Overcoming Discouragement
My friend Scott had a deal for 70K that was declined. He worked diligently to get the decision turned around and was thrilled when he succeeded. The deal was on Scott’s backlog report for four months, and his manager was constantly asking when the deal would book. There were problems with the installation of the equipment and after weeks of delay he finally got a signed lease agreement. The lessee became annoyed with the vendor because supplies that were supposed to be included in the deal were suddenly being withheld. The lessee refused to verbally verify the transaction while the vendor was screaming at Scott for his money. The next week the vendor and the lessee worked out their problems, and the lessee decided to pay CASH.
How very frustrating!
Most of you reading this probably have your own war stories. In this industry you can’t count on a deal until it’s booked. There are too many factors that can go wrong. Most of us can accept this. We can deal with the disappointment that comes with working a transaction through the system. What we can’t deal with is the discouragement of trying finding a deal in the first place. It seems that every vendor we call on is sick and tired of hearing from leasing companies, or they continually tell us that they are not selling much of anything in this economy.
It’s hard to stay optimistic and enthusiastic when you hear “no” over and over again. It’s also hard to stay optimistic and enthusiastic when you think the same thoughts over and over again. Studies show that we have about 50,000 thoughts per day, and 90% of them are repetitive. Other research indicates that 77% of everything that most people think about is negative, self-damaging, and counterproductive.
How very frustrating!
Take the first step to break this negative cycle--begin to track your own thoughts. When you start to feel frustration and discouragement, identify what thoughts are running through your mind. Once you identify your thought pattern ask yourself:
Is this thought accurate?
Is this thought helpful?
For example, you are prospecting and the vendor tells you “We’re happy with who we are using and we have not done many leasing deals recently anyway.”
You think “Every vendor I call on is happy with their current leasing company. I’m never going to get any new business. This economy sucks, nobody is buying anything. I’m never going to hit my quota.”
Is the thought “every vendor I call on is happy with their current leasing company” accurate? Is it helpful to you to think this?
Is the thought “I’m never going to get any new business” accurate? Is it helpful to think this?
Is the thought “this economy sucks, nobody is buying anything” accurate?
Is it helpful to think this?
Is the thought “I’m never going to hit my quota” accurate?
Is it helpful to think this?
Sometimes your thoughts are accurate, that doesn't mean that they help you.
(BTW, my standard reply when someone tells me they are happy with their current leasing company is “My best vendor said the same thing when I first called on them. Who are you using?” I brush off their brush off and usually gain a piece of valuable information.)
Once you identify the thoughts that keep you discouraged, determine if those thoughts are accurate or helpful, then change your thoughts to ones that work for you. For example, instead of the habitual thought “every vendor is happy with their current leasing company...change that to “This prospect is happy with CIT, I now know who they are using and that they actively use leasing.” Then set your objective for the next call. Maybe something like: “The next time I talk to them I’ll find out the what’s most important to them in a leasing company. It may take me a while to get business from this company, but I know this is a decent prospect and I’ll keep calling on them until their situation changes.”
Discouragement arises from not getting the results you want. Remember that great achievements are made up of small achievements. Reevaluate your actions and your thoughts and then take a different approach.
Here’s an idea: Make eleven prospect calls and then give yourself a bonus for making the calls. Regardless of the outcome reward yourself for having the courage (the root of the word discouragement) to face the unknown.
When my friend Scott lost his 70K deal he was discouraged. As soon as he could he went to the gym and worked out the tension. He didn’t mentally beat himself up. He met with the vendor the next day over lunch and gently pointed out how hard he had worked on the deal---simply for the opportunity, without any guarantee of a return. This strengthened the relationship, and now the vendor provides him a steady stream of applications. He turned the setback into a comeback.
We are always going to be challenged in this industry, tough economy or not. It’s to our benefit to turn those challenges into opportunities. Keeping a positive mental outlook will help you to persevere through the inevitable downturns in any business.