--- title: 3 Reasons We Fail in Sales & Business - CCSalesPro description: Listen to the podcast.  SoundCloud —  iTunes — Stitcher At this point in my life, I feel that I know at least as much about failure as I do about success.  I have failed in sales, failed in business and succeeded in both as well.  I have also worked with hundreds of sales professionals and business people as […] image: https://www.ccsalespro.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/failure-background-1-e1481915702571.jpg --- Blog # 3 Reasons We Fail in Sales & Business Listen to the podcast. SoundCloud — iTunes — Stitcher At this point in my life, I feel that I know at least as much about failure as I do about success. I have failed in sales, failed in business and succeeded in both as well. I have also worked with hundreds of sales professionals and business people as […] [ James Shepherd ](https://www.ccsalespro.com/blog/author/james-shepherd) Dec 16, 2016 --- **Listen to the podcast.**  **[SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/user-675200621/3-reasons-we-fail-in-sales-businessmp3) —**  **[iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ccsalespro/id492171266?mt=2#episodeGuid=tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F298248380)** **—** **[Stitcher](http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ccsalespro)** At this point in my life, I feel that I know at least as much about failure as I do about success.  I have failed in sales, failed in business and succeeded in both as well.  I have also worked with hundreds of sales professionals and business people as they endured the ups and down of failure and success.  I have seen 3 things that cause failure over and over again, here they are: **#3 – Stop Learning.**  What have you learned in the last year, month or week?  **If you are not learning, you’re preparing to fail.**  Take time every day to learn something new in order to keep your mind fresh and your motivation high!  Too often, we get “too busy” to learn and that is when we start the slide downhill. **#2 – Stop Working. ** If you want a guaranteed recipe for failure, just stop working, it is that simple.  Keep in mind that working 60 to 80 hours per week doesn’t make you a better person than someone who works 40 hours per week, it is all about your ambition level.  Don’t complain about not making big money if you are working 30 hours per week.  If you want to be successful, work hard.  If you want to fail, stop working hard.  Make sure you listen to my podcast episode on this one where I talk about some struggles I have had in this area and tips on overcoming them. **#1 – Lose Your Patience.**  Constantly learning and working hard doesn’t guarantee success today, next week or even next year.  If you read the biographies of successful people, you will see a story on failure after failure for years and sometimes even decades with mixed success and then, because they never lost focus on their long term goals, they experience success.  The moment you get into “desperation mode” you are not going to make sales and the irony is that the more you focus on the short term, the worse you short term results will be.  Have faith that your effort will pay off long term and keep your focus off of short term setbacks. Have a great day! ***Read previous post:  [Most Prospects Are Not Really Prospects – Don’t Fool Yourself](https://www.ccsalespro.com/prospect-not-really-prospects-dont-fool/)*** > [Most Prospects Are Not Really Prospects – Don’t Fool Yourself](https://www.ccsalespro.com/prospect-not-really-prospects-dont-fool/) ***Read next post:  [4 Predictions for 2017 in Merchant Services](https://www.ccsalespro.com/4-predictions-2017-merchant-services/)*** > [4 Predictions for 2017 in Merchant Services](https://www.ccsalespro.com/4-predictions-2017-merchant-services/) [Blog](https://www.ccsalespro.com/blog/tag/blog) [![https://www.ccsalespro.com/2026](https://www.ccsalespro.com/hubfs/images/blog%20sidebar/Vertical%20Mastery%20Webinar%20ad.jpg "https://www.ccsalespro.com/2026")](https://www.ccsalespro.com/2026) [![https://fullstackpayments.com/download-app](https://www.ccsalespro.com/hubfs/images/blog%20sidebar/FSP%20vertical%20ad.png "https://fullstackpayments.com/download-app")](https://fullstackpayments.com/download-app) [![How to Sell Merchant Services eBook](https://www.ccsalespro.com/hubfs/images/blog%20sidebar/ads-for-website-2.jpg "How to Sell Merchant Services eBook")](https://www.ccsalespro.com/how-to-sell-merchant-services-in-6-steps) [![GetIsoAmp.com](https://www.ccsalespro.com/hubfs/images/blog%20sidebar/ads-for-website-(1).jpg "GetIsoAmp.com")](https://getisoamp.com/index.php/request-demo/) ## Similar posts Blog ### [3 Enemies of Sales Success](https://www.ccsalespro.com/blog/enemies-of-success) I have seen these three things hurt the potential of sales partners over and over: Fear of Failure. As you read this you may be thinking you just... James Shepherd May 9, 2016 Blog ### [10 Ways to Fail in Merchant Services](https://www.ccsalespro.com/blog/10-ways-to-fail-in-merchant-services-2) After working with hundreds of agents, I have seen these 10 things cause countless agents to fail and I have seen dozens of agents overcome these... James Shepherd Nov 20, 2014 Blog ### [My Best Closing Technique – TOP SECRET](https://www.ccsalespro.com/blog/best-closing-technique-top-secret) Listen to the podcast episode. SoundCloud — iTunes — Stitcher One thing that has always frustrated me is the way average sales people think about... James Shepherd Jan 6, 2017 ### Get notified about new blog posts Enter your email to have each new CCSalesPro blog article delivered straight to your inbox. 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