Have you wondered what one of the biggest secrets to success in your business is? I’ll tell you….
Confidence.
Starting a business can be TERRIFYING! My guess is if you are new to business, you’ve likely read plenty of books and articles, and listened to podcasts, webinars or YouTube videos, you’re full of information, but you haven’t yet taken any action.
Can I be blunt for a second?
The reason you likely haven’t taken action is because you’re scared of what might happen if you fail, but if you’re going to stick around these Success Unfiltered episodes, you need to learn that FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.
Will you stop feeling scared? It’s unlikely but action leads to the growth of courage, which is how we all overcome our fear of anything… with courage!
Earn Your Confidence
Kelli Masters, a guest of Success Unfiltered, mentioned that she had been labeled shy and introverted in high school. Even though Kelli had been labeled shy, she never ever let that hold her back from things she needed to do to gain the confidence to start pursuing major NFL clients.
In the beginning of Kelli’s career, she had experienced quite a few NO’s, but she knew that when she became an entrepreneur she had signed-up for a full time sales job. She quickly learned that in order to succeed in business she needed to have a really clear understanding of what her business was, and plenty of knowledge about the industry.
But, even more importantly than that, she knew she needed blind confidence. The kind of confidence where you don’t care if this is new, you don’t care if you’ve never done it before, you just know you need to be the best, and then you GO FOR IT.
Having blind confidence combined with a thorough knowledge of your industry will give you all of the strength that you need to put yourself out there.
If you’ve begun planning out what your business will be, now’s time to become an expert. Start ingesting books and audio, or any other content that you can get your hands on, and start learning. Then, begin taking action steps towards your ultimate goal.
Another important point, that I want you to take away from Kelli, is that you must be okay with rejection. You are going to be putting yourself out there and experiencing uncomfortable situations, and people are going to turn you away. Do NOT determine your self-worth from these rejections.
You are NOT your business!
Early in Kelli’s career she was pursuing a particular football player. She had gotten in touch with the player’s mom, and had made some solid connections. She felt secure and confident, and almost certain that she was going to sign the guy. However, when it came down to it, they ended up going with a different agent.
It knocked Kelli down for a very short bit, but she did not allow it to keep her down long.
Lessons Learned
Kelli learned a lot from this particular experience. She learned that she needed to start being more clear and not make assumptions on what someone was thinking or feeling. However, it’s important to not regret the mistakes you make. They’re important! They are what toughens you up and makes you more determined and hungry for that next lead.
Stop focusing on the failures, and instead focus on the successes. If you’re asking yourself how there can be any successes when a client turns you down, then you’ve never heard of lessons learned.
Review the things that you did right. The things you can improve upon, and what you’ll do differently the next time around.
Don’t allow yourself to put all of your eggs into one basket. This keeps you from recognizing all of the other amazing opportunities occurring around you.
Getting in Front of High Profile Clients
If you’ve been thinking about ways to get yourself in front of high profile clients you have to take steps to get there. It doesn’t just happen. You need to go places, have experiences, network, essentially put yourself in a position to meet new people. These are the new people that may know someone who knows someone who can then help you get connected with the type of clients that you want to work with. But, it does NOT just happen.
Kelli shared a really amazing example, of when she had her first breakthrough client with Gerald McCoy. She had met McCoy’s father at a high school sports banquet 5 yrs before Gerald was up for the NFL draft. Kelli had given Gerald’s father her card, and 5 years later when they were looking for an agent, they reached out to Kelli.
It isn’t easy, but taking the time to put yourself out there, making calls to high school secretaries, or friends of old employers, (professional stalking, as I like to call it), is a great way to make the connections you need.
You MUST BE persistent!
Never Give Up
When it came to Gerald, Kelli had to fight to represent him. Towards the end of trying to sign him, Gerald’s father advised Kelli that they would be going with another agent simply because Kelli didn’t have the experience that they were looking for.
Kelli was frustrated, but she’d done her research. She knew McCoy and his skills very well, and didn’t want to lose him, so she had prepared a back-up plan in advance.
She suggested that they hire her and the other agent, as a team to work together, and it worked! Because Kelli asked for what she wanted, she got it. She could have just heard Gerald’s father say they were going another direction and let it go, but she knew this was HER client and didn’t stop fighting for it. In the end, it worked in her favor!
In Conclusion
Being a success in business doesn’t mean you sign all of the clients you work toward, or getting all of the leads you desire. Rather, success means that you have confidence in yourself and your abilities, and that you’ll do whatever it takes to get what you want.
