and your day doesn’t always go as planned, but it helps to at least have a head start on what you’re hoping to accomplish in a given day,” Jeremy said. “I also don’t hesitate to take short mental breaks throughout the day, so I can turn around and hit second gear and take off again.”

2. Don’t be afraid to change it up.

When it comes to prospecting, inevitably, some days are better than others.

"You’ve got to persevere. If I’m making 25 phone calls, and I’m hitting dead end after dead end, I will pack it up and go door knocking.”

3. Know your audience.

Part of Jeremy’s personal commitment is to know his customer base. It helps that he was born and raised in Longview, but his territory – from Longview to Gilmer to Gladewater and Big Sandy – includes a wide array of folks. It’s up to him to understand things from their perspective.

“In my territory, you’ve got everything from doctors and lawyers saying get the heck outta my office to a filthy mechanic who’s willing to sit down and chat with you for 30 minutes,” Jeremy said.

4. Act naturally.

Jeremy knows himself well enough to know that he may not “be the most articulate, or the most creative at prospecting ideas.” But talking to people comes naturally to him.

“Doing the work comes naturally to me,” Jeremy said. “I feel like I can find the middle ground with just about anybody. Maybe I know somebody that you know, but we’ll find a way to break the ice. I just try to make people feel like I want to know more about them.”

5. Remember your “Why.”

It may sound simple, but it’s critical to sustaining any personal commitment. Jeremy’s activity rate stays high because he keeps top of his mind the reason why he’s doing what he’s doing throughout the day.

“I want to be able to take care of my family, and then hopefully have some left over so in the end they can take care of theirs,” Jeremy said. “I want to go on some nice trips with my family. Getting there means committing to the activities and taking care of my clients and constantly searching for that First Time Account.”