Emotions That Sabotage Your Success

Published on February 8, 2012

A sales trainer calls me up for help.  Her husband was laid off in the recession and finally found a job at ½ his former salary.  They sell their house to downsize and cut expenses.  The sales trainer is now trying to re-establish her business and finds it tough getting new clients.

With emotions running high, she calls me for help.  I ask her how she is going about getting new prospects.  She shares her nine-part system for prospecting.  The first part is the script used on the cold call.  It is four paragraphs long with the first three focusing on her services and abilities.

I ask her how the response is going.  She dejectedly said there were no callbacks.  I then asked her if this is what she would teach her clients and she said no. So I asked her why are you doing it then?  She gave me an honest answer.  She is in such a bad way that she was trying to do anything to get someone to hire her.  Her emotions clouded her vision and judgment.  They forced her into doing actions that she wouldn’t even recommend.

Sound familiar?  All of us can relate to this story when we had our own emotions drive us to actions we would normally avoid.  

So I asked her what would she do with this script.  Her answer was it was too long. I said just do yourself a favor and throw it out.  Scripts don’t sell!  CEO’s want a valuable conversation, not a script.

What is the point of the cold call?  If you are in a sales cycle that involves face to face visits, then it is simply to get an appointment, not sell yourself.  CEO’s won’t listen to a voice mail that is more than 20 seconds and all about you.  They couldn’t care about you, no offense intended.  They want to talk with people who can advise them on strategies for achieving the results they are after.

So then I asked her how she got her list.  She says the names were provided by an association executive that thought she could help those CEO’s.  I said perfect!

Here is the message you will leave on your next voicemail:

“Ms. Jones— this is so and so.  Bob Jones suggested I call you to share some of the strategies we are using to help businesses like yours grow their sales.  When would be a good time for the two of us to meet?”

Within one day, she received 4 call backs vs. none using her script.  She also closed an appointment with a CEO for a face to face visit.  All within one day!

So what are the learning points from this story:

  1. We all get side stepped by our emotions.  Call a friend or colleague and validate your strategy to make sure it is not filled with actions that won’t help you achieve your goals
  2. When the sky seems to be falling and there is no room to go, let this story be an example that your fortunes can change instantly if you do the right thing, which is to position yourself as a resource to serve others vs. trying to find an instant fix to your problems
  3. Walk your talk.  Never stray from your values and experience.  Never allow your emotions to force you to act in certain ways you would never counsel others to do.
  4. Leverage the people you know.  There are people in your life who can help you get the results you are after if you give them a good enough reason.

Tomorrow, read the next part on how her visit with the CEO went.  There will be additional and powerful learning points to share with you.

In the meantime, please share the strategies you use in not letting your emotions get the best of you.  Let’s start a great conversation that will help all of us.

And one more thing. Please do not comment on whether this person should be a sales trainer or not.  She actually is very good and does provide great results.  She became a victim of her emotions and latched onto a system she thought would work.

Question is:  In your life, how are your emotions affecting your results?