The Rest of the Story: How Success Really Happens

We often hear about the person who can "sell ice to an Eskimo," attributing their success solely to innate skill. For years, I believed I was one of those people. My sales background—from high school contests to my professional career—seemed to prove it. I won my first sales contest by sheer determination, then went on to turn a half-million-dollar territory into over $5.2 million in sales. I thought I was just a great salesman. But now, with the benefit of years in learning and development, I've had to look closer and ask: what was the rest of the story?

The truth is, while my presentation skills and drive were valuable, they were only one part of a larger equation. In every one of my successes, a "divine alignment"—a perfect storm of preparation and opportunity—was at play.

A Perfect Storm of Preparation

I can't take all the credit for my sales triumphs because in every instance, I had a significant advantage.

• The FFA Foundation: In high school, I helped establish a foundation to raise money for my local FFA chapter. While our best fundraising year had been between $1,500 and $2,000, I applied concepts I'd seen at the state level and successfully raised over $10,000. I wasn't just selling an idea; I was selling myself and my personal experience with the organization.

• The Cutco Contest: My success selling Cutco cutlery wasn't just about my determination. In a college contest against my peers, I made 28 sales calls and sold on 27 of them, an impressive 96% closing rate, leading to the highest sales total of about $2,700 in the class. I had a prior, unsuccessful attempt at selling the same product, which taught me to push for a small sale rather than just the big-ticket items—a crucial advantage over my classmates who were trying to sell full $600 kits.

• Animal Health Sales: This was the clearest example of alignment. I took over a sales territory with less than $500,000 in sales and, in 5.5 years, grew it to over $5.2 million, becoming one of the best sales representatives in the company at the time. I had worked on a hog farm my entire life, so when I entered the industry in my early 20s, I spoke the language and had instant credibility. A disease called ileitis was affecting the swine industry at the time, and we had a product that inhibited it. By combining my lifelong experience with the right product and a market in need, I came across as a seasoned expert, and my sales skyrocketed. It was the perfect match of preparation (my background) and opportunity (the market need).

When Preparation Isn't Enough

The inverse of this principle is just as powerful. I once competed in an extemporaneous public speaking contest, an event where you are given a topic and have 15 minutes to prepare a speech. I had won the state prepared public speaking contest the year before and was confident. I finished second, and I was shocked. The girl who beat me had just finished second in a separate, prepared public speaking contest. As she explained it, the topic they gave her for the extemporaneous competition was the exact same one she had spent two months researching and practicing for her other speech.

I had 15 minutes of preparation, and she had two months. A judge told me it was "neck and neck," and I almost beat her. But on that day, she had an advantage that had nothing to do with her innate speaking ability. The right topic, at the right time, gave her the edge she needed to win. She had a perfect, albeit coincidental, alignment of preparation and opportunity.

The Intersection of Luck and Hard Work

Success is not just about being "the best"; it's about being prepared when opportunity strikes. Some might call it luck or divine intervention, but the key is that you have to be ready to implement your skills when that perfect alignment occurs. We can't control every variable, but we can control our preparation. By gaining experience, learning from mistakes, and building a foundation of knowledge, we put ourselves in a position to take full advantage of the opportunities that come our way. Ultimately, winning is not just a matter of skill, but of the moment where our hard work and the right circumstances come together