It was a Sunday evening and my wife Azure, our son Mason and I had just finished up dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. It had been a long day, which started with Mason waking up at 6:00a.m., bouncing up and down on our bed, wanting to get the day started early. I awoke all groggy — I just wanted to stay in bed and sleep.

“C'mon, Dada! C'mon, Mama! Get up. Let’s wake up and play,” Mason yelled.

I rolled over and looked at my wife as she gave me that, "Oh my god" look.

“OK, OK, OK, Mason. We are getting up,” I said.

I rolled out of bed and the day began. Mason came flying past me down the hallway, dove onto the couch, and began to play with his toys.

“Oh my god, how does this kid have this much energy so early in the morning?” I thought to myself.

He was energized and ready to take on the day. From that moment on, for the rest of the day, it was nonstop action—from running outside playing soccer, to playing superheroes in the house and diving on the floors and furniture. Each step of the way, Mason would not only run around and play, but he would negotiate and sell me on his ideas and plans.

“OK Mason, time to take a break now,” I said.

“What about we just play for five more minutes, Dada?”

“No, I think we should take a small break and then we can play again after that," I answered.

“How about we just play for four minutes then, Dada?” he countered quickly.

I gave up.

“OK, four minutes then,” I replied.

This went on all day with him, from taking playtime breaks to how many bites of food he needs to eat during lunch and dinner. He was the king of negotiation in my house, selling me on his ideas and plans. The negotiating even continued on the car ride home from the restaurant. My wife and I laid out a plan for our bedtime routine, but he managed to rearrange the plans ever so slightly to gain one or two extra minutes of playtime before brushing his teeth and reading his books. He negotiated with us to the very last second his head hit the pillow before he fell asleep for the night.

Kids like my son Mason have tremendous amounts of energy, day in and day out. They hop right out of bed and dive right into the day with extreme action. Mason knew exactly what his plan was on that Sunday and he conquered the day with energy, negotiating and selling us on his plans. As plumbers, this is how we need to start living our lives out in the field.

Whether we like it or not, we are salesmen. We are constantly in homes making repairs on problems at hand. Can you honestly say that when you enter a home, you are taking advantage of your full selling potential? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into a customer’s house and simply repaired the problem at hand, without suggesting some additional concerns or issues that should have been addressed. Now, I make an effort to get into the basement by offering a complimentary water pressure test, and I explain to the customer how important it is to maintain healthy pressure to ensure a longer lifespan for all of their fixtures. This allows me to scope out the hot water heater, pressure regulator and heating and cooling systems. If something looks questionable, I can then simply suggest to the customer the possible problems and solutions. Your goal from that point is to close the deal, negotiate and sell the customer on taking care of any other plumbing problem at hand.

Grant Cardone

This is very important for all you plumbers out there! Go to your nearest bookstore or online shopping website, and purchase Grant Cardone’s book, "The 10X Rule." I bought the audiobook last week (I prefer audio because I’m constantly in the truck every day.), and I strongly suggest you do the same. I feel like I am feeding my brain information and positivity while I work.

Grant Cardone is a king of motivation, and he knows how to sell! He has changed the way I live my life, how I run my company, and how I sell to my customers. He has taught me to apply that very same energy my son has day in and day out, to my life. I now wake up early and spring out of bed ready to take on the day. It’s so important to have that energy every day in your business and personal life.

You will be surprised at how your positive energy will radiate to not only your co-workers, but also to your customers. I’ve never suggested to you before to buy a particular book, but please purchase this book, and others, from Grant Cardone. Trust me, it will change your life. Now get into those basements and sell sell, sell!

Follow Grant Cardone on Periscope, Twitter and SnapChat. Search @GrantCardone for all platforms.

Tell him Sean, he plumber, sent ya!

Sean McCormack is co-owner of BMC Plumbing and Heating Inc. He can be reached by Email at seanmccormack99@yahoo.com; phone 845-596-7770; Twitter @seantheplumber1; and Periscope @seantheplumber. Visit Sean’s website at www.seantheplumber.com.