Most people think about failing as the end of the world. But what most don’t realize is that your response to the failure is more important than the failure itself. What does that mean?
Think it about this way. When you fail (a prospect told you no, or you lost business), do you wallow in despair? Do you make a list of reasons why someone turned you down? Do you turn yourself inside out wondering what went wrong?
This is a negative response to failure. You don’t want to go there. Doing so will only result in a downward spiral.
Instead, look at the failure as another stepping stone of your success. If you hadn’t failed, you wouldn’t have known how to improve yourself or your business. For example, why did your prospect say no? Did you leave out important information? Did you not take time to find out what the prospect’s wants or needs were?
Here’s an example that might open your eyes. Imagine yourself in a restaurant. The server offers you the daily special. You say “no” because you’ve already decided what you wanted. Does the server burst out in tears or throw a tantrum because you didn’t want the special? Of course not! It’s not personal, it’s business. It didn’t matter whether you wanted it or not. They accept your decision and move on.
That’s what you must do – accept it and move on to the next stage of our business.
If you recognize what went wrong and worked on fixing it, you have just put yourself in a better position for success. Very few people are successful at anything on their very first attempt. Failing with one prospect can actually make your experience with the next prospect even more successful when you realize what was missing and improve on it.
You have truly failed if you let your failure drag you down and you actually quit! So buckle up and just accept failure as part of your business and work on how you respond or react to the failure.
In doing so, it will lift a tremendous weight off your chest and pretty soon, you’ll just be able to shrug the “no’s” off with ease and move on. And remember, there can be no success without failure.
