Fear of Failure

Are you afraid of failure? In sales, in sports, in modeling, in everything we do, the word “no” comes with the territory. But who wants to hear the word “no”? Most people don’t.

I recall as a loan officer, a particular situation in which I was on the phone with a client going over the numbers regarding refinancing her home. She was on the fence with her decision, and I decided to use the Ben Franklin close. I asked her to get a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side, I asked her to write “reasons I should” and on the other side, “reasons I should not.” We came up with 3 to 5 good reasons to do the refinance, and she wrote them down. I told her to come up with 3 to 5 reasons not to do the refinance, then I went silent. This is a sales tactic I learned from listening to Brian Tracy,. She didn’t come up with any reasons why she shouldn’t do the refinance; however, she still decided not to do it.

This was exciting for me although I didn’t get the sale. I’d been listening to sales tapes by Brian Tracy,and I felt confident. I was confident enough to apply what I had learned. She didn’t say “no” to me. She said “no” to my proposal. I chose not to look at being told “no” as a failure. I believe the experience of failure should be embraced like the experience of success. It’s apart of the process of becoming successful. Failures, like mistakes, are what I consider gateways to more knowledge. The first time you attempted to write your name, it probably needed some work.