Commandment 10: Judge Yourself by Your Successes, Not Your Failures
Cold calling can be rough on a salesperson’s ego, but rejection is part of the sales game. It’s like being drilled in a football game by a middle linebacker. It doesn’t happen every play, but every now and then it’s bound to happen. Remember that rejection comes with the turf and is a natural part of the sales profession. You are not alone. Every salesperson worth his or her salt has been knocked in the dirt a few times.
Early in my career, I lost a major sale. Not only was I personally disappointed, but I had to report the loss in a sales meeting in front of my colleagues and managers. I was embarrassed. After the meeting, the president of the company pulled me aside and said, “Patrick, you win some, and you lose some. The key is to judge yourself by your successes, not your failures.”
His words had a great impact on me. Although I had lost a large sale, on the whole, I was doing extremely well.
The important principle to remember is to learn from your losses, but focus on your successes. There are going to be days when you don’t qualify a lead, set an appointment, or make a sale. But if you stay at it, your successes will far outweigh your failures.
In Summary
The Ten Commandments of Cold Calling are:
1. Develop a spontaneous tone.
2. Get down to business early in the sales call.
3. Avoid “show up, throw up” presentations.
4. Concentrate on discovery-qualification and need-problem
questions.
5. Avoid exaggerated statements and rhetorical questions.
6. Be organized.
7. Make an appointment with yourself to cold call for one hour each day.
8. Use a telephone headset.
9. Have achievable expectations.
10. Judge yourself by your successes, not your failures.
Chapter 22
Implementing Power Prospecting Principles
It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.
—Teddy Roosevelt
Peter the Great was the most influential czar and military leader in Russian history. At the age of seventeen, he became the reigning monarch of Russia and quickly determined that his country did not compare favorably with other European powers. Having assumed the throne of a country that missed both the Renaissance and the Reformation, Peter was determined to improve the cultural, scientific, and military status of his country. In 1697, he traveled throughout Europe under a pseudonym and without his royal trappings. He studied shipbuilding in Holland and England and observed the military practices of Prussia. During his travels he visited schools, factories, museums, military academies, and arsenals. Upon his return to Russia, he summoned Western educators, businessmen, sailors, and military personnel to serve as his advisors and to train his people in their respective skills. He built a new capital city, St. Petersburg, to serve as a window to the west and demanded that education, trade, and industries incorporate Western ideas and methods. He simplified the Russian alphabet, introduced Arabic numerals in commerce, and provided for the publication of the first newspaper in his country. In his efforts to Westernize Russia, he went so far as to demand that all men shave their beards and wear western clothing in the kings’ court.
Not since the efforts of Alfred the Great in Britain had a nation’s leader gone to such efforts to modernize and improve his country. The czarist Russia Peter left when he died survived as a European power for two centuries. Its ultimate demise came not from a foreign power, but from the internal Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.
Peter the Great is an extraordinary example of a person who was willing to pay the price to succeed. He recognized that his country needed to improve, and he made the necessary reforms to make it happen. He not only studied the advanced scientific and cultural practices of the west, he implemented them. He took action. Although the changes were difficult, and at times costly, they paid off. His reforms eventually placed Russia on equal footing with Britain, France, and Prussia.
From Principles to Practice
At the conclusion of our sales trainings, I am frequently asked, “How do we implement your training? How do we convert principles into practice? Is there a way for us to turn classroom trainings into practical application?”
There is, of course, no easy answer to these questions. Understanding does not necessarily translate into doing. However, there are some fundamental guidelines that will speed up the implementation of power prospecting principles.
Once individuals have mastered the ideas and concepts of Power Prospecting, it is critical to channel the newly acquired information into habits.1 I have identified five implementation rules that follow skill-learning principles:
• Focus on one skill at a time
• Focus on quantity, not quality
• Set goals and standards
• Plan
• Don’t become discouraged
Focus On One Skill at a Time
In 890, Alfred the Great identified “seven maxims” he strove to follow. He then worked on each behavior individually. Benjamin Franklin did much the same in 1771. He outlined thirteen virtues that “occurred to me as necessary or desirable” and set aside time to focus on each virtue separately. “I determined to give a week’s strict attention to each of the virtues successively. Thus, in the first week my great guard was to avoid every day the least offense against temperance [his first virtue]… Proceeding thus to the last, I could get through a course complete in thirteen weeks and four courses a year. And like him who, having a garden to weed, does not attempt to eradicate all the bad herbs at once… but works on one of the beds at a time, and having accomplished the first proceeds to the second.”2
Basketball coach Pat Riley outlines in his book The Winner Within a program that he used with the Los Angeles Lakers to break down complex skills into component behaviors. “From a list of fifteen possible measures, we selected five that had really cost us the last championship. These defined five ‘trigger points,’ five areas which comprised the basis of basketball performance for each role and position. We challenged each player to put forth enough effort to gain just one percentage point in each of those five areas.”3 Riley then focused on each skill, one at a time, with each player. The next year, the Lakers won the NBA championship.
