Luck = Opportunity + Persistence

A couple of weeks ago my Dad turned 70! A milestone birthday, certainly.

My four-year-old daughter LOVES birthdays, parties, presents, and cake. All of it! ‘Happy Birthday’ was her favorite (and only) song that she sang when she was 2-3 years old. We heard it … every … day.

“Daddy, why does Grandpa get to have a birthday party today … I want to have a birthday party.”

“Well Ensley,” I said, “it’s Grandpa’s special day today. Everyone is special because they have their own unique birthday, and today is Grandpa’s.”

“Grandpa is lucky,” she said.

“Grandpa has earned his party,” I said back. “Do you know how old he is?”

She thought about it, gears in her little head turning, and surprisingly squeaked out, “Fifty!” She consistently skips a few numbers as we count beyond the 30s, so 50 came as a surprise response.

“That’s pretty close, Ensley,” I exclaimed, “but older.”

“Older,” she asked? I chuckled.

More gears turned.

“Eighty!”

I was shocked, “No, not that old, he’s 70 today!”

“Grandpa’s lucky,” she said again. “We’re all lucky,” I said back.

_{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!}

Work hard; gain experience. After a few years, people will start to call you ‘lucky.’

What’s up homies! Another week is upon us. Will you take it for granted and go through the motions, or will you take the new challenge and create an opportunity?

I often pinch myself to think that I’ve been working in a SALES career for over 21 years. Similarly, it is hard to believe some days that I’ll be 44 years old later this year. Or, that my Dad’s age now begins with a seven (sorry Dad; I know he reads this newsletter)!

However, the older I get the more I believe that luck is simply a byproduct of understanding what an opportunity looks like, and having persistence, motivation, drive, or will to achieve it.

As my above tweet mentions, becoming successful in SALES is really nothing more than putting in the hard work and gaining experience. Having a consistent approach to your SALES job, or career, will often start to make you look ‘lucky’ to those around and closest to you.

Here are three quick examples of where my luck comes from.

^{A SALE is earned, not given.}

I sold a large government contract back in 2014. The annualized revenue was close to $2.2M. I was newer to my industry at the time, so I carried little name recognition or familiarity.

It started with a cold call to one of the lower-level managers who oversaw the contract, with an invitation to meet and to see ‘if I could be a resource for them.’ I always position wanting to help - because I do. At this moment in time, I didn’t know what I could help them with, but I knew I carried resources and value around me, so the ‘what’ was the least of my concerns.

Naturally, my outreach was ignored. So I tried again. This time, I went right to the top, to the Department head.

This time, I got a response!

“Thank you for your email. We’re not interested at this time. Feel free to contact me in three months.”

- - -

Three months to the day, I sent another email to this contact, and positioned my follow-up stating that “it was your request that we connect today, three months from our last email exchange… what days work for you next week to meet?”

Our initial meeting turned into many, and I was able to position a built-up trust and confidence in our company that we ultimately won the business, even though they had to navigate the bid cycle through a formal RFP (Request For Proposal).

- - -

The department head and I established an industry friendship; one that continues today! And one of his favorite stories to share with me from time to time was about my persistence, my will, and my motivation to follow instructions and promptly communicate at his desired interval.

“I was so impressed that you had the fortitude to give me the space I requested, and then follow up with me when I asked, that I just had to give you that first meeting opportunity.”

And the rest is history.

^{Rome is never built in a day.}

When I started with my current company (2018), I knew there were going to be rocks and boulders to navigate around. Although they had an impactful localized name in our industry, the branding, the processes, the maturity … everything … needed updating.

Honestly, it’s what drew me to the role. So I’m careful about the double standard of my comments.

The President who hired me started in his leadership role in January of ‘18. I had provided Operations leadership options to this President during my courting process; one of which stuck and was also hired. He started in February of ‘18. And I started in March of ‘18.

By April, the Operations lead was being let go (for HR reasons), and by June the President himself literally stopped showing up; he resigned.

So there I was, literally three months into my new gig and was thrown into every operations, leadership, sales, and administration-type role that exists. It was at this time that my reporting structure shifted back to a legacy COO who was within 24+ months of retiring.

Very old school. Yelled at people. Micromanaged. It wasn’t my cup of tea. But I knew it was temporary, and for the time being, I could flex my executive muscles and make a couple of raving fans out of my temporary time before a new President was named.

(This entire story could be a blog/blast in the future, so I’ll be brief.)

A new President was hired, and THANK ALL THINGS HOLY we clicked almost immediately. We aligned on vision, respect for subordinates and peers, growth, brand messaging … everything.

And what happens when you align people that work well together, in the right seats, with the right autonomy to do their jobs? You grow.

And growing is all we’ve been doing for the last 4-5 years. What was an approx. $37M company when we got started, is now an organization nipping at $85M (if a few things go right for the remaining ‘23 fiscal).

And the best part? It’s fun.

^{Progress is the reward of committed energy.}

This tweet (or message) is the single reason why I’ve been fortunate to find myself on the winning side of many SALES, job opportunities, friendships, my marriage, all of it.

I love the underlying message of it. It’s so simple and straightforward, but for some, it’s still too much commitment.

When I set out to start the Sales Homie brand in December of 2022, I knew I wanted to grow it into something recognizable. I had my sights set on growing a subscriber list, first, which could turn into an entire host of other options down the road. I enjoy writing, and I knew I enjoyed talking about SALES, strategy, growth, business, leadership … all of it, almost more than writing itself. So it made sense.

But, if I didn’t simply start … by tweeting on Twitter about my niche, and eventually starting the Sales Homie newsletter, I wouldn’t have:

• Almost 500 email subscribers

• Over 600 LinkedIn subscribers

• Over 2,000 followers on Twitter (X)

• And over 4,000 followers on LinkedIn

I’ve had calls and exchanges with people all over the United States. And Canada. And Africa!! I mean, seriously. So cool.

And you think this is all from me being lucky? No way, dude.

It’s simply from having a “start now” mindset, with a simple weekly plan and strategy, and sticking with it for what’s going on 6-7 months.

And you can relate that same work ethic and commitment to ANY job, relationship, project, or goal you’re working on, too.

^{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? What used to be known as an honest and hard day’s work … still exists! We work in different ways nowadays, but that changes nothing regarding the diligence, persistence, and commitment needed for growth and success.

Luck isn’t luck. The only luck in the world is for 1 out of 292 million chances each week with a Powerball ticket. That’s luck.

If you’re a believer that this is your one and only life, what are you waiting for? Go start what you’ve always wanted to do; who you always wanted to be; go where you’ve always wanted to go.

… and by the way, thanks, homie, for subscribing and being a part of this community. I sincerely hope you take away something from each and every blast.

Because we’re better, together. 

Sales Tweets of The Week!

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