Lesson #5: Stop Doing What is Not Working
Lesson #5: Stop Doing What is Not Working
Fields’ husband bet her that she would not even be able to bring in $50 worth of sales on that first day. And so, achieving $50 in sales became her new goal. But getting to that point was not as easy as Fields has assumed.
“I open up the store. I’ve got all these cookies. I had brownies. And I wait for the most amazing cookies sales,” says Fields. “I just know it’s going to be a smashing success. And here I am waiting, waiting, and the day’s starting to wear, and it’s getting closer to mid afternoon, and I had a couple of customers walk in to see what was going on, but nobody actually made a purchase.”
Fields began to worry about what she had gotten herself into. Not only did she owe a banker a loan with 21 percent interest on it, but in the face of no sales, she also had to accept the shame of proving her husband right. “I thought everything I had worked for, everything I had dreamed of, everything I had thought was possible wasn’t happening,” says Fields. “It was pretty hard.” But Fields was not ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Fields knew that if she continued to stand there doing nothing, she would most certainly fail. It was up to her in that very moment to decide the fate of her and her business’ future. “I’m not going to close the book on history and say, “If only…,” she told herself. “I’m going to do whatever I have to to make this thing work.”
With that, Fields put cookies on a cookie sheet and left the store to wander the neighbourhood handing out free samples. “I was a woman with a mission,” she says. “I would stop people, even buses I would stop and say, ‘Here, you’ve got to taste these cookies. Just try them.’” To her surprise, people began to follow her back to the store to buy more. At the end of the day, with a happy $75 in sales, Fields could stand proudly in front of her husband and say she had won the bet.
Fields had taken advantage of the moment and acted, refusing to live a life of regret. “To me, failure is only a way of communicating that it is not working,” she says. “Stop what you’re doing and try something else until it works.”
Lesson 5 Stop Doing What is Not Working
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When Fields opened up her very first store, she was excited. She had finally created a solid business plan and found a banker that believed in her. On the store’s first day of business, Fields’ husband questioned her about her long-term financial objectives, but Fields was so excited to finally be in business, she dismissed him. “Oh my gosh, Randy,” she told him. “You know, I’ve got an annual goal. I’ve got monthly plans. But today I just want to get started. I just want to open up the store.”
Fields’ husband bet her that she would not even be able to bring in $50 worth of sales on that first day. And so, achieving $50 in sales became her new goal. But getting to that point was not as easy as Fields has assumed.
“I open up the store. I’ve got all these cookies. I had brownies. And I wait for the most amazing cookies sales,” says Fields. “I just know it’s going to be a smashing success. And here I am waiting, waiting, and the day’s starting to wear, and it’s getting closer to mid afternoon, and I had a couple of customers walk in to see what was going on, but nobody actually made a purchase.”
Fields began to worry about what she had gotten herself into. Not only did she owe a banker a loan with 21 percent interest on it, but in the face of no sales, she also had to accept the shame of proving her husband right. “I thought everything I had worked for, everything I had dreamed of, everything I had thought was possible wasn’t happening,” says Fields. “It was pretty hard.” But Fields was not ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Fields knew that if she continued to stand there doing nothing, she would most certainly fail. It was up to her in that very moment to decide the fate of her and her business’ future. “I’m not going to close the book on history and say, “If only…,” she told herself. “I’m going to do whatever I have to to make this thing work.”
With that, Fields put cookies on a cookie sheet and left the store to wander the neighbourhood handing out free samples. “I was a woman with a mission,” she says. “I would stop people, even buses I would stop and say, ‘Here, you’ve got to taste these cookies. Just try them.’” To her surprise, people began to follow her back to the store to buy more. At the end of the day, with a happy $75 in sales, Fields could stand proudly in front of her husband and say she had won the bet.
Fields had taken advantage of the moment and acted, refusing to live a life of regret. “To me, failure is only a way of communicating that it is not working,” she says. “Stop what you’re doing and try something else until it works.”
Lesson 5 Stop Doing What is Not Working
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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