So You're Sayin' There's a Chance

Sales people have a common, frequent fear: Losing the Sale. They go to great measures to keep their deals alive. Their efforts are too often wasted pursuing the unattainable.

In the film, Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carey’s character, Lloyd Christmas pursues his unattainable love interest, Mary Swanson (played by Lauren Holly. Lloyd asks Mary about his chances of winning her heart. Her answer:

“About one in a million.”

LLoyd’s classic response is typical of over-optimist sales people everywhere.

“So you’re sayin’ there’s a chance.”

With that, Lloyd continues his near hopeless pursuit. To Lloyd’s credit, he asked her. That’s more than many do. All too many refuse to remove their…

Rose Colored Glasses

Good sales people are naturally optimistic and confident in their ability. That optimism can be a double edged sword. While it provides critical motivation it can also be blinding. When optimism is taken to the extreme, it’s like an addicting drug. Let’s call it “hopium“.

Isn’t it more productive to invest your time on high potential opportunities and minimize the time spent on the one-in-a million shots?