One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his friends to come over and help him. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what has happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s friends continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!!!
The moral of the story… life is full of challenges. People don’t like them because human nature is that we like security and hate change. Most people are always waiting for the challenges to end so they can begin to live… they don’t realize that the challenges and the process of overcoming them and growing to be a better person by doing so, is what we call life…
Most people are looking for a job that will give them a pay check at the end of the week, and a feeling of security, so they don’t have to face challenges and overcome risks at work… although they can hardly live on their paychecks, they feel extremely bored and have a deep uncomfortable feeling deep down that they are not using their talents and capabilities… most people will still choose so-called security because of the fear that they might fail… they don’t realize that: “the most risky thing today – is trying to be secure”…
We as sales people have chosen the path of taking on challenges and getting the feeling of overcoming them and constantly growing to use more of our capabilities. Sometimes it gets hard and it feels like life is shoveling dirt on us… sometimes we might feel as if people are acting like the farmer… the trick is to keep shaking it off and taking a step up. Each of our challenges is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest well just by not stopping… as Churchill said: “the most important thing is to never… Never… Never… GIVE UP!!!”
Success in sales and in life comes by doing the same things over and over again, and always learning from your mistakes so you can do it a little better the next time. Every successful person has failed numerous times. Part of becoming successful is making as many mistakes as you can as fast as you can. But you cannot make the same mistake twice because if you do you will get covered up with dirt and you will stay there whining and suffering, claiming that it’s not your fault, and you might be right.. But who cares?
I once heard Tony Gordon (the top life insurance sales man in England) say: “the most successful agents are the once who get the most objections… I am selling for 35 years and I still get a lot of objections the difference is that now I am getting very well paid for them…”
No one has ever failed in sales. Some people just stop trying…. Remember: no one is rejecting you, some people are just in a bad mood when you call them, and they have there own issues that make them stressed. You just happened to catch them in the wrong moment It does not mean that they don’t need your product or services. Sometimes they will turn out to be your best clients… if you don’t give up and call them back.
Sometimes you will have a bad day, week or month and that’s okay. The question is what you do with it. Successful people say: what can I learn from this? And then they start with more determination and commitment to be the best they can be because they have a burning desire and determination to be successful. They keep that vision alive and exciting no matter what it takes to get there, and there is always a way.
Action steps
Stop and think. Are you determined to be successful? Why? Do you have a clear picture in your mind of how you will be when you get there? Are you working today as someone who is on a mission to get to his goal? Are you complaining, or do you take charge?
