Richard Woodward

Strategic Planning Facilitator, Business Development & Sponsorship Training

Call 0414 886 018 | Shop Online

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Strategic Planning & Workshop Facilitator
    • Business Development Training
    • Attract & Retain Corporate Partners & Sponsors
    • Presentation Training
    • Keynote Speaker
  • Workshops
  • Clients
  • Blog
  • Contact

How to build resilience and stay positive

At a recent talk I mentioned that resilience is one of the key traits I observe in successful business developers. The question was asked “If resilience is important, how do you become resilient?”

First let’s look at why we need to be resilient

In a business development role you will at various times experience setbacks, rejection and come across people who just don’t get you or value what you have to offer.

These experiences, particularly if you are in a role with a long sales cycle, have the potential to knock the wind out of your sails.

Learn and move on

When these setbacks occur we need to learn from the experience (reviewing what went well, what didn’t and what we will do differently next time) and then move on as quickly as possible.

Dwelling too long on the negative may adversely affect our future performance as it will hold us back from operating in a positive state which is where we want to undertake all our business development activities from.

Accessing a positive state

Reliving our successes rather than dwelling on our failures can help us to trigger and access a state where we can operate at our best. This is why we need to retain the evidence of our achievements to help us access a positive state ‘on demand’.

How to use evidence as a trigger

Go back over your career and write down all the successes that you have had. Include the clients and sponsors that you have won and the positive outcomes that you have achieved for each.

Also write down the successful experiences you have had in every aspect of your business development activity e.g. the prospect phone calls, meetings and presentations that have gone well. Keep a record of every achievement and add to this list as more occur.

Testimonials make great evidence

Testimonials make great evidence, so let’s look at how you would use a testimonial to access a positive state.

Relive the experience

The key is not just to read a testimonial but to relive the experience as richly as possible, seeing what you saw, hearing what you heard and feeling what you felt at that time.

Reconnecting with a positive experience will help you to focus on what you can achieve rather than what you can’t and reconnect with the people that ‘get you’ rather than those that don’t.

So get to it!

Take out a piece of paper and start to build the evidence of your achievements today.

Categories: Business development

RICHARD BLOGS REGULARLY ON:

  • Business development
  • Client retention
  • Propositions, Proposals and Presentations
  • Questioning and listening skills
  • Sales techniques
  • Sponsorship and corporate partnerships
  • Strategic Planning Facilitation

Latest News

How to develop a compelling partnership and sponsorship proposition

Change ONE word and you will attract more sponsors & partners

A simple but crucial formula for success in business development

Buy the Book

Business Development That Works

How to attract and retain sponsors and partners

About Me

Richard is a business development strategist, trainer, speaker and author who has worked with leading organisations since 2004 to help them attract and retain new business.

Find Me

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Contact Me

Richard Woodward & Associates Pty Ltd PO Box 908 Bondi Junction 1355 Sydney, Australia

Phone: + 61 2 8964 4350
Mobile/cell: 0414 886 018

Email: richard@richardwoodward.com.au

Copyright © 2022 RICHARD WOODWARD & ASSOCIATES | PRIVACY POLICY | SITE TERMS & CONDITIONS