Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” The implication is clear…if you do not try…you will not succeed This is true in sales where if you don’t ask for the sale you can’t get the sale. It’s also true in everyday life.
There have been instances in my life where I wanted to meet someone but it seemed far-fetched that they would would make time for someone they didn’t know. So I asked.
There was a billionaire entrepreneur who I admired. I saw him at a speaker’s convention but was a little intimidated and didn’t get the courage to go up to him. I was pissed at myself for chickening out, so the following week I emailed him and told him that I would love to meet him and buy him coffee. He responded that same day and agreed to meet THAT AFTERNOON!
My oldest son, who went to college studying political science (currently works in alternative energy) had a hero who is a former U.S. Senator and Governor who had numerous high government positions. I sent the former Senator (who was a college president at the time) a letter talking about how much my son admired him and how I would love to set up lunch for the three of us as a birthday present to my son. My request took about two weeks to get a response and the lunch happened several months later, but I got what I asked for…a meeting with someone who on the surface seemed unapproachable.
Think about what you want but don’t have and go out and ask for it! If you don’t, you have no one to blame but yourself.
If you want to learn more about sales careers, visit my Academy.
Happy Selling!