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I love watching sports — my oh my, do I love it; there’s rarely a dull moment on TV. I was recently watching an international track and field meet where countries from all around the world compete. I got particularly drawn into the sprint relay. While watching it, I noticed the firm parallel between dropping the baton and making the worst sales mistake ever.

Allow me to explain.

The Mantra for the Worst Sales Mistake

Picture this, you’re racing down the track, baton in hand, your team member’s arms are outstretched waiting; the crowd is screaming your name. Then it happens, the baton falls, hits the ground and bounces and rolls out of reach. Your team has lost the relay race, you look up and then behind you, disappointment floods all your team members’ eyes. Your immediate response once off the track? You say, “It’s not my fault, it just fell.”

If it’s not your fault, then whose is it?

There is nothing more in the world I hate than a poor loser — in sports, or in sales. I personally believe each and every sales professional should erase “it’s not my fault” from their life’s vocabulary. Let me explain by flipping the story a bit; please indulge me.

Working in sales is the ultimate competition arena. You’ve just been handed off an excellent sales tip. This is your baton, to win is to get it to the finish line, contract signed and goods and/or services delivered to a happy client. As you grip the baton, aka that sales tip, something happens, you lose the sale, the baton falls. Jake from accounts and Paul from production are looking on, mouths agape. They were next in line to close the deal. After a, pardon me, poor performance, you get back to the office and say, “it’s not my fault.”

News flash — everything is your fault, your responsibility to own. If we truly take responsibility for ourselves and as a leader to our sales teams, everything is our fault, because ultimately, we are the only thing we can control.

“It’s not my fault” is the great sales mistake a salesperson can use to excuse their actions. The baton fell from your hands; you lost the sales pitch or contract. This happened under your control, so it is, in fact, your fault. Yes, external things can happen, but it’s your literal job to be prepared for everything. Sweaty palms or not.

A leader who uses excuses is making the biggest sales mistake ever.

A sales leader, or, well, any leader in the middle (LIM), should never put themselves in a position to be the victim or allow people on their team to be victims. Undoubtably, when you make excuses for and to your staff, you’re coaching self-victimization.

How we respond to failures determines whether or not we act as a victim. The same applies in business: the economy is not causing your business to struggle; how you and your business are responding to the economy is causing it to struggle.

In my book, Serve Up, Coach Down, I speak about the importance of adapting a we-will mindset. A we-will mindset means not worrying about why something happens. Instead, you focus on how you will do better by maximizing a success or overcoming an obstacle. No victims, just victors.

A strong leader must commit fully to coach and maintain a willingness to continuously learn and improve. To avoid making the biggest sales mistake ever you’ve got to train yourself to take calculated risks. Besides, you need to revoke a victim mindset. When you lose a sale under your watch, it’s your fault. Own it, study the mistake, find the fix and either salvage the situation or don’t let it happen again.

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