When I was 21, I was driving through Nevada and stopped in a gas station. I walked in to pay for the gas, and I found a slot machine. Someone had fed coins into the slot machine but never pulled the handle, so I gave it a pull.

Much to my surprise, about $5 worth of nickles came pouring out! Totally free money; it was crazy.

If I didn’t go into that experience with a healthy disrespect for slot machines, I might have concluded that walking into gas stations and playing the slot machines would be a great way to make money. (It’s not, just in case you were wondering!)

Where is the slot machine in your business?

I’ve seen clients who hit it big on their first RFP, and they keep chasing that one big win. Other clients hired a close friend for a key role in their business, and despite the next 4 friends being total disasters, they hold onto that one example and keep hiring friends.

Other clients ran a webinar one time and didn’t get any leads – so they concluded that webinars don’t work. (Substitute content market, outreach, google ads, or social media for webinars in that statement and see if that’s a better match with your beliefs.)

Despite hearing solid advice to the contrary, they hold onto their experience.

Process over results

Any professional poker player will tell you that odds are weird. Sometimes a 30:1 shot comes through, and you lose a hand you should have won. That’s why you can’t let the outcome of each decision or each pitch impact your approach. If the process you used to make your pitch was sound, you’d win more times than you lose.

Is there someplace where you are holding onto prior experience and ignoring good advice?