You Can’t Win If You’ve Already Lost in Your Mind

You can’t win if you have already lost in your mind. Nothing has a greater impact on your results than what you believe. Your results are a reflection of your beliefs.

Holding the belief that your competitors are stronger than you will cause you to lose to those competitors. But not because your competitors are stronger than you are. You’ll lose because you don’t believe that you can win, that you deserve to win. And your dream clients will be right to choose your competitors. This contest was lost before it started.

Holding the belief that your clients want the lowest price will ensure that your clients buy from a competitor with a lower price. Not because your prospective clients really want the lowest price (they don’t). You’ll lose because you don’t believe that you are worth paying more to obtain. And all things being equal, your clients will be right to choose the lowest price. You didn’t believe enough to make things unequal.

Believing that your company is wrong, that “they” are to blame for the difficulty you have selling, that they aren’t trying to produce good results for their clients, or that their motives are suspect, is the fast track to failure. If you don’t believe in your company, I promise you can’t sell it. First, you won’t create many opportunities because you’ll pull your punches. Second, your beliefs will betray you. You will lose opportunities because you don’t believe your company deserves them. That loss happens in your head long before your prospective client informs you that they’ve chosen your competitor.

Your company has big, strong competitors? Believe you can slay giants.

Your competitors sell price? Believe your clients want to pay more for more value—and then create and deliver that value.

Your company has problems? Yeah? Like every other company. Believe—and help make a difference by helping make improvements (or else you are part of the problem).

You are what you believe. And your results a reflection of what you believe. If you believe you have already lost, you lose before there is ever a contest. Believe otherwise.