Does Sales Prospecting Success Come Through Trial and Error?
I came across an article this morning on a book review. Here’s the link:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3001086/failure-only-option-if-success-end-goal
Key points verbatim:
“Unfortunately, many of us don’t pursue the trial because we are fearful of making errors. ”
“Jim Owens, former CEO of Caterpillar Inc., told us we actually learn more from our failures than we do from our success. He states that our most important lessons as leaders come from our toughest losses.”
“Mistakes are part of taking healthy risk. They provide us with new ways of thinking and give us new insights into how we can improve as leaders. Real failure doesn’t come from making mistakes; it comes from avoiding errors at all possible costs, from fear to take risks and from the inability to grow. Being mistake free is not success. Still, we avoid challenges and hide mistakes. We don’t like to talk about them and bring attention to them. It’s safer to look the other way or sweep them under the rug.”
My 2 cents: Looking back, when I started my company, I had no freaking clue of what I was doing. I had a vague idea but like the mirror after a long shower, it slowly but surely has become more clear each and every day.
Every email, sales pitch, etc that I put together has been refined and tweaked countless times. You don’t know until you try.
Expecting to get it right the first time is pointless and unrealistic.
I’m consulting with 2 guys right now who started their own tax, accounting, and financial consulting firm. I’m proud of them they started. My advice to them was to network, pick up the phone and start reaching out to prospects and don’t worry about failing. They’ll perfect their pitch in due time. You can only read so many sales books and articles.
I can have you read a ton of books and watch a lot of videos on how to ride a bike and you’ll have a lot of knowledge.
OR
You can hop on the bike, take action, and learn how to ride successfully on your own despite falling down numerous times. But you’ll gain invaluable experience and wisdom.
I’m Ray Ruecker with Connect 5000 and hope you have a great Friday!
