I read a book review in the Globe and Mail on a book from an author named Seth Godin called Small is the New Big. In the review the author is quoted, and I wanted to share the quote with you:
“Hard work is about risk. It begins when you deal with the things you would rather not deal with: fear of failure, fear of standing out, fear of rejection. Hard work is about training yourself to leap over this barrier, tunnel under that barrier, drive through the other barrier and after you’ve done that, to do it again the next day”
What rang true for me in the quote is how relevant it is to the everyday life of successful sales professional. Four hours of focused, proactive prospecting is much harder work than ten hours of reactive selling!
Our success as sales professionals is dependant on Godin’s definition of hard work; personal risk taking and constantly stretching outside your comfort level.
Check out Seth’s blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/06/small_is_the_ne.html