Those who complain, fail. Those that change, succeed.

This last week ushered in a new school year for our household. Soon enough, we’ll be sending both of our little tikes into some sort of full-time formal education! But for now, it’s just our oldest daughter.

This will be her last year before Kindergarten, and extending on last year’s 3-k program. She’ll be in a formal pre-k this year, going to school three full days each week! Big step; big change. She’s not riding the school bus yet, but believe me when I tell you that we are reminded on a weekly basis that next year, in Kindergarten, she’ll be “just like one of the big kids.”

Of course, we had to do the customary ‘first school day’ picture on the front steps. Our daughter was still making her silly face, apparently.

For our family, the new school year represents a fresh beginning, temporary change, and excitement for the challenges ahead.

How about you? How do you usher in a new school year? Do you set any family goals? How does your new routine change from the previous ones?

I don’t know of many people who could convince me that as children, they weren’t excited for a new school year. So why do we complain or neglect change as adults?

_{Do you follow Twitter? If not, I’ll post my “Sales Tweets of The Week” below, for more thought-provoking ideas, trends, or stories. Check them out below!}

A simple equation of disruption … and inspiration.

What’s up homies! Are you confronting some sort of change in your personal or professional life? Instead of stressing or increasing your anxiety, take a step back and evaluate things from 10,000 ft.

• What objectives have I been able to complete?

• How have I grown in the last X years?

• What are my goals ahead?

As kids, we naturally adapt to change. Instead of complaining about a new school year, my daughter gets excited about a new backpack, and meeting her new teachers! Without knowing it, she’s embracing change and allowing herself to mentally prepare for the next year of her life. She’s allowing change which will help her have an overall successful year in school. She’s not complaining, and rooting her feet in failure.

As adults, why do we stop doing this?

Here are a few ideas on how a change in your SALES process, objectives, or approach pushes you toward the rewards that you seek.

The Fear of Failure

Every SALES professional in the entire universe, no matter how successful they are or have been, starts at $0.00 each year.

Zero.

Throughout my career, I’ve noticed that I’ll change things up at the beginning of each selling year … to keep things interesting, for me, but to also keep expanding my confidence and approach.

It might be small changes, like how I do cold outreach (email vs. LinkedIn). Or it might be large changes, like inviting different resources and counterparts to any presentations.

Business Growth Tip:

• If you’re looking to impact an existing customer(s), I’ll introduce one (1) new contact from our organization each year; keep expanding the circle. After 3 or 4 years, there will be 3 or 4 people that that customer will know, like, and trust.

And it’s that much harder for a customer to fire 3 or 4 trusted resources, versus 1.

Doing the same thing, over and over … you guessed it, look up the definition. It’s called INSANITY. So why would you want to approach business development, or business strategy the same way?

The Law of Creation

Have you ever, or do you work for a business owner who complains that growing the business is simply too hard?

If they haven’t taken the time to understand what the “Law of Creation” states, take a moment and ‘manage up,’ and find a way to explain to them the basics.

Hopefully, they’ll either:

• Get out of your way so you can focus on your job: SALES

• Put into motion change within the organization to make selling easier.

An oldie but a goodie:

The worst leaders or business owners will fear outside influence or change to what they consider their ‘tried and true’ processes.

If you work for one of these types of leaders, start looking for your next role. You will not be a happy growth minded SALES professional.

Choose Your Not … Wisely

At the end of the day, your job or career, like life, is simply a choice.

• Am I going to show up …

• Am I going to show up with a positive attitude …

• Am I going to show up with a positive attitude … and do what it takes to succeed?

I realize it’s not always about the money or the stature that might come with it. But, the tweet above encapsulates the same theme of this week’s blast.

Complain = Fail

Change =Succeed

If you choose to NOT fail, you will learn, develop, and grow in your career. If you choose to NOT change, you will not succeed.

^{If you find the Sales Homie newsletter to be educational, fun, and worthwhile, please comment, share, and like each blast!}

The moral of the story? As kids, our simple fears were things like a dark bedroom, the sound of a new noise in our home, or the taste of a new food.

As adults, our simple fears are no longer, yet we allow ourselves to bubblewrap the idea of change, IN FEAR OF FAILURE.

As kids, we embraced change, each year, every birthday, with each new milestone. It was a life of passing one benchmark to the next. So why can’t we do this as adults?

The answer is … you can.

Sales Tweets of The Week!

If you found this content to be relevant and helpful, please hit the subscribe button below to receive my weekly blast. You can also follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn for more conversation and discovery!