Building Momentum: The 30 calls before lunch rule

Last week I shared some thoughts on creating momentum to get started. Recently I was talking to a fellow business owner and I shared this story from super early in my sales career.

At one of my first sales jobs, long before CG Sports, my typical morning routine was pretty relaxed. After a 45 minute commute I’d arrive at the office, grab a coffee, use the restroom and then finally sit down.

At my desk, after booting up the computer, chatting with colleagues, and clearing emails, I'd inevitably face the looming task of cold calls. Despite thinking that clearing tasks would prep me, the opposite occurred. The longer I waited, the heavier the phone felt. Distractions only begot more distractions (who saw that coming). Colleagues got lost in casual convo, weekend recaps and I sometimes followed suit.

By 10 am, the board showed zero cold calls or meetings. Ironically, my reluctance to pick up the phone increased as time passed. I would feel guilty and needed to implement a better system to help me rip off the band aid.

A game-changer arrived a month into the job after a meeting with one of our VP’s. She gave me a quote that flipped my perspective: "You don't have to feel good to get started, but you do need to get started to feel good."

The first cold call of the day was always the toughest, especially early in the morning. But pushing through that initial resistance created momentum. Establishing a flow, I seamlessly moved from one dial task to the next, realizing that getting started was the real challenge.

The 30 Dials or No Lunch Rule

To combat procrastination, I introduced the "30 Dial No Lunch Rule." No lunch breaks until the first 30 cold calls were done. Bursting into the office, I swiftly launched into dialing, motivated by the prospect of eating lunch by noon after hitting the target. After 30 calls, a brief break preceded a return to dialing. On many days I would be doubling my expected output.

Despite office distractions, riding the wave of positive momentum let me finish the remaining cold calls before others even made their first attempt. This quirky rule turned the countdown to lunch into a metaphor for a full pipeline, transforming a routine into a secret approach to productivity. Recognizing that delaying action only prolonged challenges, I embraced the idea that kicking off work early was the true key to success in the sales world.

And you know what I discovered? I loved cold outreach and I was good at it. I just needed to get started on the first 5 minute stretch.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I was instilling techniques and discipline that would one day help my start CG Sports from the ground up. And we’re still at it today!

Hope this helps! Lets finish the month strong.