"Failure Takes Work"
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Failure Takes Work In this article:
Win Or Lose - It Is Up To You Just using the word failure, in this month's E-Zine, makes me uncomfortable. But after a lifetime of watching people fail, I have learned that it takes as much effort to fail as it does to succeed. In fact, it takes more effort to fail than it does to succeed. Work Your Way To Failure I repeat that fact: Just as a person has to work at becoming a success, a person has to work at becoming a failure, and in reality, the failure has to work harder. Standing On The Corner Whenever I am doing field training with a sales person, and I see a street person asking for a hand-out, I always point out that the only thing that separates you from them is the number of sales calls that you make. If you stopped making sales calls for the next six months, you would probably be standing next to that person on the same corner of life. Steel Car Or A Tin Cup As far as I am concerned, I would much rather be making sales calls in an air-conditioned Mercedes than standing on a street corner begging for a dime in my tin cup. Begging takes effort, and the rewards are not even close to what that same person could do, if they used the same effort to make sales calls. Put Something In The Cup I am not talking about the people, who due to unfortunate circumstances, end up panhandling on a street corner. There are many cases and situations that cannot be avoided. When you see someone on the corner, don't try to figure out which category they fall into; always put something in the tin cup. Let's Go To The Movies I am talking about healthy, capable people, who do not understand the simple principle that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I especially refer to the sales people who end up walking a shopping center, chatting on the phone with friends, or going to a movie theater for a matinee. They can see the movie Titanic, and watch their careers and the ship sink at the same time. Time To Sell You are allocated so many minutes each day, and how you chose to use those minutes will determine where you will be tomorrow, next week, next year, and for the rest of your life. Your future depends on your investment of the next minute.
Retire In Style I had a great meeting with my investment advisor a few weeks ago. He told me that I have enough money saved to retire and maintain my lifestyle until I reach 97 years old. The Future Is Now The question is: When did I start earning the money to be in my present position? I started my retirement program when I married in 1963. I have earned the right to retire one call at a time, one dollar at a time, one sale at a time. Many of those sales calls were made when I did not feel like making a call... I did it anyway. Yes, You Can I knew that I would have to earn enough money to sustain my lifestyle, and at the same time, to make enough to retire when I become 65, and not have to depend on the government to take care of me in my old age. You can do the same thing, if you want to. The key words here are DO and WANT. You have to DO in order to get what you WANT. Most losers understand the WANT part, but they are not willing to invest their time and effort into the DO part of the equation. Retire And Expire By the way, I am not retiring at 65; I said that I COULD retire. I believe that when you are ripe, you rot. I have a speaking engagement booked for when I reach 91 years young. When people ask me why I didn't book the engagement for when I am 100, I tell them that I would like to take a few years off before I go. Between now and the time I reach my 91st birthday, I intend to keep very busy on the speaking circuit, helping people achieve their dreams. What's Up Doc? I have always told my audiences that if they want to make a lot of money as a doctor, become a sales person first, and they will make lots of money as a doctor. Legal Beagle If they want to make a lot of money as a lawyer, become a sales person first, and they will make lots of money as a lawyer. Salesational Career But, if they want to make more money than a doctor or a lawyer, just become a sales person. Selling is the highest paying profession in the world for those of us who are willing to work at it. Someone You Know Think about a sales person you know who is a failure. Observe how they are spending their time. Are they making sales calls, or are they making excuses? You will never make a sale with an excuse. Working Hard Or Smart? Take a look at your own career. Are you working hard, as well as smart? Notice I said hard first. Some salespeople use working smart as an excuse not to work hard. They are constantly in the getting-ready mode, instead of the get-going mode. Time To Wake Up In her book, Wake Up and Live, Dorothea Brande says that many people have what she calls the will to fail. These people are satisfied with sympathy, instead of a large bank account. Look In The Mirror When you look in the mirror, ask yourself if you are all that you can be as a sales person, or is it just something printed on your business card? Are you living up to your title? Dress For (Success) Failure Put on some dirty clothes, get a tin cup, stand on a corner, and beg people to put money in your tin cup. After doing this for a full day, ask yourself which is harder: begging on the corner, or making sales calls? The Rules Rule Remember and practice the three great rules of selling every day... Make Calls, Make More Calls, Make Many More Calls, and your gold cup will overflow beyond your wildest expectations.
© 2008 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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