"Be Your Own Sales Manager"
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THE SUPER BOWL OF LIFE In this article:
From Top To Bottom I watched Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts lose in overtime play in the 2009 National Football League wild card playoff game. The loss came a few days after Peyton was declared NFL offensive player of the year. The same fate befell Matt Ryan, of the Atlanta Falcons, who lost to the Arizona Cardinals a few days after Ryan was named rookie quarterback of the year. Winners Lose Too This proves that winners lose too. I am sure that both Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan will be back next year to play again. Real winners learn from their defeats, and they move forward, while losers quit and give up. Manning and Ryan are real winners for sure. It Is Not Always Easy After a shaky start to the 2008 season, Peyton's team lost the wild card playoff game after a nine-game winning streak. The same principles that govern winners in sports could also govern winners in sales. No matter how successful we may be on a given day, the opposite could happen on another day. The secret is to not give up, but to keep going, when the going is not easy. The easiest thing to do is to give up, but abandoning your goal leads to an unfulfilled life and career. When Lightning Strikes Anyone can sail in calm seas, but not everyone can sail when the wind starts to blow, the sun is blotted out by dark clouds, and the lightning strikes. Such was the scenario when the San Diego Chargers struck the Indianapolis Colts to win the playoff game. There Is Always Tomorrow Do winners feel the disappointment? Sure they do. The difference between a winner and a loser is that winners learn from their failures and move forward to the next season, or the next sales call--as sales superstars do. Next Time Is Now What do you suppose Peyton will be doing during the off-season? He will be watching the ill-fated-game film to determine better play strategies, so that next time, he will be better prepared. You should do the same thing every time you lose a sale. Look at the game film in your mind's eye, and consider ways that you can be better prepared next time. You can call that lost prospect and ask for advice on improvements to your sales approach, and they will be more than happy to help.
A Year To Remember You should also remember that sometimes, no matter how good a job you do, you may still lose. That happened to me back in 1978, a year I will always remember, when I owned and operated one of the most successful advertising agencies in Kentucky. We dedicated ourselves to the success of one of our clients, a client that represented 70% of our business. Although we were good at what we did and we helped our client succeed and compete in a very tough industry, the client decided that they needed a change. Life Is Fair We were invited to compete with five other advertising agencies to keep the account; we gave a powerful presentation; and yet, the client decided to go with another agency. My first reaction was that life is not fair. I spent a few days mourning the loss. Stick Your Neck Out I finally decided that I was not getting anywhere by fretting over the loss, and that I would stick my neck out of my self-imposed shell and move forward. I began making more sales calls than I had ever made in my life, and within a few months, we obtained some new business and moved forward again. Are you mourning the slow economy, or are you taking action to change the slow economy? Retool And Refocus W. Clement Stone said, "In every adversity, there is the seed of a greater or equivalent benefit." Because of the loss of our largest account, we retooled and refocused, and within five years, we were the second largest advertising agency in Kentucky. Win The Super Bowl We lost the playoffs and won the Super Bowl for one reason: We did not give up. You lose only when you quit. As long as you keep trying, you will get results. In a slow, stalled, or bad economy, there are always people who have money to spend and people who need what you have to offer. Take A Lesson From Macy's I was shopping at Macy's, and the store was full of shoppers in spite of this slow economy because they were responding to Macy's advertising and marketing. If Macy's had not aggressively pursued customer business, the store would not have been full of shoppers. Step Back To Move Forward Stop licking your wounds. Step back and observe where you are in your business and question what you can do today to take positive action toward your goals. If you do not have goals, it is time that you make some New Year commitments for 2009. Peyton and Matt are getting ready for a comeback in next year's NFL season. You should do the same for building your business. © 2009 Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc. |
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REPRINT info: Joe Bonura About Joe Bonura His background is unique. Joe owned and operated a highly successful advertising agency for 18 years. During that time, he found his advertising campaigns were more effective when he educated his clients in the areas of sales and service. He conducted training seminars for his clients as added value. Word spread that Joe was a quality speaker and more and more people asked him to speak. The demand became so high that he sold the agency to three of his associates to start his own speaking and consulting company, Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc. Joe is past President of the Kentucky Speakers Association and a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a prestigious designation earned by only 8% of the 3,600 member National Speakers Association. Joe presently serves on the board of directors of NSA. He is author of the audio learning systems "Three-Dimensional Selling®" and "Turning Customer Satisfaction Into Customer Excitement®." He is author of the book Throw the Rabbit—The Ultimate Approach to Three-Dimensional Selling. Click here TO ENGAGE JOE BONURA FOR A TRAINING SEMINAR AT YOUR COMPANY
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