Have you ever noticed that out in the middle of nowhere — where there’s nothing but rock, concrete, or pavement — there’s that one plant or tuft of grass that has found a way to survive and flourish? The landscape shows no signs of supporting life, but that plant has found a way to grow.
No one has to tell you, prospecting is hard work. Most salespeople I speak with are struggling. They’re caught between a rock and a hard place. They want to sell more, but haven’t quite accepted that they’ll have to do more of the hard stuff — like prospecting. Prospecting probably won’t make your top 10 list of favorite things to do, but the math is simple. The more you prospect the more people you’ll meet and the more opportunity you’ll have to close.
Learn from the plant that grows where life would seem to be completely unsustainable. There’s always opportunity! The risk of rejection and the feeling of disappointment are unpleasant. But if you do the heavy lifting associated with prospecting, you generate and grow. Are there really any negatives associated with improving and becoming more consistent?
Commit to Hard Work if You Like the Rewards
Shift your focus. Reality is, there are plenty of things you enjoy about sales: – making money, helping people solve problems, creating new relationships, working autonomously, and much more. If you like these things and you want to experience more of them, you have to commit to doing the hard stuff. Stop focusing on what you don’t like or don’t have or aren’t good at, it will create more negatives for you. Focus on the positives of what you want. Make them the driving force behind your emotions and efforts. If a simple plant follows a ray of light or slow drip of moisture with complete focus, it is able to grow and move toward the single opening between the rocks. Even with limited odds, you can do the same. Always remember, successful people do what unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do.
