Exactly three weeks later customer came back. He walked through front door and made a beeline for me. “I need more of them wool socks”, he said. “The boys at camp want to know where I got them and want some too. How many have you got?” I checked display area, stockroom, and our new stock shipment and told him I had 58 pair. He paid cash and bought them all.

I never found out exactly how many people he worked with, but every three weeks he'd show up at store and ask what I had in way of tee-shirts, long johns, plaid wool shirts, work boots, gloves, caps, toques, coveralls, work jackets, etc., and each time he arrived, he'd walk right up to me for service and we'd both go to proper department and select what he needed for himself and for guys he worked with. He always paid cash and always thanked me for my help.”

If Doug had made mistake of following his coworker’s footsteps and made same assumptions about customer, he would have lost thousands of dollars in sales. It is easy to make assumptions about our customers and prospects. A person’s appearance, age, gender, nationality, or role within company, often influences us. I have made this mistake when speaking to companies in past. Upon learning that they only had a few salespeople, I made assumptions they would not be willing to pay my standard fee. I later learned that this assumption was completely inaccurate and that they were fully prepared to invest in their teams’ development.

As a consumer, I have often noticed that most sales people will approach well-dressed customers before they talk to people who are attired in jeans or casual clothing. Avoid this fatal mistake and go into every sales interaction with an open and clear mind. This will definitely have a positive impact on your sales.

Copyright 2004 Kelley Robertson, all rights reserved.

4. Accept results and move on. Too often agents let highs get too high and lows get too low. We need to accept results we get. Work to understand them and reasons why, then move on to any necessary changes.

Mark McGuire realizes that striking out is all part of playing baseball. He knows he will have other opportunities. He will have other times at bat, some today and some tomorrow. If a pitch fools him he learns from it, so as not to get fooled again. We are all going to strike out. We are going to strike out with buyers and sellers, other agents, and our broker. It is just part of life. We must learn from our mistakes and move on.

If you are worried about lost deal, you won’t be able to focus on one that is currently in front of you. The process of your daily disciplines and improvement of your skills are what you can control.

Lawrence Taylor had a great thought that he shared at his induction into National Football League Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. He said, “A Hall of Famer is not someone who never falls down. A Hall of Famer is someone who continues to pick himself up and gets back into game after they have fallen down.”

I urge you to be there everyday at every moment. Focus mentally on one thing you are working on in that moment. Tell truth in all situations. If you have done first three, then accept results, and move on. Massive success will be right around corner.