Wear your failures as badges of honour

Are we sometimes wrong? Hell yes! And if we’re brutally honest with ourselves, we may even be wrong most of the time. Heaven forbid.

How do you build a reputation for yourself by being wrong? Well, you start by embracing your defeats and refusing to be consumed by them. The more defeats you have, as long as you keep learning and growing, the closer you are to what you want. But is it that simple? Let me explain.

I recommend steering clear of sales and business people, or any person for that matter, who always projects an image of success. I also advise against falling into the trap of becoming a hot-air Bill yourself. You can in fact build trust by explaining to your customers how you have made mistakes in the past, how you fixed these mistakes and how you and your customers learned and benefited from the experience.

There is genuine cred and elegance in admitting when you are wrong, particularly in the cutthroat dog-eat-dog world of business where reputations and financial statuses are always at stake. It demonstrates that you have real substance and character, and that you don’t indulge in the ‘grand delusion’ of being perfect.

If you make a mistake, own it, admit to it and fix it. If you’re really honest, you will show your customers how they profit from the experience by turning your negative into their positive. Don’t hide behind mistakes; wear failures as badges of honour, walk tall. Make sure your customers know that if you stuff up, you won’t ever blame them. This builds trust and loyalty in any relationship.

This blog is an excerpt from The Naked Salesman. Trent Leyshan is the founder of BOOM! Sales and author of OUTLAW & The Naked Salesman.