While watching an interview of Robert Redford last week, he and the journalist discussed T.S. Eliot’s quote, “There’s only the trying. The rest is not our business.” I never heard this quote before. The words made such an impact on me that I scrolled back in the video multiple times to make sure I heard them correctly. I admit that half of me was excited by the meaning of this simple statement and the other half was befuddled that I hadn’t heard it before – I’m a geek when it comes to classic phrases. I emailed the quote to myself, so I could reflect on it later … which I did this morning.
Maybe because it’s 4:18 am on a Friday and my creative juices are at their highest; maybe because it’s something new; or maybe because it’s really that good. I don’t know why, but this unassuming quote has me buzzing. It reminds me of three stories that I think my readers – sales and marketing professionals, business owners, sales leaders, etc. – will find relevant.
“It’s all about the process.” When I entered the world of selling, I was overwhelmed (fancy word for “scared”). A man named John Whetsel would become my mentor through that first job, and more than twenty years later the most frequently mentioned person in Vector Firm’s material.
In our first conversation, he said: “Chris, you need to follow a process. And guess what? I don’t care what the process is. In sales, following a bad process is better than not having one.”
So, I did. After seven months, my process was in pretty good shape: Two check-up calls with customers and thirty-five cold phone calls to prospects before 9:30. Between 9:30 and noon, twenty-five personal cold calls. Between lunch and 4:00 is when I performed demo’s, and customer and prospect meetings. I did all my office work after 4:00. Every single day. By month 10 (March of 1996), I was so busy that I had to outsource much of my office work.
There’s only the trying. The rest is not our business. Build your process of trying.
“Live on the left side of the page.” During the same time as John was helping me from a loving mentor perspective, my boss, Steve Swain, had taken a special interest in me from a management position. After all, I was a sales-ignorant, overly-ambitious kid willing to work endless hours to succeed – and part of his success depended on my success.
Steve noticed that I was over my skis and ready to crack. I was pushing myself every single day and the results weren’t coming. One morning, Steve stood over me while I sat in my cubicle one and instructed me to draw a line down the middle of my notepad. On the left, I wrote everything I could control about my job – number of calls, training and education, time-management, etc. On the right, he had me write down everything that happens that’s out of my control – acceptance of demo invitations, reaching decision-makers, low-ball competitors, etc.
He then said the magic words: “Live on the left side of the page.”
There’s only the trying. The rest is not our business. Live on the left side of the page – the trying side.
“Process and spot.” In an interview following his victory at The Open Championship in July 2014, Rory McIlroy revealed his secret to winning the tournament of which he had dreamed since he was a little boy. Before every golf shot, he’d repeat to himself the words: “process and spot”.
“Process” meant to trust his process and let the outcome fall where it may – he couldn’t get consumed with one long shot – it was all part of the process. “Spot” referred to his putting. “I was picking a spot and just trying to roll it over that spot. I wasn’t thinking about holing it.”
There’s only the trying. The rest is not our business. Trust your process and your spot.
In summary, Eliot has his demons, but this quote of his is magic for me. I hope it makes an impact on you, also.
