As a sales person or sales manager or someone who makes their living working within corporate environment, we have to follow the rules.
We have rules for everything. The FCA, Health and Safety, Data Protection, Equality Acts, company procedures…the list goes on.
The worst rules are those that other people make up for us as salespeople. For example, when we’re presenting, like don’t turn your back when writing on the flipchart, or never start a presentation with something funny and never dispense with the PowerPoint – that’s the Crown Jewels especially with corporate fonts and logos.
Nonsense. If we want to stand out from the crowd and be exceptional, then we’ve got to break rules. We’ve got to occasionally seek forgiveness rather than seek permission.
On our holidays in France this year, my daughter racked up quite a phone bill accessing data whilst roaming on her phone. I thought I’d capped it with the phone company but she kept quiet. It was a couple of days before I set up WiFi around our caravan and no data costs would be incurred. But it was too late; Bethan had two days of roaming.
When we returned home I saw the bill and she sought forgiveness from Daddy. Still in the euphoria of a wonderful holiday I forgave her and Bethan walked off with a wry smile. It had worked, she’d sought forgiveness rather than try and ask for permission, she had enjoyed the thrill and had Facebook’ed her friends whilst on holiday.
So if you want to enjoy the thrill again, I urge you to break the rules a little, but then seek forgiveness rather than permission. You’ll have fun.
By the way, you decide what rules to break, just don’t come running to me if…
