Luck and Opportunity in Sales

Luck and Opportunity in Sales

When people talk about traits that can be found in successful businesspeople, luck rarely makes the list. But being in the right place at the right time is crucial to finding opportunities. While we can’t control when fortune smiles upon us, there are ways to increase our odds of entering situations where we are able to find opportunities. By putting yourself into situations such as these, you open up new paths for yourself.

Imagine your next weekend. If you stay in and never leave the house, you’re not going to meet others. It might be nice every once in awhile, but if by spending every weekend alone, you will isolate yourself and lose touch with your friends. Conversely, going out will put you in touch with new people. You might find yourself networking without even realizing it!

Below are some helpful tips from Jeff Haden’s article “What’s the Biggest Indicator of Success?”

Nature or Nurture? Luck Favors Both

Traits such as passion, toughness, a desire to learn and a willingness to take risk are all traits found in the most successful employees. But if this was the only metric for success, we would have a much more successful population overall. The question of nature or nurture, in regards to luck, boils down to aspects like charisma. Are you able to continually put yourself out into the world?

When it comes to luck, many aspects of the nature/nurture debate boil down to privilege. It goes without saying that even in the best offices, latent racism, sexism, and bigotry exist that privilege white males over others. We have written before on the issues that women experience in the workplace. However, people that were raised in environments where they were given the tools they needed to succeed also put them at an advantage.

In spite of these setbacks, it is more than possible to achieve success as long as you put yourself out there.

Meet More People

You’re not going to land your dream job, or close the best deals, unless you’re going into the world to expand your professional network. Meeting people is essential to this. As you meet others, you will find that their similar interests correspond with your career interests. While you might meet someone in the field that you’re looking to get into, they might contact you days, months, or weeks later with an offer you can’t refuse. But it all boils down to meeting others.

Jeff Haden, author of “The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set themselves Up To Win” has advice. “If you assume that good things will happen, and that every person you meet is worth meeting, you’ll likely enjoy the process more.” Having an optimistic approach to your conversations makes you friendlier, and expands your base. “You can’t luck into meeting the right person unless you meet a lot of people.”

Luck Comes From Trying More Things

Some people are born into greatness. Most of us aren’t so lucky. While some people can play Bach at the age of 5, most people learn by trial and failure. This isn’t a weakness – it is a strength. By learning what doesn’t work, you bring experience of what does work when you need it most. This kind of luck means trying new things constantly. The more history you can draw from, the better your approach to problems will be. It also means that you are in contact with a diverse group of people, increasing your network.

Don’t Aspire for Sameness

A couple recently became famous for achieving their objective of visiting every Cracker Barrel in the United States. To maximize the opportunities in your life, variety trumps sameness. If you follow the same patterns, you will not expose yourself to new things. New hobbies, new places, and new people will lead to new potentialities for your life. Repetition creates the same results.

If you are struggling in outsourced sales, try switching things up. We recently wrote a blog post about re-evaluating your sales process.

Ask And You Shall Receive

Closed mouths don’t get fed. By asking for things when you need them, you jump start the potential for opportunity. It is impossible to make sales without asking a client whether they are going to buy the product. But asking for things counts for more than just sales. Knowing how to ask opens you up to new kinds of interactions. It puts you into an uncertain situation, but puts you with people who know what to do. Their experience will furnish you with new knowledge and opportunity.