🦾 Your Sales Excuses Aren't Just Lies – They're Career Suicide

Hey Insider, The conference room fell silent as Marcus stood at the whiteboard, marker in hand.

"Today's different," he announced. "Instead of reviewing our pipeline, we're going to talk about the enemy living rent-free in all of our minds."

He wrote a single word in bold letters: EXCUSES.

"Two months ago, I was sitting where you are," Marcus continued. "I had perfectly reasonable explanations for every deal I lost. Our pricing was too high. The economy was uncertain. Prospects were just tire-kicking."

Marcus paused, meeting each team member's eyes.

"Then something happened that changed everything. My biggest competitor—the one I was convinced was winning because their product was cheaper—bought me a drink at the industry conference. Know what I discovered? Their prices were actually higher than ours. Yet somehow, they were closing deals I couldn't."

That night in his hotel room, Marcus made a decision that would transform his results: he would eliminate excuses from his vocabulary.

Let's get real—your excuses aren't protecting your ego, they're destroying your future.

I've worked with hundreds of salespeople selling identical products in virtually identical territories. The top performers weren't gifted with better leads or magical closing phrases. They simply refused to accept explanations that placed responsibility anywhere but with themselves.

The transformation insight:

Every excuse you accept becomes a permanent ceiling on your performance.

Your actionable framework:

1. The Excuse Elimination Protocol: After each lost deal, complete this sentence: "Even though [external factor] happened, I could have won if I had..."

2. The 100% Responsibility Rule: Assume complete ownership for every outcome. Ask "How did I create this result?" instead of "Why did this happen to me?"

3. Success Autopsies: Analyze won deals with the same scrutiny as losses. What specifically did you control that led to success?

4. Your Excuse-to-Action Ratio: For every justification, force yourself to identify two specific behavior changes.

Think You're Different?

"But my situation really is challenging. You don't understand our market."

Reality Check: Marcus's top competitor faced identical market conditions but refused to let circumstances dictate outcomes. The difference wasn't opportunity—it was ownership.

Moment of Truth

By month's end, Marcus had doubled his closing percentage. Not because the market changed, but because he changed. The marketplace doesn't reward your intentions or your effort. It exclusively rewards results.

Sales Fit Challenge

This week: Record every excuse you make (internally or externally). Replace each with a specific action you control. Share your biggest self-limiting narrative with a peer and ask them to call you out when you repeat it.

What story are you telling yourself that's keeping you in the middle of the pack? Identify it. Eliminate it. Replace it with ownership today.