John Robinson’s Secret to Overcoming All Sales Obstacles

Objective Management Group just completed it’s annual international conference for Partners.  Normally, I wouldn’t write about it, but this event was different.  Not most of it, but one magical hour of it.

We have had great, renowned keynote speakers in past years like, Guy Kawasaki, Dan Millman, Robert Kriegel, and Verne Harnish.  They’ve been thoughtful, entertaining, insightful and helpful.  But this year, we were fortunate to get John Robinson to speak.  Who?  Never heard of him?  Let me take a moment to introduce you to John.  First, please watch this 26-second video on YouTube.

John is a very likable, intelligent, entertaining, engaging, motivated, savvy, resourceful, determined, resilient and successful 42-year-old.  John is just like you and me in every way and exactly like what you want all of your salespeople to be.  As a matter of fact, he was a successful General Sales Manager at a television station in upstate NY.  He is just like us in every way except one.  He was born without full arms and legs – a congenital amputee – and has faced more resistance and obstacles than we could ever know.

Sure, you can get the obvious message that, “If he can do it, you can do it.”  It goes much deeper than that.  You can even get the message, “After seeing John Robinson, what possible excuse could you possibly have for not succeeding?”  His actual message is, “Get Off of Your Knees.”

But when it comes to sales success, I took away an even deeper message.

He said, “Every obstacle is an opportunity.”

The difference between John and everyone else is that he doesn’t merely say an obstacle is an opportunity; he believes that they are opportunities and as a result, behaves as if they are opportunities.  Whether you think in terms of strategy or tactics, consider how an approach changes depending on whether you believe the target or subject is an obstacle or an opportunity.  For which would you rather plan?

If you simply eliminate the concept of obstacles, and approach all situations as opportunities, your entire world changes, doesn’t it?

That is the real magic that John Robinson can manifest!  Thank you, John.