Winners Fail

Have you ever found yourself choosing to not do something because you were afraid that you would fail? Of course you have. We all have. Let's face it, fear of embarrassment is a powerful motivator! Losing face hurts. Right?

Or does it? Really think about it. Does it really, truly hurt? Should it stop you from trying something new and creative? Should you be afraid to fail? No!

If you've been following my blog you will know that I've been reading Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. The following sentences caused me to ear-mark a page (and for those of you who are book lovers, ear-marking a page in a book doesn't come easily).

"Successful people are successful for one simple reason: they think about failure differently"

I really like that sentence. In fact, I hope you read it again and choose to really like it too.

There's more...

"Successful people learn from failure, but the lesson they learn is a different one. They don't learn that they shouldn't have tried in the first place, and they don't learn that they are always right and the world is wrong and they don't learn that they are losers. They learn that the tactics they used didn't work or that the person they used them on didn't respond".

Weekly, sales reps tell me that their contact didn't respond to them, rejected their proposal, or pulled business opportunities from them. They were told, "No". After one try, many reps are willing to give up. They hear "No" and accept it as the final answer.

I often wonder if I stole this from some great author - or, hopefully, I've modified it and made it my own. Those who have worked with me long enough have often heard me say:

"Don't take it personally. No doesn't really mean no...it just means you haven't given them a good enough reason to say yes.

Hey, 80% of your sales day is going to be filled with rejection. If you don't approach each day with the mindset above you should quit and find a job that doesn't require the mental discipline that is necessary to succeed in sales.

To be successful in sales you must think about failure differently. Trying and failing does not give you permission to give up. It is up to you to regroup, create a new plan, and give them a good enough reason to say yes.

Don't fear failure. Winners fail. Winners don't give up. Winners win.

Are you a winner?