What is the magic number? For the producers of the movie, ‘Dirty Dancing’, the magic number was 42. That hit movie was rejected by 41 different studios until, at the bottom of their list, one of the studios finally said yes. 41 previous studios passed on the box-office hit and, although they must have had their reasons at the time, they are no doubt still kicking themselves today as the movie continues to bring in millions of dollars each year. But the real prize went to the producers who believed in what they were doing and didn’t give up; 42 times to be precise. Sounds like a no-brainer today, but I’m sure there was a moment when they doubted themselves and were ready to give up. Ever have those days in sales? All the time.
The producers in this example had only 1 thing to sell and they only had to sell it 1 time. You, on the other hand, have to keep on selling over and over again. There are days when we are selling (especially in prospecting and cold calling mode) where we think, ‘This is dumb. I can’t take another ‘no’. I’m ready to give up’. The question is, how close are you to your 42? It takes a lot of no’s to get to a yes, but I assure you that the yes is out there waiting for you, and here are 5 reasons why you can’t give up today.
- You’ve come too far to quit – Getting to this point in your progress was not easy and you’re being challenged with an obstacle. You have what it takes to work through this, you just have to be willing to push yourself a little farther.
- Persistence wins – Everyone wants a quick win without the hard work, but persistence is the critical component in any success story. It may take longer than you want, but if you keep at it, you will find some level of success.
- No’s just don’t matter – When you are in sales, every ‘no’ you hear feels like a defeat, but it is not. You are allowing prospects to unqualify themselves. You are letting potential customers free you up for new opportunities. If you spend too much time on the no’s it will take you longer to find your yes.
- Your ‘yes’ is out there – And it may take 42 tries to find it, but it is there. What a shame to quit before you reach your goal only to find out you didn’t just try hard enough. What if you just gave up after 41 times, and your big hit was waiting all along at 42. Press on; your success may be just around the corner.
- You will succeed and it will be worth it – Be steadfast and resolved and you will be rewarded. Success may not always turn out the way you expect it to, but you will be pleased with what you achieve. Don’t quit. Brush the dust off your shoulders and give it your best. Never fail at something because you didn’t try hard enough because even if you didn’t get the win you wanted, your efforts will lead you to a new win that you needed.
