As entrepreneurs, we are constantly bombarded with sales calls about 10X-ing our business, growing our database, getting HOT leads, expanding our business, enterin…you get it.
Written by Andrew Hendry, Co-Founder at REALQualified Inc.
Published Jan 30, 2020
On every single call, there is a knee-jerk reaction to want to “think about it” before committing to a decision. Whether “thinking about it” is really how you go about things, or whether it’s just a smoke-screen for the salesperson on the other end, there seems to be an inherent “need” to think about things before we make decisions.
Consider this: the average human mind has nearly 50,000 thoughts per day (or 2,100 thoughts per hour, 35 thoughts per minute, 1 thought every 2 seconds – all day, every day, all the time).
Why add another extended decision to that stream of consciousness thinking that the human mind performs on it’s own? If the decision you’re looking to make involves your business, and if this decision could potentially lead to the growth of your business, why risk that thought getting lost in the 50,000 other thoughts your mind has to process?
Here are a couple of questions I ask myself when making difficult decisions (in business and in life in general):
1: What's the worst case scenario?
When considering a business decision, there is always risk involved. Even if the product has a money-back guarantee, there are usually stipulations that must be met in order to qualify for the guarantee. So you should ask yourself: what is the worst thing that can happen with this investment?
2: What's the upside potential?
Now instead of just looking at the gloomy side of risk, I like to look at what could happen FOR me instead of what could happen TO me. If the upside outweighs the downside, I usually make my decision here.
3: Can I live with the worst case scenario if it happens?
This question is my litmus test when I’ve quickly (and quickly is a key word here) asked myself the other two questions. If I can live with the worst case scenario (usually losing some quantum of money) and the upside potential is exciting to me, then what do I have to lose?
At this point, I have a question for you, the reader:
When you receive a sales call for a product or service that excites you, that you truly believe can help your business grow, do you make your decision on that same call? Or do you have a rule where you take time to “think about things” before committing?