By Michael J. Brooks

This article was born on an airplane, while I was traveling to a couple different Universities looking for their best sales man or woman. I am a big fan of the talent that comes out of Universities these days; but while in the air, I began to think of a common challenge with these future leaders. The top candidates have never truly experienced failure. They are so talented that they (for the most part) have gone through life being the best. In grammar school and high school they got the best grades, ran the fastest, were the captains of their sports teams, president or vice president of their class, won many awards and got a chance to fill their resumes with accomplishment after accomplishment. This is a good problem to have as a hiring manager. The challenge surfaces after you hire them. Most sales organizations hire in groups. When you put ten to fifteen individuals that fit this profile in a sales organization a very interesting dynamic happens. Not everyone can be number one. There will be a number ten and number fifteen. You then have to manage the reaction of these individuals when their world crumbles and they are no longer the best.

Twenty minutes into the flight I could put my tray table down and began to type up thoughts. My goal is two fold: I want managers who read this to recognize the importance of preparing top college graduates for failure and I want any top college graduate reading this to recognize that they need to condition themselves for failure in order to learn. No successful sales person has gone through their career without failing. I will walk you through a simple exercise below to capitalize on this.

I researched failure after the flight and found this quote stood out. I think it hits the nail on the head and sums up my thoughts.

“You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best
and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried.
If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set
high goals, you don’t branch out, you don’t try – you
don’t take the risk.”
— Rosalynn Carter: Former first lady and author

Again, one of the biggest challenge I have as a Sales Manager for entry level Sales Associates is hiring the best of the best from Universities. Seems ironic doesn’t it? You would think I would pat myself on the back that this level of talent was recruited by my company. While most of them turn out to be top performers; I run into the same challenge over and over again. They have grown up in environments where they have always been the best. They had strengths in their personality, mind, competitive nature, drive, attitude and character that set them apart from their peers.

I spent time in a classroom at a Florida University that gave me more ammunition for this article. I witnessed something that may change employer challenges with entry level sales people. It was a Sales Professor that was driving students to their limits. She was almost forcing them to fail. I wanted to jump out of my seat with a standing ovation. Why was I excited about this? I was excited because I was witnessing someone conditioning my future sales people. She was teaching them that one of the greatest tools for sales development is falling on your face, picking yourself up and recognizing where you went wrong. You then gather feedback and apply it the next time. You then improve.

A lot of students and entry level Sales people do not know what to do when they fail. The kleenex come out. They want to curl up into a ball. They get angry and defensive. They go into denial. They hop on SalesGravy Jobs or other sales job sites because they think their job is unfair. They think their manager is picking on them. Their self esteem and confidence take a big hit. Their enthusiasm and attitude hit an all time low. If one of these has happened to you please keep reading.

Leave it to the good old wikipedia definition to point out an important fact. “In general, failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success.”

The key part of this definition is that failure MAY be viewed as the opposite of success. It is the way you perceive your failure and the way you allow yourself to understand how to learn from it that prevents (failure) from meaning the opposite of success. I hope this article on the importance of understanding failure reaches thousands of University students looking to go into sales. I hope it reaches hundreds of thousands current entry level sales people. If it does then I want you all to complete this simple exercise. Ask your sales mentors, managers, or sales people that you know have been successful the following question: Have you learned more from the deals you won or the deals you lost? Now if you get one that could go on and on and on about the deals they have lost; you may want to ask someone else. The point is that any successful sales person should admire the question. They will think back and probably share a very vivid memory of a deal they lost and all of the things they wish they did different. They will remember the advice they sought out from their manager to improve. They may have even solicited feedback from the prospect on what they could have done differently. The successful sales person would have chalked the deal up as a loss; but, then chalked the loss up as an opportunity to cash in on the experience. This, my friends, is what you need to recognize if you want to get into the field of Sales. If you have just started out in Sales please realize that you will fail, in fact, plan on it. Your manager’s will be raising the bar, driving you, constructively criticizing you and at times make you feel like you can not get it right. Learn how to cash in on this and turn failure into experience.

I will leave you with a great quote from Thomas Edison, a very successful historical figure. “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

Michael J. Brooks is one of America’s leading college recruiters. His new book Sales Blue Chips (Sales Gravy Press) will be released in late fall 2008.

Are you ready ready to find a new job, new career, new boss? What is holding you back? Maybe it’s time to stop making excuses:

by Brad Sonday, CEO of Summit Executive Recruiters

Recruiters are a critical part of any career search.  They have the relationships with the companies and will make your career search much easier and more fun. The key is to learn how to effectively interact with executive recruiters to get the most from the relationship. 

Pick your recruiter carefully: 

Don’t work with a recruiter who rushes you.  Making the right career move is crucial to your ongoing success both with your target company and beyond.  You do not want too many career transitions on your resume so it is vital that you know the target company before your resume is submitted.  Ask your recruiter to provide with as much information as possible about the target company so you can make the right choice.

Ask your recruiter to provide you with information about their company and them personally.  How long has your recruiter been recruiting?  How long has their company been in business?   

The best recruiters don’t work to maintain quotas, but are matchmakers.  They are energized by making placements to improve the life of the candidate and providing their clients with top talent.

Generally, the fees are paid on your behalf by the target company, but be sure to ask your recruiter at the beginning of your relationship to be sure. 

When you have the right recruiter: 

Always remember your recruiter is your best friend throughout the process.  It is in their interest to place the right people with the right companies to ensure their ongoing success.  They want you to secure the position. 

Treat them professionally at all times.  The recruiter is interviewing you even after you have been presented to the target company. If you don’t return phone calls or you act unprofessionally, they will eliminate you.  A bad hire is just as detrimental to the recruiter as it is to the target company.  They will protect themselves and their clients first.

Keep the recruiter informed every time you have contact with the target company.  They know the people that you are contacting with and understand the hot buttons and the turn offs of the hiring managers.  They will provide you will critical insight for successful interviews. 

Never lie about your history.  Recruiters can deal with unfortunate circumstances in your past and package it appropriately for you.  They cannot help you if you withhold information or are simply dishonest.  Once you are eliminated from a process for dishonesty you will never be able to work with that recruiting firm again.  Your resume will also be flagged with the target company and you will never be able to secure employment with them.

Be yourself.  If you have to change who you are to secure a position, you will not be happy there no matter how much you are being paid. 

After the hire: 

Keep in touch with your recruiter.  They love to hear about your successes.  They will pass your excitement on to the key managers in the company.  They can also counsel you difficult times if they arise. Additionally, these are volatile times and even the largest companies have workforce reductions and operating shifts.  You never know when you will need to call upon the services of your recruiter again. 

Pass the name of your recruiter to your friends.  Networking is important and if you are bolstering a recruiter’s network, they will always give you the best available opportunities.

Summit Executive Recruiters was founded in October of 2000 with the vision of uniting highly qualified candidates with exceptional organizations that are leaders in their respective industries.  Summit Executive Recruiters has become an integral extention of several of the premier organizations in the United States and Canada by consistently securing top talent to propel them to greater success and accomplishments within today’s highly competitive business world.