Success in your Business is a Game of Numbers

byshivaramswamy

1.1K followers

3 years ago

Today I am going to tell you a tale of my life where I started my first summer job as a Sales Representative.

Twenty three years ago- I got my first job as a Sales Representative for marketing the AT & T products by going door to door. Prior to the start of my job- I was sent to the field on a day of observation. This very day - I was sent with an expert Sales Representative who was very good in getting and closing Sales. I spent the whole day observing everything he did. This included - the number of doors he was knocking, the kind of residences, apartments, and houses he was knocking, the way he was handling objections, the way he communicated with the different prospects and how he finally closed for getting the Sales. This expert Sales rep told me that I will be required to do exactly the same way he was doing. He was able to close a substantial number of sales on that particular day.

Admiring his skills in sales along with my overconfidence in my communication skills - I too felt that this will also be a piece of cake and I will be able to get a good number of sales in no time. The very next day when I started my first day at work- and carrying the high level of overconfidence with me- I too felt that I will be able to achieve similar targets in no time.

But I was wrong. I went to the field with a different sales rep who was a junior and relatively new to the same business. I spoke to the prospects the same way my previous experienced sales rep was doing. But I wasn't able to get even a single offer. I was slammed from all sides - like people not opening the door, giving an outright rejection before I could begin my presentation, the day was full of rejections. I hardly got a single sale that day. It was a complete disappointment for me. I kept wondering- how the other experienced people are easily achieving results- but it's not happening to me. This was the very day that shattered all my ego. I learnt to become more humble since then.

We had daily mockup role plays, daily pitching and lots of practice sessions took place in the office. I started taking more control of my life and understood one basic fact.The success in the business is way more than being a copy cat. One needs to understand that the elevator pitch or communication with the prospect requires a lot of control and understanding. It is not just a copy cat business, although it appears on the surface.

With repeated practice and developing a stronger understanding of the business and products- I was able to skyrocket my confidence level. I learnt to develop good communication skills, objection handling and also provide the customer exactly what he was looking for. I found a great improvement in my results over the weeks. Each day we knock on approximately 100 doors. Going from Day 1 to the end of my term - I was able to close over 300 sales in the business.

Core lessons learned: One should never give up beause it is difficult to learn and understand. Every business has a huge learning curve. Nobody can escape from the learning curve. It takes time to learn and build your communication skills. As you become an expert with your communication and control skills- you will be able to achieve much better results over a period of time. Success is actually the game of numbers. You never know where your money is hidden. You never know who will buy and when the customer will buy. However, one must not lose hope and keep pushing through all the failures. One day - you will look back and exclaim that all those challenges were worth it.