Several years ago, when attending one of Robert Kiyosaki’s courses, he told the group the story of the Black Door.
It was about a young man and a Persian general.
The young man, it is said, was a prisoner of war, and the general was a very fair man. When the day arrived to decide the fate of the prisoner, the general had the prisoner brought before him.
The young man was certain of death, but the general generously gave him two choices.
On the young man’s left was a firing squad, guns poised ready.
On the right was a plain white wall with a large black door in the middle of it.
The young man was given a few moments to determine his fate…the firing squad or the black door.
The young man made his choice and in a short while a volley of shots rang out and the prisoner crumpled to the ground.
The general shook his head and commented to his aide that in all his years he had seen only a few men choose the black door.
“May I ask, sir,” the aide queried- “what lies beyond the black door?” “Freedom.” The general replied.
“The black door leads to freedom, but I have seen only a few men choose it because they are afraid of what horrors may lie beyond.
Most would rather choose a fate that they know, even if it means death, than experience the unknown. The man brave enough to choose the black door deserves to be free.”
Today, in the world of sales we know that change is upon us all the time.
The sad thing is that many salespeople would rather stick with what they know, than what they don’t know.
We experience change in our lives every day, it’s a part of life.
Sales is no different, there will always be an underlying principle to selling, but there is also the unknown.
What does that look like? – It comes in many forms, the approach to selling, discovery, understanding your client’s needs.
These are often driven by them, not you.
The most successful sales people I know are constantly learning; loading up on new information.
Dan Sullivan, at Strategic Coach has a great saying. “Our eyes only see and our ears only hear what our brain is looking for”
Are you ready to choose The Black Door?
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Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. He has hired hundreds of salespeople around the world.
He made a lot of mistakes when it came to hiring his superstars. Check out his How to Hire A Super Salesperson Each and Every time – It’s packed with tips and ideas on how to hire great salespeople. Don’t ever Hire Bad Salespeople Ever Again. Promise!