Successful salespeople and automotive marketers understand that most often the greatest risk is in not taking one. You know the old saying about a journey of a thousand miles, and all that. It’s true. The best thing you can ever do is to just get started, to begin with what you know. The truth is there is no perfect plan and one of the greatest fallacies is that you can create one. Every great idea, plan, or strategy involves risk. When you risk nothing, you will often get nothing. [Tweet “Every great idea, plan, or strategy involves risk. When you risk nothing, you will often get nothing.”] Most of success and failure has to do with the risk involved, the interpretation of the risk, and the perception of the setbacks while pursuing the risk. In sales and management here is what I’ve learned about risk:

1. Risk always appears larger before it is taken.
2. Achieving what you risk always takes you to a higher level.
3. Taking risk makes you unique and more valuable in the marketplace.
4. Gaining a reputation for being a successful risk taker creates market demand.
5. Risk is deciding to be different.
6. Risk is having a process.
7. Risk is rejecting mediocrity.
8. Risk is ‘what’ and ‘who’ to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to.
9. Risk is dreaming big dreams and setting audacious goals.
10. Risk is investing wisely in your business and your partners.

The bottom line, risk is the only way to grow. Avoiding it is the fastest way to stagnate and be like everyone else. Risk requires clarity and boldness. If it were easy and without consequences it wouldn’t be risk. Charles Du Bos said it best, “The important thing is to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” A great first step is to just begin. [Tweet “Risk is rejecting mediocrity.”]

Let’s begin.