When softball players work on hitting, they don’t attempt to work on their throwing skills at the same time. They focus on one skill at a time. Like successful athletes, successful negotiators do not work on multiple skills simultaneously. They isolate a particular skill and work on it. After mastering the targeted skill, they move on to the next skill.
The Point? Focus on one skill at a time and hammer it. Work on it. Think about it. Write it down. Practice it. Concentrate on developing one skill at a time.
Focus on Quantity, Not Quality
As a young man, I had a basketball coach teach me how to shoot free throws. He showed me the correct mechanics of shooting—bringing my elbow up to a square position, bending my shooting wrist back, following through, etc. After teaching me the correct way to shoot, he then said, “Now go shoot 100 free throws and come back and talk to me again.” He understood quantity would lead to quality.
Patrick Henry International refers to this skill-learning concept as The Quantity Principle. The Quantity Principle instructs students to focus on skill quantity versus skill quality. New behaviors are learned through a quantity of repetition and practice. Quality comes with time. As new behaviors are learned, adjustments will be made, and skills will be refined. The important part of learning a skill is doing, practicing, engaging.
Caution! In the initial stages of skill learning, don’t worry
about perfection. Don’t worry about making mistakes. Don’t worry about quality. Focus on quantity and quality will follow.
Set Goals and Standards
A goal is a desired objective used to motivate and enhance a person’s ability to succeed. Goals give people direction and focus and are essential to improving performance.
Setting and achieving goals is not a trivial process. It takes good data, good thinking, and good instincts to set good goals. Inappropriate goals can actually have an adverse effect on a person’s performance. Unrealistically high goals that are not achievable not only fail to motivate, they actually discourage people by making them feel unsuccessful. Goals that are too easy to achieve, on the other hand, do not inspire people to stretch and grow.
For example, a seller who wants to improve his or her selling skills can set a goal to memorize two questions from each category of The DNA Selling Method or create a cold calling script to improve his or her initial presentations. By setting goals, sellers motivate themselves to improve their selling skills and behaviors.
The most important aspect of a goal is its means of fulfillment. After establishing a goal, it is necessary to create a game plan to accomplish the goal. Why? Without clearly identifying steps of achievement, people don’t have goals—they have hopes.
A goal is an objective; whereas, a standard is a means of achieving the objective. Goals without standards are like weight loss programs without exercise. An example of a goal is to lose twenty pounds. An example of a standard is to workout every morning from 6:30 to 7:00. Standards are like “mini goals” fulfilled on a daily or weekly basis that map a clear path to achieving a goal.
When setting goals, a salesperson should set personal standards to achieve the goals.
The Point? Develop goals and standards that are challenging, motivating, and achievable.
Plan
You’ve undoubtedly heard Benjamin Franklin’s oft-repeated maxim, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” This dictum is scripture in the business world. Plan ahead. Specify what dates, times, and accounts you will implement your new skills.
In order to sell well, you must first plan well. Strategic planning is the cornerstone of successful selling. If you don’t have an effective plan for selling, any success you experience is purely accidental. Use the tools provided in this book to plan your sales calls in advance. Anticipate possible problems or potential resistance. Create cold calling scripts. Plan and analyze the implementation of your newly acquired skills and knowledge. Evaluate your sales calls.
• What went well?
• What could I have done differently?
• Which questions had the greatest influence?
• What mistakes did I make?
• What skills could I have implemented?
The key to implementation is to plan and schedule. Map out what you feel you need to work on. Week one: Creating a Unique Selling Proposition. Week two: Asking better discovery-qualification questions, etc.
Don’t Become Discouraged
A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.
