When I started in direct sales at 19 years of age, selling financial services was a bit of a challenge, as you can imagine.
I mean who would trust a 19 year old with their money? At that time I understood the importance of training both in the field I was getting in, as well as sales in general. And one of the trainings that I’ve attended, was Tom Hopkins sales training bootcamp. Since then I studied a lot his materials.
One of the most important things that I’ve learned from Tom is this little saying:
“I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed. And the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep trying.”
This phrase has stayed with me for years. You see it doesn’t matter how many attempts you make at making a sale, or running an ad, or developing a successful marketing campaign. The only thing that matters is when you succeed.
By the way, one other very important thing I’ve learned from him, is not to look at failure as failure, but look at it as an opportunity to learn, grow, and get better.
When I started in that business, I went on 25 consecutive appointments, and didn’t make one single sale. Now that’s pretty pitiful. But that’s where most people stop. Actually that’s not true, most people stop way before that, and say that it doesn’t work, or it won’t work for them.
I set a goal for myself, that I will get good at this, if it’s to be it’s up to me.
Later on, I’ve had transactions where I’ve made as much as $2,000 or $3,000 with a single client. And recently I had one where I’ve made over $13,000 with one client.
But if I didn’t develop this mentality that every challenge is an opportunity to discover something new, and that success in that business is nothing but a numbers game, I don’t think I would have stayed in the business.
Another very important concept that I’ve picked up from Tom Hopkins, is never to look at what you did wrong, always focus on what you did right.
At first I didn’t understand this. Because I thought, that if something goes wrong, you need to examine it. But I followed this concept anyways, because I was coachable.
Later on, when I began to study the Law of Attraction, it made total sense. Since you attract what you focus on, if focus on what you did wrong, you will attract more of that. And if you focus on what you did right, you’ll get more that.
So whatever business you’re in, following these simple yet powerful concepts, and developing these attitudes will have a very positive impact on your business.
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