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What Do You Do When "Things" Don't Go Right?
By Steve Hurst | December 4, 2008
Sometimes in life, things don’t go right. Or at times, you just get in one of those “funky” moods. What do you do then?
If you read or listen to some of the “gurus” out there, they talk about always being positive, don’t let the situation get you down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being positive, but sometimes those “times” just happens. So, how do you handle those “times?”
In life, we all get those moods. Now everyone handles them differently, but they do happen. I’ll give you my insight to how I handle these situations. Yes, they happen to me. However, I’ve learned over the years that it’s only temporary and I try not to worry about it.
Case in point. Last Thursday was Thanksgiving. I had planned on doing some work over the holiday weekend, but very little because my son was coming to visit. But once he got here, I ended up not doing any type of work. After he left, I had a difficult time getting back into the “groove” of working. It was a nice four days off from doing nothing.
But when Monday morning rolled around, time to roll up the shirt sleeves and get back to it. I had plenty to do, but lacked the motivation to do any of the work. However, I started “going through the motions.” This is lesson number one. Even when you don’t feel like doing the work or are in one of “those” moods, just go through the motions to get yourself started.
I know this is difficult sometimes, but you have to force yourself to at least start. At times, this is all it takes and you’re off an running. But, then there are times like I’ve had the past few days. You get going but all kinds of obstacles jump in front of you. Issues that clients are having and you need to resolve them, technical problems and as the old saying goes, “when it rains it pours.”
But, you can’t give up. You have to keep chugging along and persevering. And you know what, eventually you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I learned this lesson years ago, back in my “selling food” days. I’d have days (and sometimes weeks) where it seemed like everything I did, was not working out. Or my sales would be way down. After a time I knew that if I just kept “going through the motions” that eventually everything would work out. And you know what…it did.
The great sales trainer, Tom Hopkins tells a wonderful story that illustrates this point. When he was selling real estate, he was having “one of those days.” He goes to his sales manager and his boss says something to the effect of, “you look down, let’s go for a drive.”
Tom continues the story saying that at that time, he was glad his sales manager understood. However, once they got about a mile from the office, the sales manager stopped the car, told Tom to “GET OUT” and start knocking on doors, prospecting his way back to the office. Even though that was the last thing he wanted to do, he decided to do it anyway.
I forget the exact number, but he ended up with some customers and was feeling much better. His moral was to “work through those times”. Dig in and get to work and it will all work out. (Tom Hopkins has some great books on selling, two of my favorites are: “How To Master The Art of Selling” and “Selling For Dummies”)
So now when those times hit me, like the past few days, I just buckle down and keep doing what it takes and before long, everything is back on track.
To Your Success,
Steve
www.spnmarketing.com
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Steve Hurst has been working in sales and marketing for over 30 years. For 10 years he had his own computer business which included website building and consulting. The past 5 years he’s owned his own Business & Technology consulting business. Using his sales and marketing skills along with his knowledge of technology, he’s helping his clients increase their sales and profits by utilizing today’s technology.
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All writings here are copyrighted by Steve Hurst. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.
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