Mr. Edison looked at failure in the right light. He treated every failure as a discovery. He found something that wouldn't work. In a sense, he was thankful for each discovery of what wouldn't work. Because I think he knew a basic principle of discovery that is quite similar to a basic principle of selling.
Basic selling skills include the idea of thanking every customer who turns you down. Why so? Because if you sell a product that on average only 1 out of every 100 people will buy, you need on average 99 turn downs before you'll get to a sale. And each "no" is one less person you have to ask before you get to "yes."
I think Mr. Edison knew that if only 1 in 100 ideas will work, each failure is one more "no" to be scratched off the list, and one step closer to the "yes" that brings success.
About me: For 25 years, Dan Pelley has presented supervisory management development programs in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. He is the 2004 recipient of the Richard Fontaine Award for Teaching Excellence awarded by Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, CT.
Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment