53. Conclusion
Sales is Risk
The Biggest Risk is a Dream Deferred
I get lots of different reactions from my books. Many find them disturbing, rude, somewhat uncivilized. And they are right of course. Others find them inspiring and they are right too.
Why? Because perceptions and inner reality are never wrong. Different yes, but not wrong. Wrong is a value judgement and one should always keep in mind that judgements go both ways.
As for uncivilized, I find it a high compliment given the depths our civilization can sink to and justify every step on the way down, to be called that.
This book is a reflection of an inner dialogue I have with myself, and continue to have… Is this the best way or a habit? Should I give up or keep trying? What do I intend and how am I being perceived?
Perception Wins
With a good map you can get anywhere. This training is your map. It simply says to work hard and get good at what you do. The not-so-secret formula for any success. Specifically for sales, it says to quit pitching and start serving. Quit being a sales person and try being a person. Then to go a few steps further by being worth listening to (be an expert) and communicate effectively. It’s about salesmanship, being entertaining and engaging by telling stories about the prospect and his peers and not talking about you. Nobody cares about you (yet).
Sales reps are like engineers. Lazy. Lazy can be good if it drives innovation for more efficient methods. Efficiency measured as output compared to input. The latter is much more than the former. Lazy can be bad if it means potentials not being achieved in life. Few care if you squander your life in sloth and mediocrity. Hopefully you care.
This is where discipline comes to play. In the books you are hearing my (your) inner drill sergeant. This is that part of you that can’t be fooled and knows full well when you are slacking. It is goading you on by making you feel guilty, unsatisfied, and bored.
Buddhism calls this dukkha.
Many don’t try because they have convinced themselves they can’t, shouldn’t or don’t have to. They are of course correct. As Henry Ford said regarding can’t…Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right..
As for shouldn’t, we are well advised to make up our own rules as we alone are in charge of our lives. Rules and cultures come and go. You don’t have to do anything. What do you want to do? How much do you want it? Are you willing to pay the price to get it?
Then there are the many that don’t try because of risk. This is interesting. Risk has no meaning unless compared to something else. If we were to live to 1,000, few risks would be worth it. If to 70 or 80, the equation is radically transformed. The simple fact is, we are all going to die, and not all that long from now. Quit comparing risks with absolute safety which does not exist in any case. Life is a 100% risk.
As Jim Morrison (The Doors) put it so eloquently… No one gets out of here alive.
By the way, 3 years later he was dead at 27 and thus proven correct.
The days march by inexorably regardless of the attention we give to them. One day you awake to realize that your dreams were forsaken and forgotten. That the grand designs and ambitions inside you stayed there, never seeing the light of day.
My objective here is to help you reclaim your dreams right now. To manifest your highest potential and not settle for the expedient or easy. To have the courage to aim high and the strength to get there.
Thanks for the opportunity to serve you….