If you have climbed the difficult mountain of sales to a point of success, you understand the pain of rejection. You have faced negative thoughts about your character and pushed forward. You knew you could do it and pushed past the negative forces that stood in your path. Self doubt is an adversary in our sales career that we must each over come. A recent conversation with a struggling salesperson caught my attention this week. Our discussion began as a focus on what went wrong during the week rather than what went right. It was clear that the salesperson was frustrated, needed answers and some reassurance about outside sales. Continuing down this negative path, we changed course in our conversation and discovered hidden reasons to celebrate the successes. This was an area that the salesperson was overlooking. He had reason to celebrate and identify some areas where he accomplished his goals. From this conversation we were able to establish strategies for duplicating what worked well. The new perspective and celebration of success was refreshing. It was probably the frustration factor in our earlier conversation that made the victory all the sweeter. So, what if there wasnt any pain? Would the victory be lessened? It probably would be. No Pain, No Gain Now, that you just read about pain and frustration, imagine having no struggle in riding a bike for the first time as a child. Remember when you were taught how to ride a bike? The fear of falling captivated your every thought. You knew what the pain would be like, because, you had fallen before. The training wheels had helped steady your path, now it was time to challenge the road with only two wheels. This was a big moment in your life. The peer pressure from friends who had mastered the two wheeled monster was too strong to ignore. It is unlikely that you met the challenge with success the very first time. Perhaps you had the steady hand of a father assisting as he raced along side with encouragement. It was a combination of things which led to your success. Regardless of how you met victory on two wheels, it was a major event in your life. You conquered a formidable task. Have you seen the new tricycle bicycle? The tricycle bicycle is a new invention that isnt on the market yet, you can see how this invention will change riding a bike forever. Children will no longer be faced with a challenge, because, the tri-bike will automatically change from a tricycle to a bike as the rider moves faster. As the bike slows down, the bike will transform back to a tricycle. It is a shame that the victory of riding a bike, for the first, time will diminish to an easy task that anyone can accomplish. When you feel the weight of frustration and rejection in outside sales, remember, you must have some pain to make the nectar of success taste as sweet as it is. When you encounter tough times, look to what you are doing right and bathe in that success. Duplicate what is working and soon there will be more victories than defeats. |
