Recently I was watching a TV reporter interviewing a famous academic and he asked him if he regarded himself successful. The scientist evaded the question before finally telling the persistent reporter that his definition of success was the same as in the English dictionary. This raised the question in my mind to just how important the media and others regard “success” and just what is success. No doubt it varies for everyone, however to most of society it seems to be measured in terms of financial wealth, either real money or the ability to support extensive loans, to give the appearance of wealth. To some extent in the selling profession success is only measured in these terms and this can be largely responsible for the number of potentially good salespeople leaving the industry. They don’t have in their own mind what success is for them and fall into the trap of following the general view of what they perceive to be the measure of success.

Cruising

The mistake many salespeople make is that during the good times in their industry when sales are easier and incomes higher there is the perception that the good times will roll on forever. Many unprofessional salespeople fall for this same old trap. They have the unrealistic view that success is something which should be displayed. They feel the need to prove to others in their industry, friends and family that where they live, what they drive, how they dress are the only measures of their success. Time and time again it has been seen that the tendency towards conspicuous consumption by salespeople will come to destroy them and they will leave a profession which could have provided all they desired and more. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. To be really successful it needs to be for the long term and by understanding the important question of just what success means to you and those close to you. The pursuit of meaningfull  success will only come from appreciating that is different for different people and is as individual as you are. It is perhaps too easy to follow the idea of success from what we see in the media or hear from others without taking the time to make our own decisions.

The Meaning

Needless to say after watching the interview I mentioned my curiosity was aroused and I went to a dictionary to discover for myself what it said was the meaning of success. The two results I found were; a favorable outcome and good fortune. Investigating further I found more detailed explanations, such as this small selection; easy street, accomplishment, benefit, big hit, do well, fulfillment, hit, performance, triumph. In reviewing these few words it is easy to see they are the result of activity, this in itself may be admirable but it still requires some effort on the part of the individual. In the end it is what you do and how you handle success is the real test and unless the salesperson has clear goals and objectives, success for success’s sake will only leave you with the feeling of wondering what is it all about. Long term careers in the selling profession consist of more than short term feelings of success, what really matters is how you set your goals and plans for a satisfying way of life that is selling.

Perhaps success is the act of getting there and not the actual destination.