WIPE IT CLEAN… in 1960 French inventor André Cassagnes introduced a product that became one of the most popular toys of all time. It was called Etch-a-Sketch and offered two very basic features: first, by moving two dials simultaneously you could produce a drawing on a simple plastic screen and customize it any way you wanted. Secondly, by turning the product upside down and giving it a shake you could erase the drawing completely. It provided 100% forgiveness, you could start over any time you wanted.
Wouldn’t it be great if the Sales Business worked the same way? Wouldn’t it be great if you had 100% forgiveness… if you could start over any time you wanted? Well here’s the GREAT NEWS… that’s exactly what the Sales Business offers. In the Sales Business you can have both 100% forgiveness and you can start over any time you want.
Here is your ACTION STEP… the metaphor is pretty simple. Your Sales Career is like an Etch-a-Sketch toy. You start to create a drawing by turning the two knobs simultaneously. The two knobs are:
#1. Your mindset/attitude
#2. Your ever-developing sales skills
As you go through the process you start to evaluate your results. If you don’t like the results you simply “turn the screen upside down, give it a shake, and start over”. Here’s some examples where you can start over:
1. That dissatisfied customer who is never happy… go out and find another one.
2. That objection handler that didn’t work… replace it with one that does.
3. That negative person in your office who is always complaining… don’t associate with them.
4. That bad day you just experienced… that’s now in the past, forget about it.
There is a bonus to all this… sometimes you will create a drawing on your Etch-a-Sketch for your Sales Business that is perfect! Save that one… don’t erase it. Over time you will accumulate many “drawings that are keepers”. Those are the ones you can save and reflect on them to help you become even more successful. Just remember that you are in charge of which drawings you keep and which drawings you erase. Start your own personal Etch-a-Sketch collection. NO Excuses.