May 2006 Opportunity Knocks

Do you have to be lucky in sales? Would it help if, just for once, things went your way?

This is an age old dispute amongst salespeople. Some argue that there are people who are born with the commercial equivalent of a silver spoon in their mouths - just plain lucky. Others argue that there is no such thing as luck and that, by and large, you get what you work for.

There is no doubt that some people have advantages in this life. Would Stelios Haji-Ioannou have founded Easy Jet if his father hadn't been a shipping tycoon? Would IBM have been founded by Thomas J. Watson if NCR's John H. Patterson hadn't fired him first? Would Tony Blair be Prime Minister if John Smith hadn't died? This "Sliding Doors" view of life based on "what ifs", whilst entertaining, is counter productive. The fact of the matter is that Stelios WAS born rich, Watson WAS fired and John Smith DID die.

The point is that there are countless rich people's children who didn't create a business empire (and Richard Branson who did!); there are millions who have been fired that didn't set up a world beating rival; and under other circumstances it could have been Gordon Brown - if the stories are to be believed.

For the "glass half empty" people, there are only problems, barriers and issues. For salesmen, there are only opportunities.

Opportunity is there to be seized. Opportunity is there every moment, in every customer contact, in every e-mail, in every phone call at every meeting. It is there, hiding, as you drive down the street, as you read the newspaper, as you watch TV. Your job is to discover it and then work it until you get the result that you need.

As salespeople we not only need to see opportunities as they arise, but also to create and exploit them.

So what are you doing to create opportunity? Regardless of your business you need to create gaps that will allow your product or service to leap to its feet and yell” I’m here – take me!”

Of course if you are properly organised, all this will be set out in your marketing plan. But if, like most people, you don't have a plan, why not click here to get our FREE “Opportunities Generator" Checklist.

Creating opportunity is about knowing your own business, your product and its capabilities, your market and your competitors and then building creative solutions. It is also about keeping your eyes and ears open, being alive to new ideas and keeping an eye on what is going on “out there”.

Opportunity is there to be had. If you can’t see where it is in your business, perhaps we should talk?