The First Vow of Success for Sales Professionals and Business Owners

I will depend entirely on my own capabilities for my financial success.

This vow removes the dependency for a “job”, or employment by others, as the source of your economic livelihood.  You have committed to a career where you must wake up every day and go “find paychecks” for you, your employees, and your family.  You do not have the luxury to wait and hope for others to make you successful.  When you are only paid on commissions for what you sell, or only if your company is profitable, you must depend on yourself, and your capabilities, every single day.

Capabilities are the key word in all of this.  These can include your ability to sell, market, create a great business plan, negotiate, say “no”, manage your time effectively, hire right, fire quickly when necessary, delegate, manage, and so on.  These are all skills and capabilities that you are not born with, so you must work to improve them over time if you want to maximize your success.  This does not mean others do not play an instrumental role in your success along the way.  But deep down, you know that your future successes (and failures) are because of your capabilities (or lack thereof).

Which brings up an obvious point…if everything depends on my own capabilities, how do I ensure my capabilities are up the task?

It is true – many sales professionals and business owners often set goals that are beyond their current capabilities.  I am definitely included in this, since as entrepreneurs we are often wired to dream big first, and then to figure out how to make it a reality.  This means we must constantly improve our skills.  If my goals will require me to be a much better sales person, then I must study sales, and hone this skill.  If I need to let go of administrative duties to free up my time to grow the business, I must learn to interview better and hire the right people to take these tasks off of my plate.

Of course, the 80/20 Rule tells me that 80% of sales professionals and business owners do not fully embrace this way of thinking.  I bet you can easily count the number of people in your similar profession who have not committed to this vow, or mindset.  These are the people who blame the markets, their employer, their clients, their service providers, and even their team, whenever things aren’t going the way they want them to.

I hear excuses constantly:  “I need better referrals.”  “That other bank offers more products than mine.”  “I need more committed clients.”  “I need interest rates to stay low.”  “I need better referral partners.”

The list goes on and on.  I am amazed by the lack of self-awareness sometimes and the unwillingness to simply look in the mirror and ask ourselves, “How can I be better?”  This is much more powerful and effective than, “How could things be easier?”

Don’t get me wrong.  It is easier to complain about what is keeping you from achieving your professional goals and dreams than it is to look in the mirror and admit your capabilities don’t yet match your ambitions.

So here is my recommendation.  Commit to the first vow of success.  This will free you from the blame game and not taking full responsibility for your economic future:

I will depend entirely on my own capabilities for my financial success.

Then commit to the following promise I have made to myself that I recommend you adopt as well, once you have fully committed to the first vow of entrepreneurial success:

I will constantly strive to increase my capabilities, so that I am better prepared to achieve personal, professional, and financial freedom for me, my family, and my company.

*Vow #2 coming soon.