Think Like a Queen… (why failure is important)

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail.  Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey

I nervously handed my new client, the Atlanta Board of Education president, a pen and held my breath as he signed the insurance application. It was early in my sales career, but I had delivered a compelling value story, challenged his thinking, and provided new insights. I had taken control of the sales process and identified gaps in the client’s financial/estate plan. As a result, he was purchasing a $1 million life insurance policy—my first million-dollar contract, which was a significant milestone in my career. Until that point, most of my clients bought $100,000 to $150,000 policies. And as a salesperson, this was a big deal because it would also be ten times my average commission.

The final step in the underwriting process was to have the insured complete his life insurance medical exam. However, when my client arrived at the office for his exam, Murphy’s Law kicked in: “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong at the worst possible moment.” The receptionist was rude. My client was made to wait more than an hour. The doctor had the wrong medical record. And then the phlebotomist struggled to find a vein. Long story short—he left the office frustrated and angry without completing the exam. The client’s wife called my office to say he had changed his mind and wouldn’t be purchasing the policy from me.

I was infuriated and devastated. I had done everything right only to stumble and fall. Today I still have failures and get knocked down, but I have realized some valuable lessons about failure:

1.  Failures are lessons along the path to mastery. If you want to increase deal sizes and shorten sales cycles your journey to sales mastery will include failure. Take the lesson, and let the experience go.

2.  Failure is an essential experience on the road to mastery. The more you grow and learn, the more risks you’ll take, and the more you’re going to stumble and fall. 

3.  Failure is an opportunity to develop a sense of humor. Sometimes all you can do is laugh because of how ridiculous the mistake or setback was.

As women of color, we push ourselves to greatness; we face endless adversities and have fewer opportunities than others have. As a result, we tend to put pressure on ourselves to succeed. As Luvvie Ajayi, New York Times best-selling author, says, “Our failures are considered the rule, and our success is considered the exception.” 

Know that as you learn, grow, and develop mastery of your sales skills, your industry, your tool kit, or your product/service, you’re going to experience setbacks and failures. Remember that failure is an integral part of your journey. As you pick yourself up after a stumble, always remember how amazing you truly are. 

Here’s to selling Mastery. 

-Cherilynn

Head of Education and Growth, Sistas In Sales

Executive Coach/Managing Partner, CGI

Cherilynn Castleman, Executive Coach/Sales Trainer, has been a sales executive for 20+ years. With a natural talent for teaching and a drive to sell, Cherilynn uses her skills to coach and train other executives and sales professionals.

(Note: There are so many inspiring quotes on “Failure” by WOC – here are a couple of my favorites.)

“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” – Wilma Rudolph,   a world-record-holding Olympic international track and field icon.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou, a poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. 

“You can fall, but you can rise also.” – Angelique Kidjo, a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist

“You will be wounded many times in your life. You’ll make mistakes. Some people will call them failures but I have learned that failure is really God’s way of saying, “Excuse me, you’re moving in the wrong direction.” It’s just an experience, just an experience.” – Oprah Winfrey,  a media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer, and philanthropist.