How many times have you said, “Oh well. You can’t win ‘em all”? It may be true that you won’t win all the sales opportunities you pursue, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t win them all. In the context of the saying, “can’t” is a destructive word. It implies that you are unable to win … that fate somehow won’t allow it. And, that mode of thinking provides a readily acceptable excuse for not being held accountable to the outcome.
If you don’t take responsibility for unsuccessful outcomes, but simply chalk them up to the notion that “you can’t win’em all,” then it’s unlikely that you’ll learn anything from the experiences. And, if you don’t learn anything from them, you’re destined to repeat them … which reinforces the negative notion. By allowing that manner of thinking (and justifying) to persist, it’s a short jump from “You can’t win ‘em all” to “You can’t win any of ‘em at all.”
So, what can you do to avoid coming down with “you-can’t-win-’em-all itis”? Approach every opportunity not only expecting to win, but prepared to win. It should go without saying that you must be thoroughly knowledgeable about your product and service. But, product knowledge is not enough. You must know enough about your prospects and the likely reasons why they would need your product or service so you can ask intelligent questions that help them connect your product to those needs.
Preparation means doing the research and then preparing and practicing asking your questions. It means mapping out your development process in advance so you can manage your actions and evaluate the results. And, it means identifying potential roadblocks and predetermining how you will deal with them should they occur.
Will preparation guarantee that you will "win ‘em all?" No. But it will guarantee that when you don’t win an opportunity, you’ll be able to identify the reasons why. And, knowing why will help you better prepare for the next opportunity and increase your chances of winning that one. So, even when you don’t win an opportunity, you don’t exactly lose, either.
