Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

20.6. Final Thoughts

You'll know that you are a rainmaker when you control the outcome. Notice that I didn't say, "when you control what happens." You cannot control what happens. You can't control what your customers want or how they will shop for it. You may have only a small influence over the direction of your industry. You probably have no control over local, state, national, or international economies. All of that external stuff is outside of your control, just as waves are outside of the control of surfers.

How you ride the waves, how much fun you have, and ultimately how successful you are, however, is entirely up to you. I remember the days when automotive companies in the United States were drastically cutting back on the number of car dealerships to streamline their marketing efforts. More and more consumers were obtaining their information online instead of relying on salespeople.

As a result, some salespeople worked harder and put in longer hours. Thousands simply got burned out and moved on to sell different products or change careers. The most resourceful of them, however, embraced the change. They created their own Web pages and mastered the technology. Some even created their own companies to sell cars exclusively online. These were the salespeople who defined their own destiny.