My son is 4 years old now. In these four years, he has taught me as much as I’ve taught him. No, I’m serious. I don’t mean “the meaning of love” and that sort of stuff either. I’m talking about tactical and practical lessons.
I can say with full confidence that I’m better today as a person and as a professional in my business due to the things I’ve learned from my son.
I observe his childhood from a distance almost as much as I participate in it. Here are a few ways in which he plays this game.
- He has insatiable levels of curiosity. He’s learning new things every day and instantly applying that learning in real life. Whether it is new words or new concepts, he applies the theory into practice multiple times in quick succession. That makes the learning stick. That’s the lesson you need to learn too – Learn new things AND apply them soon.
- He has an unflinching faith that he’ll have his way eventually. To that end, he does whatever it takes – cry, scream, be cute, or argue. If he doesn’t get what he wants today, that doesn’t hurt his faith tomorrow. Sales is mostly about unending optimism, and if you want to succeed in it, you shouldn’t let the outcome of one sale (good or bad) affect the next one.
- He approaches multiple people in his quest for his goal. If mom refuses chocolates, he will ask me, and then the grandparents and sometimes even the neighbors. Since neither of us adults knows what the others did, he increases his chances of conversion. A lesson we all need to learn when dealing in B2B markets – every company has multiple stakeholders and one person saying No doesn’t end the deal for good.
There are many more facets of this topic that I’ll explore over time in these emails. Also, although I’m talking about my son, this is a universal message.
Kids learn very quickly and what they do best is bring a smile in the daily lives of adults. Observe what these kids do effortlessly, wonder when you lost that part of yourself, and try to bring it back to your life.
In a world of banal sales meetings, anything you can do to bring a genuine smile on someone’s face will increase your odds of success.
Have you seen a child growing up at close? What are some things the kid does that amazes you or brings a smile to your face?
Yours,
Abhilash PurohitÂ