This article was originally published on the Beyonce of Insurance blog site.
You’re going to fail.
And that’s okay.
In fact – failure could potentially be one of the best things that’s ever happened to you.
You know who else failed at one point?
Steve Jobs.
Richard Branson.
Bill Gates.
Ashley Fitzsimmons.
Gasp!
I know, I know. Ashley Fitzsimmons?! Failed?! Hard to believe.
But here’s the (what shouldn’t be) big secret: it’s what you do in the wake of failing that will set you apart.
Problems VS Opportunities
Sounds like a cheesy poster. But if a cheesy poster on your wall is going to help drill this into your head, I’ll be more than happy to send you a life size poster of me with these words on it: Problems VS Opportunities.
You failed.
You didn’t close the sale.
You upset a current client.
If we succeeded the first time every time, how would we ever grow? We’d all be millionaires. Which I guess doesn’t sound too bad – but personally, I appreciate a challenge. I like to be better than the person I was the day before.
Now what?
Rather than sitting and sulking or finding every possible reason to person to blame for the failure, evaluate the situation. What could you have done to make the outcome different? What can you do next time to be more successful?
You can be more prepared for the meeting.
You can understand your product better.
You can read a book on effective sales tactics.
You can learn to take deep breaths and not fly off the handle or immediately go into defense mode.
You can start to accept that not every person you meet in life is going to be a right fit for you, your business, your product, your service.
The point is: failure can be a positive thing if YOU choose to learn from it.
So next time something doesn’t go as planned – I want want you see the opportunity in the situation – not the problem.
Until next time.
QUESTIONS?
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