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Here’s a pattern:

You compete for your prospect’s business. You make it to the presentation stage. They say they like you a lot, but you cost more than your competitors. You lose the business.

Here’s another pattern:

You call your dream client to check in each quarter. They tell you nothing’s changed. You ask them if it’s okay to call them and check in again in another quarter. They happily agree.

Here’s one more pattern:

Your boss is a jerk. He doesn’t understand that it’s not your fault that you aren’t producing results. He tries to get you to change what you’re doing. You quit and get a new boss. The new boss is a jerk.

The One Thing You Can Change

The common denominator in each of these patterns is you. If you continue to do the same thing over and over again, you will produce the same result over and over again. The only thing that you have any real ability to change is you. And how lucky we are that this is true.

You can break unhealthy patterns at any time you choose. You can stop doing what you are doing when it isn’t working and do something different instead.

Establishing Virtuous Patterns

Here’s a different pattern:

You win your dream client. You solve their problems and they’re happy with you. Instead of becoming complacent, you bring your dream client a new, unsolicited, value creating idea. Your dream client is even happier. You repeat this every quarter.

Here’s one more pattern:

You call your dream client and they refuse to give you their time. You nurture them by providing them an actionable, valuable idea or insight. They still refuse to give you the time of day. Nurture. Nurture. Nurture. Nurture. Your dream client is dissatisfied. They agree to meet with you.

We fall into patterns. Some of them are vicious. Others are virtuous. To break unhealthy patterns and establish new ones, you have to change what you’re doing.

Questions

What are some of the patterns that you have fallen into that don’t serve you?

Are there any patterns that you’ve adopted that served you at one time but that no longer serve you now?

What are the healthy patterns of activity that are producing results for you now?

How could you do even more of what is already working?

Who has a pattern that you can follow to produce the same result they’re producing? What’s that pattern?

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Sales 2013
Post by Anthony Iannarino on January 5, 2013

Written and edited by human brains and human hands.

Anthony Iannarino
Anthony Iannarino is a writer, an international speaker, and an entrepreneur. He is the author of four books on the modern sales approach, one book on sales leadership, and his latest book called The Negativity Fast releases on 10.31.23. Anthony posts daily content here at TheSalesBlog.com.
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