“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm” — Winston Churchill.
A while back, I was invited to speak to a group of MBA students at a local university.
A couple of days after the speech, I received an email testimonial from a student:
“…I like the fact that you talked about failure and that failure does not mean you have failed, but you have learned from it and have made it one step closer in achieving what you want. Just from your presentation you have impacted me and have made me see business in a different light. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reassuring me that I can succeed…”
I was so grateful this student realized that it is OK to fail.
I always enjoy encouraging people to share and accept their failures. I truly believe failure is one of the most important elements in our quest to success. But unfortunately, very few people seem to accept failures.
Look, we were all born with absolutely no fear of failure.
The fear of failure is something we developed during our childhood. I have a 2 year old son named Luca and I always love to use him as an example to explain the evolution of our relationship with failure in life.
When he was trying to walk and falling over and over, my wife and I were cheering and encouraging him after each fall. Those encouragements were motivating him to try harder, cheering him on again and again. Luca accepted failure with joy and encouragement and it was the accumulation of failures that were the principal reasons for why he can walk today. If you look more closely at how a baby learns how to walk you can see that they actually learn how to walk by losing balance one step after another. During each single step the babies are losing balance and instead of falling, they are bringing another step forward and repeating the process over and over until they fall.
Unfortunately, the more we grow in life, the less we accept failure.
A few years after learning to walk, we enter the school system and our relationship with failure goes the opposite direction. If we get an F for an exam, chances are our teachers and parents will blame us for the poor result. Contrary to when we were trying to walk, they will not let us try over and over again until we succeed. At this point in life, we start to reject failure. The fear of failure starts to anchor obstacles and limited beliefs in our minds.
Those beliefs will progressively become the reflection of our lives.
I remember reading that trainers of baby elephants tie a chain around their neck and attach them to a pole securely planted to the ground. The elephants quickly learn that when they try to go away they hurt themselves pulling on the chain. By the time they are adults, trainers can attach them to a small pole, which they could easily rip out of the ground but never do it because they have been conditioned to believe that when they have the chain on their neck, they can’t go anywhere.
Remember: Successful people are not smarter than others, they’re just willing to fail more.
Removing our limited beliefs and starting to accept failure will help us live the life of our dreams and achieve what we really want. Removing our limited beliefs and starting to accept failure will help us live the life of our dreams and achieve what we really want. Always remember that successful people are not smarter or working harder than others, but are just willing to fail more.
If you are in boat sales, chances are you are working for yourself. If you work on commissions and sell brokerage boats or manage your own dealership you can be considered an entrepreneur. If you study the semantic of the word ‘entrepreneur’, it means: “The one who likes taking risks.” And if you enjoy taking risks you need to be ready to accept failure. We absolutely need failure to achieve greatness and success in any areas of our life.
As Michael Jordan said: “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Success belongs to those who fail and take risks. It is OK to fail, as long as you understand the reasons for your failures and always focus on a positive outlook.
And, remember that a mistake is not a failure until you accept it.
Identifying the most common reasons for success and failures in sales might help you build your path to success in sales.
What are the main reasons for failure in sales?
1. No self-belief.
2. Don’t believe in your company or your product.
3. Don’t plan and set goals.
4. Are lazy and have no self-motivation.
5. Lack of preparation.
6. Are afraid of rejection.
7. Don’t know your product, price or service. (Know your deal!)
8. Don’t understand & execute the fundamental steps in sales.
9. Lack of training.
10. Don’t understand the customers and their needs.
11. Don’t overcome the objections.
12. Can’t influence people to change.
13. Don’t follow rules.
14. Don’t deliver on what you promised.
15. Are too greedy. Interested solely in commission and not client relations first.
16. Don’t establish long-term relationships.
17. Don’t work hard. No luck in selling.
18. Don’t accept responsibility.
19. Are not persistent.
20. Don’t have a positive attitude
What are the main reasons for success in sales?
1. Positive attitude.
2. Believe in yourself.
3. Set & achieve goals (roadmap).
4. Never stop learning to educate your clients.
5. Understand clients and meet their needs.
6. Sell to help (not for your commission).
7. Establish relationships.
8. Believe in your company & product.
9. Be prepared.
10. Be sincere.
11. Qualify buyer.
12. Be on time.
13. Look professional & sharp.
14. Establish a rapport & build confidence.
15. Use humour.
16. Master the total knowledge of your product.
17. Sell dreams and benefits, not features.
18. Tell the truth.
19. Keep your promises.
20. Don’t bad mouth the competition.
21. Use testimonials and social proof.
22. Listen for a buying signal.
23. Anticipate objections.
24. Handle objections.
25. Overcome barriers (the sale begins when the customer says no).
26. Ask for business/ sale/ money.
27. Shut up after a closing question.
28. Always move forward in the sales roadmap.
29. Follow Up. Follow Up. Follow Up.
30. Redefine rejections (not personal).
31. Anticipate and be comfortable with change.
32. Be driven with a noble selling purpose.
33. Get along with other people (team effort).
34. Work hard, create your own luck.
35. Assume your responsibilities.
36. Be persistent.
37. Get your number and follow your formula.
38. Do it passionately.
39. Be memorable.
40. Have fun.
*List source: Jeffrey Gitomer (The Little Red Book of Selling).
Accepting failures and understanding the reasons that you failed are an essential step toward achieving success in sales. Identifying what can bring you success and implementing it in your day to day activity is equally important as well. Success in selling does not come from mastering the most sophisticated sales techniques. Success comes from doing the basics exceptionally well. In theory, it is easy to listen & focus on the customer, be positive and do all the other basics of selling. But in practice, it is never as simple as the theory. We are all creatures of habits so develop successful habits and you will become successful in sales.
Can I Personally Show You How to Overcome Failure & Skyrocket Your Boat Sales?
Here’s the deal: For 2019, I’ve decided to personally help a handful of marine sales pros (like you) who want to turn failure into the stepping stones of success.
So, would you like me to help you DOUBLE (or even triple) your boat sales?
If so, my team and I will personally help you setup the marketing and sales systems you need to skyrocket your sales 
.
To learn how I can grow your boat brokerage business, just head here:
www.yachtsalesacademy.com/schedule-consultation/
To your success!
— Vincent Finetti
Founder & Instructor
Yacht Sales Academy
P.S. Try a listing strategy from my FREE Listing ebook here.
P.P.S. I’m doing an exclusive virtual Listings & Sales Workshop with a small group next month to go deep in applying my best strategies to your brokerage business.
Would you like to join us? If so, go here and enter your name and email for more details!
P.P.P.S Check out my client results here.
