While in conversation with ‘Ron’, as he relayed his #1 stumbling block as a beginning entrepreneur, the expression, “misery loves company” came to mind. Ron used to believe his perfect prospective clientele was X, but he found that X was either lacking the money to invest in sales training or was simply not interested. Despite continuing in a seemingly super-human effort, his intended market wasn’t buying.
Ron began to wonder, is it the intended market, or because of the stock market crash, or a combination of both, or…?
Are you finding this sounds familiar?
I certainly did. Upon hearing about Ron’s failed escapades, I began to laugh due to having experienced the same. The important note is it really wasn’t “failed” because we both learned, albeit not so quickly, that we needed to change our desired markets.
I always advise, be willing to learn from errors in order to achieve your goals, and change the word “failure” to “marketing research”. Grasping the philosophy as well as methodology will get you to goal far more quickly.
Creativity came to the rescue. Both of us, independently, examined our individual dilemmas from all angles. Marketing professionals will tell you to implement one new idea at a time. I heeded the advice. New markets were sought and I soon became involved with a community of coaches.
The bad news was this coaching community was 180 degrees opposite of my corporate sales background. They were heavily into the spiritual realm and healing. I had no idea how to communicate with them nor they with me. Luckily, it was suggested we trade services to get to know one another.
The process of meeting and exchanging services with each coach over the phone became a top tier education in learning to see things from a brand new perspective. The best lesson I learned was how to remain calm when calamity hits and to “clear blockages”.
The good news was the community was equally uncomfortable having to deal with me, a sales professional. The coaches were happy to learn some salespeople are ethical and desire to serve their clients well. My classes were soon filled with registrants because My Services Were Badly Needed.
By coming to know one another, comfort and trust developed. It seemed as if a miracle was taking place. Up from the ashes and where it was least expected, I found a thriving clientele.
Have you ever faced an obstacle that held you back knowing full well you had the answer but were fighting the obvious? Frequently you just need to confer with a trusted counterpart to examine your ideas from multiple angles in order to confront the situation and move on. And it’s possible your peer may have also experienced the same and will quickly be able to help you move forward.
Continually moving through the obstacle course to reach the next rung of success will build character and establish your personal brand as “one who gets to goal no matter what!” Practicing and implementing this mindset will advance you to the Smooth Sale!
Author:
Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, (800) 704-1499, was honored by Open View Labs with inclusion in their international list of “Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012.” Elinor authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”, Career Press. She provides team sales training, private coaching and highly acclaimed inspirational keynotes for conferences. Elinor is available for consultation.
