About this episode
WARNING: This Monday’s message will be one of the most powerful hacks you’ll ever integrate into your life—because it’s simple, easy to put into practice, and it works. It has the potential, over the course of time, to change everything for you. It’s the BTN method, and I learned it from a friend of mine who completely transformed his life and his habits by mastering this one straight-forward tactic. Forgiving Yourself When You Get Off Track In James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, he talks about a strategy for making a habit stick: never miss two days in a row. In other words, if you mess up on Monday—if you skip your workout or drop the ball on your new habit—you give yourself permission to let it go. But get right back on track by Tuesday. You never miss two days in a row and allow those mistakes to pile up and push you right back into the bad habit you are trying to change. I love this advice because it reminds us we’re all human. We’re going to slip up. Life happens—kids get sick, you get sick, clients call with emergencies, your boss piles extra tasks on your desk, or your flight is delayed and you’re stranded in an airport— sometimes you've just have to eat that piece of cake. James Clear’s approach is, when this happens, to give yourself a break. It’s okay that you messed up once. Forgive yourself but just don’t let it spiral downward by stringing together multiple days of misses together. It's a great approach. But there is another strategy that works even better for staying track, makes it easier to bounce back, still allows you to be human, and over time yields far better results. If you really want to build unstoppable sales habits and supercharge your performance you’ll love this approach. The BTN Secret A few years back, I was meeting a good friend of mine for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other in a couple of years. He’s the CEO of a large company—constantly flying all over the world, dealing with high-level negotiations, board meetings, you name it. I know from experience that this kind of schedule can wreak havoc on your diet, your sleep, and especially your exercise routine. When Chris walked into the restaurant, I was stunned. He looked incredible—like a completely different person. He’d lost a bunch of weight and was in fantastic shape. As we sat down at our table I couldn’t help but blurt out, “Dude, you look incredible, how on earth do you manage to find the time to exercise and take care of yourself like that with your insane schedule.” The truth is that at the time, I was really struggling with my own health. I’d been traveling without a break and gained far too much weight. I felt bad. And even though I knew I needed to do something about it, I was wrestling with the typical excuses: busy travel itinerary, client dinners, lack of time in the mornings for a real workout, late nights in airports, and exhaustion. Chris looked at me, smiled, and said, “I use the BTN method.” I instantly reached for my phone to Google “BTN” because I thought it was some new, miracle workout program and I was looking for anything that could help me get my health back on track. Chris just started laughing. “You’re not gonna find that on Google,” he said. “BTN stands for Better Than Nothing.” Why Doing “Just a Little Bit” Matters More Than You Think Chris explained his philosophy: No matter where he is—no matter how jam-packed his day, no matter how exhausted he feels—he refuses to let a single day pass without doing some form of exercise—no matter how little. On a good day, when he has time, he does an intense 45-minute workout. But if he doesn’t have time, if he’s been in back-to-back meetings from dawn to dusk, then he’ll at least drop down on the floor in his hotel room and do five push-ups, or 20 jumping jacks, or a two-minute plank. Something. Anything. Just not nothing. He explained that five push-ups is better than none and over time it all adds up. That’s the BTN method—Something is Better Than Nothing. The Mental Hurdle One big reason most of us haven’t adopted the BTN mindset is that it feels too small to matter. If you’re used to a 60-minute workout, you might think, “Ten push-ups? That’s useless. Might as well not do anything." The truth is that doing anything is infinitely better than doing nothing because of the cumulative impact of doing a little bit every day. For Chris, the months and years of never missing a day completely transformed his health. Plus, BTN keeps you tethered to your routine, your discipline, momentum, and your sense of identity as someone who follows through and never misses a day. Applying “Better Than Nothing” to Prospecting In my book Fanatical Prospecting, I talk about how prospecting is one of those non-negotiable activities you must do every single day to keep your pipeline full. Yet, if we’re honest, nobody really likes prospecting. We’ll dream up any excuse, and I mean any excuse to put it off: proposals that need writing, admin tasks, emails, that one big client who demands your attention 24/7, meetings, the boss, it’s Wednesday, a full moon or maybe just the allure of another cup of coffee in the break room. Of course there are real, legitimate issues that impact how much time you have for prospecting during your sales day. I know you’re busy. You have fires to put out. Big presentations. And a packed schedule of demos, discovery, and closing meetings. On these days when your schedule is that packed it's not unusual to roll a zero and skip prospecting altogether. It’s not like you did it on purpose. But that’s a big problem because those zeros add up to zero. The number one reason for failure in sales is an empty pipeline and the number one reason why you have an empty pipeline is because you did zero prospecting. The Law of Cumulative Impact A zero day is a day when you do absolutely nothing toward your goal. In fitness, that means no movement, no push-ups, not even a single squat. In sales, it means ignoring prospecting entirely. Zero days are the real enemy because zero days compound your inaction leading to crash and burn failure. By contrast though, when you adopt a something is better than nothing mindset and commit to never rolling a zero, you’ll accomplish more than you ever thought possible because you tap into the law of cumulative impact. The Law of Cumulative Impact states that small, consistent actions, when repeated regularly over time, add up to produce massive results. In other words, even seemingly insignificant efforts—like making a few prospecting calls or doing a short workout—lead to major transformations in performance, health, and personal growth over time. Something is Better than Nothing Some days you’ll knock out 50 cold calls. Other days you might only manage to make five. That’s okay! Because the last time I checked, five is better than zero. By continuously stacking small wins, you harness the compounding effect and far exceed what can be achieved with occasional bursts of high effort followed by long stretches of inaction. Doing five push-ups every single day for a year accumulates to nearly 2,000 push-ups. That’s going to tone your upper body, build endurance, and keep your metabolism humming. Doing five calls a day is 25 calls a week, over 100 calls a month, and well above 1,000 calls a year. That’s a massive chunk of pipeline-building activity from “just five calls a day.” The key is allowing yourself to be proud of those micro-wins. You’re aiming for progress, not perfection. And the days when you can do more—fantastic. But on others you have to accept that doing something is a win because it’s better than nothing. Greatness in sales comes from consistent daily effort. The pipeline is always flowing because you never stop feeding it. The “Better Than Nothing” approach ensures you’re always adding logs to the fire—maybe just a few some days, maybe a whole bundle on others, but never letting it burn out completely. Over time, that’s how you create unstoppable momentum. Putting the BTN Method Into Action Here are the keys to putting the BTN Method into practice in your sales day and life. Adopt “No Zeros” Mindset: Wake up each morning telling yourself that you are a person who never has a zero day of prospecting—no matter how swamped or frazzled you feel. Say it out loud. Plan for BTN Activities: Identify the simplest tasks you can do if you’re pressed for time (like calling five leads or sending three emails). Fill the Gaps: Always carry a prospecting list with you. That way you are always prepared. Whenever you find yourself with a tiny window—maybe someone cancels a Zoom meeting or you have 20 minutes between appointments—use the gap to make a few calls. No chunk of time is too small. Celebrate Small Wins: It might feel silly to fist-bump yourself for just doing something, but that mental reinforcement works. You’re rewarding yourself for no zeros. And remember, this doesn’t just apply to prospecting. Never let a day go by without some form of progress toward your sales goals. Five minutes, ten minutes, one micro-task—it’s always better than nothing. 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