I was speaking to a financial society recently and was asked how I handled setbacks during my career. It was a great question and I thought that some of you might benefit from my response.
I was with RCA 35 years ago when they actually manufactured computers and I had just been promoted to program manager of the VCU installation when RCA announced that we were going out of the computer business. One day I was on an emotional high and the next I was on the street looking for a job. I learned many valuable lessons on my journey from joblessness to success. First and foremost, failure is an outcome, not a person. You only become a failure when you quit trying. Second, you must actively program your mind with positive thoughts and not allow yourself to be influenced by negative news or poor results. Perception is reality to the person perceiving it. Create your own reality. Listen to motivational tapes instead of the news. Visualize success. Remind yourself of the great sales you made in the past. Tell yourself that your prospects need what you are selling as much as you need to sell it. Fear is the dominant motivator in the market place right now. Fear to make a decision is the one that you must overcome to be successful in this environment. You must make your customer afraid not to buy. In B2B, it is that they will become less competitive. In B2C, it is fear that these bargains will not last long and they will miss out on the buying opportunity of a lifetime.
Create a sense of urgency and excitement. Be positive. It is contagious.
In my dark days, a co-worker and I would drink coffee all day complaining about the economy and how tough it was to sell with interest rates at 18% for second mortgages, etc. No wonder we were failures. We programmed our mind for failure and had a partner that was all to willing to reinforce that belief.
Stop hanging around negative people!