NLP Tip: NLP and Entrepreneurial Success – Part Seven - Persistence
publication date: Jun 26, 2008
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author/source: Jamie Smart - www.saladltd.co.uk
I once used this headline for a marketing piece: "Discover how I closed a deal for £40,000 worth of coaching within one hour of meeting the client". While that deal really did happen, and I really did teach people how to do it, there's another part of the story which isn’t quite as sexy, but even more powerful.
Before I started Salad, I was involved in another startup, a company selling coaching and training services to corporate clients. In our first year in business, we exhibited at a large trade show, and managed to get a number of leads to follow up. And follow up I did. Every week I got out the sheet of leads and did follow-ups. One of the names on that sheet was a training manager at a well-known plc. Every time I rang him, he said "Call me back next week". Every week I rang him again. Every week the same reply.
The trade show was in April, and I rang him every week until August, when during my weekly call he said "We're looking for someone to supply coaching services, and I think we've already found the supplier, but you can come in and try and impress me if you like"
This was the opportunity I'd been looking for. I'd kept calling back, every week for nearly six months, and finally I had my chance. I prepared myself mentally, went to see him, and impressed him enough to get a meeting with his boss. That was the meeting where I did the deal I mentioned above.
While six months of calls may seem like a lot of time, let me put it into perspective. The sales director at that company ended up moving companies several times in the next 5 years, and every time, he rang me up and got Salad in to do pieces of work. My persistence ended up being worth a six-figure sum in business terms.
1) Think of something you'd really like to bring into your life.
Ask yourself "How would I like it to be?"
It might be a change in your business, your health, your social life, a new skill, wealth etc. It doesn't even have to be realistic - just ask yourself "How would I like it to be?"
2) Ask yourself "Why do I want this? What will it give me?"
This reveals your deeper motivation. One person might want a successful business so they can sell it and retire, while another person might want to leave a legacy to their children. Yet another might want it for the feeling of accomplishment it will give them. Someone else might want it so they can avoid having to get a job. Once you have answers that really get you going:
3) Ask yourself if you are willing to do whatever it takes to
make this change or achieve this goal.
Willingness is very powerful. If you are willing to do whatever it takes, you rarely end up having to, but the quality of willingness opens up new possibilities and motivations.
4) Ask yourself if you are willing to keep going, in spite of
obstacles and setbacks.
Every journey has obstacles. But as you solve problems and keep moving forward, you increase your entrepreneurial intelligence and expand your personal power. Mistakes are learning opportunities, and failures contain the seeds of success. When you stay committed to your vision and keep going, despite the obstacles and setbacks, you send a powerful message to your unconscious mind: you deserve success, and you're willing to do whatever it takes to get it.
5) Take action!
Action is the magic word. The more you continue to take action in the direction of your goals, the more you activate the resources, learnings and understanding that arise from your actions.
NLP Tip: Summary
- Think of something you'd really like to bring into your life. Ask yourself "How would I like it to be?"
- Ask yourself "Why do I want this? What will it give me?"
- Ask yourself if you are willing to do whatever it takes to make this change or achieve this goal.
- Ask yourself if you are willing to keep going, in spite of obstacles and setbacks.
- Take action!
