Sales lessons from your (much) younger self

I’m convinced the earth is spinning faster than it used to.

At the end of one school year a few years back, each of my four kids said, “I can’t believe the school year is over already!” I don’t know about you, but I never felt a school year went fast.

My kids are now moving through typical rites of passage into adulthood: graduating from high school and college, getting married and living abroad. Wow! How can that be?

Related: Fiduciary lessons my mother taught me

Why is it that when we’re young, we can’t wait to grow up and once we grow up, we long to be young again? You can’t return to your childhood, but if you can find a little of your leftover inner child, it can make this responsibility thing a whole lot more fun. Here are a few suggestions.

Ask questions like a 3-year-old

Have you ever marveled at the ability of a 3-year-old to ask questions? I think it’s because everything is so new to them; they have a truly insatiable curiosity. It can be exhausting, but you have to love their enthusiasm to question and learn.

We approach sales opportunities from our serious, adult, “me-focused” perspectives. We tell ourselves, “They must be dying to know everything about the history of our agency, our experience, the level of service we provide, blah, blah, blah.”

Imagine if you brought a 3-year-old’s curiosity to every meeting. How much more would you know about your clients’ issues, fears, and opportunities? How much more of an impact could you make on their business? Don’t you think they’d rather end the meeting exhausted from your questions than bored to tears?

Be as optimistic as a 10-year-old

When my son was 10, I would sometimes shake my head at the optimism he brought to each day. If I shared some of the things he just knew he was capable of doing, you’d have suggested a battery of tests.

Still, you found yourself rooting for him and expecting success, even though what he was attempting violated three laws of physics and common sense.

I think it was because he didn’t carry the baggage of everything that “can’t be done.” He just assumed that because he wanted it and believed in his ability, it would happen.

What if you could eliminate the head trash that keeps you focused on everything you can’t do?

If you approach opportunities by using every resource at your disposal and proceed with passion and determination, there is a very real chance it will happen. And when you have that confidence, others will sense it.

Feel as invincible as a 21-year-old

For some, the memories may be cloudier than others, but I’m sure you can remember that sense of invincibility. Minor setbacks seen for what they were: minor setbacks. The thought that something could go wrong rarely kept us from trying something new. How come being “double-dog dared” ceases to be a challenge that must be accepted?

Nothing about the sales process, about changing how you work, or trying something new, is life-threatening. There will be minor setbacks along the way—rejections and deals we don’t win—but we always survive.

My challenge is to bring your inner child to work with you. Ask questions like a 3-year-old. Embrace optimism like you’re 10. Not only would it be powerful, but wouldn’t it be fun to play and work like a little kid again?

Go ahead, I double-dog dare ya!