THE IRONY OF SUCCESS… often times success appears in a different shape or form than was originally intended. Sometimes things happen in a way that was not originally planned. It’s not luck… it’s just that things turn out differently than was expected initially. An example is Facebook. The Facebook phenomenon is such that the company was nearing a value of $100 billion as of early 2012. They offered an IPO (Initial Public Offering) that raised $5 billion almost overnight. Facebook is barely 8 years old! It made it one of the most valuable companies in the US alongside Amazon, McDonald’s, and Bank of America. Founder Mark Zuckerberg recently shared that, “Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission, to make the world more open and connected.” Pretty ironic that something that was started on a whim in the dormitories of Harvard University has evolved into something so massively successful, isn’t it? I call this the Irony of Success. Here’s the best part… Success in Sales often shows up the same way.
Here’s your ACTION STEP… to take advantage of the Irony of Success, the first thing to accept is BK’s Law of Activity. This Law of Activity states that, “When you are busy, when you create positive activity… results will come your way. These results will not always come from the items you are working on… but rest assured they will come.” Some examples of how to take advantage of BK’s Law of Activity :
1. Asking for Referrals… never stop asking, you never know where your next referral is going to come from… or even how it will get to you!
2. Practicing Your Scripts and Dialogs… the better you get at communicating effectively the more sales you will make. That is a fact. Also, your confidence level will increase and your prospects will sense this. This too will result in more sales.
3. Asking One More Time… you never know. It’s as simple as that… you just never know what is possible unless you ask “just one more time”. This is true for setting appointments, objection handling, closing, and asking for business in general.
4. BONUS POINT: Deals Just Happen… remember the credo that says, “The harder I work – the luckier I get”? The Irony of Success is that the more frequently you do the right things, the more success you will enjoy. When you are busy doing the right things… deals just happen.
The Irony of Success is such that it seeks out those who follow a logical path and are consistent in its’ pursuit. Facebook is wildly successful because Mark Zuckerberg worked incredibly hard, made some excellent choices, surrounded himself with the right people, and was consistent in following his vision. Starting/stopping/starting/stopping and not learning from your mistakes will give you the opposite. Set the stage and follow your dream. NO Excuses.