Success is rewarding but failure breeds excellence
Jeff Mount
Do NOT hire a sales manager! Instead, we can help mid-sized companies grow via outsourced Sales Management using the SalesQB system.
I have always been surrounded by alpha males. As a young athlete, I competed against a lot of top tennis professionals. Although I was not a natural athlete, I put in the hours to be at least competitive at a high level. My tennis career ended at a young age due to repeated injuries to my left knee (which is all titanium and plastic now). I decided to move on and compete as a wholesaler in financial services. Again, I was surrounded by alpha males as my target market was financial advisors (at that time the number of women in financial services was far lower than today...). I was able to capture the attention and interest of these folks and was a consistent leader at large distribution companies and the smaller startups. My success built my confidence and allowed me to experiment with various tactics that accelerated my success to record numbers.
Then, in late 2019, I felt emboldened enough to begin my entrepreneurial journey which included national travel and face-to-face training. I partnered with a great friend and former client to develop the tools and training necessary to bring financial advisors to a new "value proposition" in an AI world. Then the pandemic hit. VCs were less likely to take big chances on a firm like ours and focused almost solely on blockchain. Ugh. Zoom was a cute tool to grab the attention of prospects, but our training was just too long for a venue like that. Failure was the inevitable outcome. It hurt. Even though we ceased operations over a year ago, the pain feels like it just happened. But THIS is why failure matters. That pain forces us to analyze what went wrong, fix it, and never do that again.
Lessons from Failure
It is often seen as a harsh, but effective, teacher. When we fail, we are confronted with our limitations, mistakes, or gaps in knowledge. For example, if I had hired a female chief technology officer (who also would have received equity in our company), I would probably have received some kind of funding. Who knew? If we had begun building AI into our mobile app, it would have driven more consistent usage among advisors and the families they serve. Instead, we recorded videos of me sharing wisdom on various topics (what worked for you yesterday will not work for you tomorrow) - I live by these words now.
The benefits of failure are self-awareness, resilience and growth, and creative problem solving.
Famous example
Thomas Edison reportedly failed thousands of times before inventing the light bulb. When asked about his repeated failures, he famously said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways this won't work." His perspective underscores failure's role as a pathway to success.
Soon to be famous (tongue in cheek)
I was right about advisors needing to evolve in their unique value proposition. I was early, but AI has certainly changed the significance level of the quantitative skills previously needed for a custom financial plan. AI can help deliver an amazing financial plan in just ten minutes. The new value proposition for advisors needs to revolve around the client experience. An improved experience can help smaller investors receive more valuable advice from multiple sources. The benefits of this new value proposition to advisors lead to increased revenue and more valuable books of business. The Wisdom program has been built on all of these lessons.
The lessons learned as a first time CEO, combined with my extensive experience in B2B sales provide an incredible foundation to help other business owners as a fractional chief revenue officer. Thanks to the SalesQB platform, I'm able to bring these elements to executive leadership of almost any company in any industry.
The Value of Success
Success validates our efforts, decisions, and strategies. Key takeaways:
Comparing the Two
While both failure and success offer valuable lessons, failure tends to drive deeper learning. This is because failure disrupts our expectations and forces us to engage in critical thinking and problem-solving. Success, on the other hand, often reinforces existing behaviors and mindsets, providing affirmation rather than transformation.
It's not the experience itself-failure or success- that matters most, but how we respond to it. A failure unexamined may be a missed opportunity, just as success without reflection can lead to complacency. The key lies in maintaining a mindset that prioritizes learning, regardless of the outcome.
Striking a Balance
Failure may teach us humility and resilience, while success builds confidence and optimism. Together, they create a cycle of growth, where each experience informs the next.
I'm told there was once a famous CEO who asked this question at the dinner table with his family every night, "How did you fail today?" I'm not sure who that was, but what an amazing perspective for learning and teaching his kids how to cope.
If you are a business owner, I want to ask you, "How did you fail today? Are you ready to do something different from what you did yesterday?" Perhaps a sales audit is a great starting point.
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