Kevin Bemel ·
Take the Plunge: Action = Improvement and Success
“You know Facebook? Well, I had the same idea way before Zuckerberg.” I bet you have heard someone make a similar claim. So if it is true, the person is worth $1 billion, right?
When I started my first business too often I found competitors had gotten clients I wanted. After a short time, I realized that I was spending too much time preparing. I needed to act, even though my scripts and skills were not perfect. Here is the rub. Even when I thought I was properly prepared, frequently I found the situation going in an unanticipated direction, making many of my preparations useless. I finally realized that I was placing too much emphasis on each potential client rather than on the process itself. In reality, there are always more prospects.
There are only three states of mind in business: we are sure we are ready, we are uncertain about our state of preparedness, or we know we are not prepared. We have to be careful not to use the last two as excuses to procrastinate. Preparation can be an infinitely long process. How do you avoid this pitfall? Here are some steps:
- Prepare by improving skills so you can work the process better – If you want to be successful in business you have to be superior to your competition. If you want to make money in sales you have to learn to prospect.
- Remember the perfect is the enemy of the good and of moving forward – Perfection is an illusion. For example, do not be fooled into thinking that if you wait until you are in the right frame of mind you will prospect better. Most of business is a numbers game: the more people with whom you interact the more successful you will be. Consistently acting will get you closer to perfection than any other thing you can do.
- Unless you are certain more preparation is crucial, ACT! NOW! – Not sure you are ready. Move forward. You will never figure out if you are ready by waiting. Think your sales script needs improvement? The only way to know is to work it. Are people ready for your fantastic business idea? You will have to take a leap of faith at some point to find out. No amount of research will be conclusive.
Question: What do you do to prod yourself to take action?
