There is no such thing as failure – right? Wrong: Of course there is failure. For example, if we take a driving test or an exam we either pass or fail. Salespeople will either succeed in achieving their monthly/quarterly/annual sales targets or fail to meet them.
The key is how we perceive “failure”
Every failure can be looked at as a learning opportunity that is beautifully epitomised by Thomas Edison the inventor of the light bulb. Despite more than 10,000 failures, he stood by his dream until he made it a physical reality. He said that every discarded idea took him one-step closer towards finding the idea that would work.
One of the most powerful self-coaching questions salespeople can ask is, “What will I do differently next time?” or “What can I learn from this?”
Salespeople who make mistakes and learn from those mistakes have a tendency to do better than salespeople who are scared to fail. Therefore we should see that when we don’t achieve our targets we have an opportunity to learn, because we have been given great feedback on what not to do next month.
Accepting 100% responsibility creates transformation.
Every action we take creates a reaction that is based on the formula of cause and effect. Everything that happens is the effect of an underlying cause.
Most people spend their lives operating at effect “It’s not my fault I always end up in bad relationships.” “Life’s so unfair, things always happen to me.” “We’re in a recession, that’s why I haven’t achieved target. “If I could only match our competitor’s prices, I’d win more deals.”
True personal power can be achieved when we accept 100% responsibility for what we create in our lives.
To put it another way, we get one of two things; the result or outcome we want or the reasons why we did not (you may recognize these as “excuses”!)
The more we focus on the reasons (excuses) and blame circumstances beyond our control, we push away our personal power.
Therefore, if we believe that we are in control of the situations that life appears to throw at us, then we are in control of our thinking and emotions, and therefore in control of our own lives.
This belief has given thousands of salespeople the determination to break through so many barriers and overcome countless challenges when at times it was tempting to wallow in self-pity.
If something good or bad happens, we should ask ourselves, “How did I create that?”
This question enables us to tap into our brain’s infinite potential and it will give us all the answers we need.
If we are prepared to commit 100% to taking responsibility, the results can be extraordinary.