--- title: Can Your Success Actually Be Your Failure? description: Process of hiring a sales coach. --- # [SELLING IN THE 21ST CENTURY](https://www.rickroberge.com/) [![header-sm-linkedin-blue](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-465400397-png/images/header-sm-linkedin-blue.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickroberge) [![header-sm-twitter-blue](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-465371692-png/images/header-sm-twitter-blue.png)](https://twitter.com/RainMakerMaker) [![header-sm-google-plus-red](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-462412948-png/images/header-sm-google-plus-red.png)](https://plus.google.com/+RickRoberge/posts) [![header-sm-rss](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/file-480298330-png/images/header-sm-rss.png)](https://www.rickroberge.com/rss.xml) # [Science for Sales Rock Stars](https://www.rickroberge.com/) ## [Can Your Success Actually Be Your Failure?](https://www.rickroberge.com/can-your-success-actually-be-your-failure) ![](https://www.rickroberge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/RR.jpg?width=35&height=35&name=RR.jpg) By [Rick Roberge](https://www.rickroberge.com/author/rick-roberge)   Sep 8, 2014 7:54:45 AM **[Mickey Baines](http://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeyb)** hired me last Friday.  When he did, I asked him if he wanted to share his thoughts about the process that we went though. I was hoping that he'd say something like: - We had been watching each other on the Hubspot Partners Forum for a while. - He completed a form on my website for the first time on 9/1 and scheduled a call with me. - Our conversations were not about how wonderful I was. - I didn't use any sales tricks to make him do business with me. - It was about him, his wife, two kids and their collective dreams. These are his words. Rick, Below is the blog post I put together for you. It's actually about 220 words. It started as 400 words (already one of the shortest posts I've written in the past year). Hope it is helpful for you. Mickey I'm wrapping up my fourth year of business, and I’ve been successful. So many new businesses fail early, and given that I left the field of higher education without any extensive business background, my success was surely not a given. While I have succeeded, I’ve not been able to grow at the pace I expect of myself. My goal is to **increase business by more than 75%** by the end of 2015. I can see there are gaps in my business development strategies that are preventing me from making that jump toward significant growth.  The first, step is simply admitting to myself that I need help. There’s a sense that with “help,” you are admitting failure - and this is what is so hard about it: even though I have been successful by growing the business to a point where **I earn more than I ever could** as a professional in higher education, **I’ve actually failed **thus far because I have been unable to reach my potential. Now that I've accepted this, I know I'm on the road to where I belong. I’ve partnered with Rick Roberge, and I’m expecting amazing results in the coming months. I’d say I'll be sharing the process with you, but I’m not sure I’ll have the time - I’ll be busy growing... More to follow.... **[BTW, this is what we're doing together](https://www.rickroberge.com/my-2015-vs-your-2015)**. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Want updates as they're published? #### Enter your email: BTW, do you have an idea or question that would make a good article? Would you like to write or co-author it? Either way, **[ send me an email](mailto:therainmakermaker@gmail.com?Subject=Blog%20article/author%20idea)**. **[Rick Roberge](https://plus.google.com/116082120720832878924/posts?rel=author)** ## About this blog *This blog is for, by and about Sales Rock Stars, RainMakers, Entrepreneurs (and/or those that strive to be)* ## [Read My Articles on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/rickroberge) ## [About Rick](https://www.rickroberge.com/contact-me) **[The Original ](http://therainmakermaker.com/)****[RainMaker Maker Blog (pre-2012)](http://therainmakermaker.com/)** [**Remote Bookkeeping**](http://www.slcbookkeeping.com/blog/bid/116710/remote-bookkeeping-made-easy)[** Made Easy**](http://www.slcbookkeeping.com/blog/bid/116710/remote-bookkeeping-made-easy) [**Awesome Website Design**](https://www.inbounddesignstudio.com/contact/) Search RainMakers & Sales Rock Stars Search ### Subscribe to Email Updates ### Posts by Month - [November 2025 (19)](https://www.rickroberge.com/archive/2025/11) - 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