Have you ever wondered why some people bounce back from adversity and others wallow in it?
It has to do with the strength of their resilience muscle. Wondering what I mean? Keep reading!
Frequently in business we hear NO after NO, which can definitely leave you feeling defeated. But, it doesn’t have to! If you step back and look at those NO’s as learning opportunities, rather than failures, things will stop feeling so grim.
I am a glass half full type of gal, I see the positive in almost everything, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had my fair share of MAJOR failures. What has kept me going is how I’m using those failures to fuel my future.
Choose Your Expectations Wisely
As entrepreneurs, we are often used to controlling a lot of things. Believe it or not, most things are out of our control.
For instance, we cannot control whether someone chooses to work with us or buy from us. We simply have to do our best to offer our services or products and hope we’ve proven to them that we’re what they’re looking for. That said, even when we put in our best effort, it’s possible to still receive a NO.
Let’s change the way you look at NO’s.
Before you go into your next discovery call with a potential client, think through the two outcomes. Obviously, you’re going to hear a YES or a NO. Think through how each of these will feel to hear, YES is obvious, you’ll be excited and hopeful for the future. With NO, your initial reaction may be one of sadness or disappointment, but it doesn’t have to be.
Remove the expectation from either answer! You can be hopeful with either answer, YES is just a bit more immediate. The NO will teach you something, as well, it’ll just be information you use in the future.
A guest of Success Unfiltered, David Hill, became resilient from a very young age. He had a rough childhood and instead of letting it ruin him, he used it to spur him forward in his life. He used it as motivation to do and be better than that which he grew up with.
Early in his career, David worked selling Kirby Vacuums and credit card applications. He frequently heard the word NO, but never thought of himself as a failure. He never tied any expectations to the outcome of the conversations he was having.
He knew there would be another call and another prospect to pitch as soon as he hung up the phone.
Take a huge lesson from David, don’t let the NO’s get you down!
Expect That You’re Going to be Uncomfortable
After working in the call centers, David moved on to work in real estate. He really loved what he was doing, and was able to make connections fairly easily. He actually found one client that he deeply connected with, and they ended up working together for months.
David offered him tips for selling, ways to get his house ready for sale and the client continued to refuse to sign any sort of agreement, but because David felt a bond with gentleman he didn’t push him to sign until it was too late. David sent the paperwork over but it was never returned. He reached out to the client several times, trying to get him on the phone. Eventually he learned that the client went with another agent that was willing to work for cheaper than David was (even after lowering his rates for him).
I’m sure you can guess that David was completely devastated. He had trusted this man and he had been completely used. He admits that it took him a few days to get over it and back on his feet, but he did not let it keep him down.
He experienced the disappointment. He sat with the uncomfortable feelings, and chose to learn a lesson…. Always get a signed contract! No matter how deep of a connection you may have with someone.
Not every sale is going to be easy, or go smoothly. Things will get uncomfortable for you, and possibly for the client– but, don’t move away from that. Allow it to happen, because there is likely a lesson to be learned somewhere in there.
Remove ALL Excuses
I get it. Making moves in business can be difficult. You have to do things you’ve rarely done before, not to mention that there’s plenty of rejection.
It isn’t easy, but it’s worth it! So, let’s bust through all of those excuses once and for all.
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- First things first, do you know what your ultimate goals are? Do you know specifically where you are headed, or do you feel like you’re floundering? If you haven’t decided on what your goals are, you’re going to have a really hard time focusing, and powering through struggles, failures and excuses.
- Now you need to determine what you need to do to make your goals a reality. Create a road map that outlines the action plan that you will take.
- Uncover any roadblocks that may come up. Really think about this, don’t just breeze through this step. If you’re able to come up with some of the issues you may encounter, you’ll be better able to prepare for them when they occur.
- Take action! Take each tiny bite-sized step and make things happen.
You may wonder what this has to do with growing your resilience, so let me explain…
There are two parts, the first is, if you have goals that you’ve set for yourself, and your whole heart is dedicated to them, you’re less likely to ever let a NO push you off the path. You’ll just plow through!
And, the second part, when you look at big goals they can be scary. They can feel like you’ll never achieve them. At the first sign of adversity, you could easily be pushed off path, thereby never getting to what you want.
If you set yourself up with bite-sized chunks of work, you’ll have an easier time getting through each step and you’ll accomplish your goals with much more ease.
After David was in real estate for awhile, he met a BOLD instructor (a type of training that his agency offers), David quickly decided that he wanted to pursue that training. However, it wasn’t that simple. It required David to go through several auditions, where he was turned away each time.
David had decided ahead of time that he was going to achieve this goal, he kept working at it. He didn’t let the NO’s deter him. He kept working on his own time and dime to become a master at the technique. He went at this for 2 years, his effort never wavering.
In the end, he did walk away but not because he was giving up, but instead because he had a baby on the way and didn’t want to miss out on time with her.
David is a testament to someone who works hard and never gives up!
In Conclusion
Entrepreneurialism can be very stressful, but I encourage you to use all your experiences as a way to learn and grow. Don’t look at challenges that come up as “Why me?,” instead consider using these to your benefit, allowing yourself to feel uncomfortable and then continuing to move on through.
It’s time to GROW that RESILIENCE muscle!
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