What Can Kids Teach Us About Business?

Today my daughter got back from a trip that all 6^th graders take that promotes bonding and team building.  It is a great program that our school system has that many large companies have adopted.  In my opinion teaches kids away from the school environment how to work with their peers effectively.  As I was sitting there listening to her talk about her experience and what she took away from the trip I thought to myself, "wow kids are great at sales and they do not even know that they are in the business!"  I will explain what I mean as best as I can, and hopefully you all get as much out of it as I did. 

While my daughter was animatedly telling me all of the events that occurred, one particular event caught my attention.  The last night of the program the counselors put on a dance for the kids.  For most of them it was their very first exposure to dancing with someone of the opposite sex so as you can imagine there was a lot of blushing that went on while she was telling me this.  During the night she was asked to dance by 3 boys and what was funny was that she remarked about the confidence extruded by these boys.  In her own words she described them as, "walking across the dance floor with their head held high and asking her to dance expecting her to say yes."  She also stated that there was no nervousness, they just all acted with a great deal of confidence. 

Now you are probably wondering how in the world this can possibly be spun into the business world.  I say that it is amazing how resilient kids are and what wonderful salemen/women they are.  What do I mean?  I mean that most grown adults have a terrible fear of rejection.  Especially when it comes to sales and business.  One no and most people put their tail between their legs and say that business really isn't for them.  They go directly to monster.com or careerbuilder.com and find a job where rejection is not going to happen to them.  Like many people have said before sales is a game of failure.  No one bats 1.000 and if they tell you they do run as fast as you can the other way. 

Everyone wants to make more money, have a better schedule, and reap the benefits of a business owner.  Why do people get so discouraged when someone says no?  You will hear no a lot more than yes, just like being a kid.  Mom says no all the time, but kids always ask.  Hopefully the next time that you hear no you remember the courage that middle school kids have when asking a girl to dance, or a 1^st grader has when they want a candy bar at the store.  No doesn't mean no, just not right now!  So whether you are cold calling, doing door to door sales, conducting business for a Fortune 500 company, or trying to get leads on the web remember it's all about consistency, just ask the neighborhood 6^th grader!