—English Proverb
In 1832, Abraham Lincoln lost his job in a failing business partnership. Also in 1832, he was defeated for the state legislature. In 1833, a private business failed. Although elected to the state legislature in 1834, he implemented an internal improvement project that nearly bankrupted the State of Illinois. He was defeated twice for the house speaker position in 1836 and 1838. In 1843, Lincoln was defeated for the nomination to the U.S. Congress. Although elected to congress in 1846, he lost the renomination in 1848. In 1849 Lincoln ran for a land-office position and lost. In 1854 he was defeated for the U.S. Senate. In 1856, Lincoln was defeated for the nomination for Vice-President, and, in 1858, he repeated his losing bid for the U.S. Senate. In 1860, he was elected President of The United States of America.
Achieving excellence is a journey, not a destination. It’s a voyage wrought with bumps and bruises. As Abraham Lincoln’s experience illustrates, bouts of failure are part of the path of success. Setbacks and mistakes come with the terrain. It’s part of the process. The key is to learn from mistakes and failures and take the lessons to heart.
Note: Most sales are made after the fifth call, and most salespeople quit after the first, so stick with it. This is simply the law of the harvest: As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
Many professionals learn new and better ways of presenting but don’t convert the newly acquired knowledge into habits because they become discouraged. Give new skills a chance. No new skill feels natural the first time you use it. It may initially feel a bit awkward and artificial. That’s perfectly normal, so don’t quit after only a few attempts. Keep working on it. Role-play it, think about it, practice it. Don’t become discouraged.
Prospecting Success–Deserve It.
There never has been devised, and there never will be devised, any law which will enable a man to succeed save by the exercise of those qualities which have always been the prerequisites of success — the qualities of hard work, of keen intelligence, of unflinching will.
—Teddy Roosevelt
Prospecting success must be earned. There is no magic potion. In order to be successful, sellers must pay the price by sowing before they reap. They must deserve success.
Successful sellers follow a simple success equation:
Power Prospecting Skills x Work = Success
Goals cannot be wish lists. They have to be work lists. Thinking about your dreams is rarely enough to create the habits to fulfill them. While it is good to start with dreams and goals, before any of your dreams and goals can be realized, you must first deserve your success by acquiring selling skills and working hard. By combining old-fashioned work habits with power prospecting skills, you will be equipped with the tools to consistently win.
If you want to succeed—deserve success.
“No one can guarantee success in war—one can only deserve it.”
—Winston Churchill
The Point? You can do it. Be “patiently persistent,” and your skills will improve. Persevere and your selling success will increase. Follow Power Prospecting principles, work hard and you will be successful. You will have earned it.
1. Patrick Henry International has systematized an implementation program that can be customized to the needs of individuals and organizations. To learn how to best implement power prospecting skills and strategies for your business or situation, contact Patrick Henry International at 1 (877) 204-4341.
2. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1994) 106-108.
3. Pat Riley, The Winner Within (New York: Berkley Books, 1993) 163.
Visit www.patrickhenryinc.com to download podcasts, articles, and other sales tools.
To order the complete
From Great Moments in History
series visit
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About The Author
Patrick Henry Hansen is the founder of Patrick Henry International. His organization provides sales, prospecting, negotiation and presentation training for corporate sales teams. Mr. Hansen is the author of numerous books and is considered an international authority on sales methodology, sales-side negotiation, lead generation and sales presentations. He is also a recognized expert sales and marketing witness in United States Federal Courts.
Mr. Hansen is a popular speaker, consultant and trainer, and has influenced thousands of professionals in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England, Wales, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Spain and forty-nine States.
Prior to starting Patrick Henry International, Mr. Hansen was a sales representative, manager, and executive. As an executive for multiple technology companies, he introduced advanced selling systems that increased sales more than 100%
in each company.
Mr. Hansen is a former radio talk show host, received his BA from Brigham Young University, and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife Laura and their six children.
Refer questions to:
Patrick Henry International
1831 Fort Union Blvd., Suite 210
Salt Lake City, Utah 84121
Phone: 1 (877) 204-4341
www.patrickhenryinc.com
Selected Bibliography
Adams, Jeremy, Wick Allison, and Gavin Hambly. Condemned To Repeat It. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.
Ambrose, Stephen E., Undaunted Courage. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Axelrod, Alan. Elizabeth I, CEO. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 2000.
—. Profiles in Leadership. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 2000.
Bailey, Thomas, and David Kennedy. The American Pageant.Lexington: Heath and Company, 1991.
Beyer, Rick. The Greatest Stories Never Told. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
Boyd, Katherine, and Bruce Lenman. Larouse Dictionary of WORLD HISTORY. New York: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 1993.
Corvisier, Andre. A Dictionary of Military History. Translated by Chris Turner. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1994.
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