It’s pretty common to open Facebook and see ad after ad of successful entrepreneurs touting things like “How to make $1M in 5 days!”
Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s pretty common to see those ads that are telling you that you can create success in as little as a few days.
And, while you absolutely can experience success, one rarely mentioned area of entrepreneurialism is the word “MAYBE” and what it means for you and your business.
Maybe is that gray area of business. The area where a client hasn’t given you a firm NO, and DEFINITELY hadn’t given you a firm YES.
You sit there waiting, feeling complacent, like your world is on hold until you hear back from that prospect. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s important to NOT just wait around. That even if you haven’t been given a firm NO or YES, you must keep working very hard, because that NO may just be around the corner.
As humans, we seek stability and routine. We want to know what’s coming up next and what to expect at every turn, but being an entrepreneur in the sales world, it’s just not like that.
You are always living in the unknown. You’re always in that gray area of life.
I am ALL TOO FAMILIAR with the maybe.
I went through and pitched amongst 140 other entrepreneurs in Season 4, in hopes of getting a deal and being aired on TV, but there were only about 96 people that ever made it onto TV.
Once I got in front of the 5 main Sharks, Mark, Daymond, Kevin, Barbara, and Robert, I was still turned down. No one wanted to offer me a deal.
Not only was I turned down for a deal, but my episode NEVER AIRED! After waiting for 4 months to even know if I would see my episode air
Just sitting there in the maybe, not knowing whether I’d ever hear the YES I craved, or a flat NO.
Not only was I turned down for a deal, but my episode NEVER AIRED!
Instead I got the following letter…
Dear Michelle,
I regret to inform you that at this time your pitch has not been selected for an upcoming episode of Shark Tank. Pitch selection was determined by a number of factors and did not necessarily reflect the quality of your business or pitch.
Though you are not currently slated to air, there is always the chance that ABC could order future episodes of Shark Tank and you may be selected for an episode at a later date. If you are selected for a future episode, we will reach out and contact you. With that in mind, please remember your confidentiality obligations and refrain from discussing your participation in Shark Tank.
Thank you for your participation, we wish you the best. Do not hesitate to reach out to me by email or phone for any questions you may have.
Best,
Kate
However, when you sit with maybe for four or so months you get pretty good at it. It becomes a normal way of life.
It may not be the most fun area of entrepreneurialism, but it is an important one. It’s a place you need to experience in order to find those dream clients, but you must also learn to keep working hard. Keep following-up and keep prospecting despite not having a solid YES or NO.
Find the Mental Fortitude to Keep Pushing Through
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a service-based provider or if you sell products, we all have those moments where we’re stuck living in that uncomfortable gray area.
My guest on Success Unfiltered, Sam Nebel, the creator of goodwipes, is NO exception. He and his partner were also attempting to get onto Shark Tank. In fact, they felt pretty confident about it and were pretty certain they’d be getting a spot in front of the Sharks, until they heard that a competitor of theirs had just been on and had actually gotten a deal with Mark Cuban.
The communication about where goodwipes stood was in limbo. They weren’t sure how they could bring on such a similar product and have it do well, but they were of course hopeful that they’d make it.
While Sam was at a tradeshow with his products, he received a call from one of the producers of Shark Tank letting him know that they weren’t going to be considered any further.
It left Sam feeling awful and like Goodwipes didn’t have a shot at all.
Throughout the time that Sam had been waiting to hear back from ABC, he had continued to work hard. In fact, he shared that you cannot get complacent in situations like these and that you must keep working very hard, if you intend to eventually experience success.
You have to find or build-up mental fortitude to keep pushing through any scenario that may be thrown at you.
It’s insane how hard it can be to sit in that gray area, to sit in that maybe, but it’s one skill you must master. It’s a skill worth working on and fine-tuning over time.
Sam’s advice?
“Just make sure that you don’t think that you’re on lock for anything, because it can get taken away in an instant.”
That’s really great advice from Sam! Something we ALL need to hear!
You’re Going to Get A Lot of NO’s
I talk about this a ton. It’s probably one of the most common things I say, but you must get use to the NO’s and you must look at them as stepping stones to your YES’s.
But, what happens, if you hear that dreaded maybe more than you hear NO or YES? You need to learn how to cope with those, too!
In his episode, Sam shared that one of the things he’d tell his younger-self is to get better at building a deeper resilience to those NO’s.
We all know that we’re going to make it through those NO’s, or other rough points, but we have to work on how we’re going to fight through it.
Once you’re comfortable with the NO’s then you can work on getting comfortable with the maybes.
Force yourself to get comfortable there, because once you do, there is absolutely NOTHING stopping you from eventually finding that TRUE success.
You’ll figure out the NO’s, so get ready for the maybes!
In Conclusion
You may not earn $1M in five days like that Facebook ad said you would, but if you take Sam’s advice to heart, I can almost guarantee that you will find success in your business.
It may take weeks, months or years, but if you love what you do (and you always should, life is too short for anything else), but keep plugging away. Work hard, accept NO’s and get comfortable with maybe and success will find you!
I’d love for you to share how you plan on getting more comfortable with the gray area of maybe!
