No Luck in Sales—Just Skill, Strategy, and Hard Work
If you think sales is about getting lucky, think again. Success in sales isn’t about chance—it’s about skill, strategy, and execution. Stop giving luck the credit and start owning your wins. Here’s how.
The Myth of Luck in Sales: Why Your Success Is No Accident
Me: “Great job on that sale!”
Salesperson: “I got lucky.”
Oh HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLL no. If there’s one thing that makes me want to throw my coffee across the room, it’s a salesperson saying they got lucky.
Let’s take a quick look at the actual definition of luck:
Luck: Success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions.
So if sales were based on luck, we’d all just be sitting around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for a winning lottery ticket in the form of a perfect client, right? Wrong. There is no such thing as luck in sales. Only preparation, execution, and follow-through.
The "Lucky" Salesperson Myth
Back in my furniture-selling days, I worked with a guy who always talked about how other people "got lucky" with their clients. Our sales system was simple: whoever walked through the door next was your opportunity. Yet somehow, he thought other people got all the "good" clients, while he got the difficult ones. Cue my epic eye roll.
Meanwhile, I was “lucky” enough to consistently be in the top 10% of salespeople for over a decade. Weird, huh? Almost like... skill had something to do with it.
There Are No "Good" Clients—Only Good Salespeople
Sales isn’t about getting the perfect client who waltzes in, credit card in hand, ready to buy. A salesperson’s job is to:
Listen to what the client wants.
Show them the best solution.
Ask for the sale.
Close the deal.
That’s four steps where you can completely screw it up. Deals don’t just fall from the sky. Sure, sometimes you get an easy one—a laydown, as we call it in sales. (Picture a puppy rolling over for belly rubs.) But even laydowns don’t happen by accident. You earned that sale by setting the right conditions.
Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
If you’re one of those people who loves an easy sale, I have to ask: did you leave money on the table? Did you stop at what the customer asked for, or did you dig deeper?
Think about this:
Did you ask about their future needs?
Did you uncover additional problems you could solve?
Did you upsell or cross-sell a complementary product?
Too many salespeople take the easy "yes" and run, leaving dollars behind that the client would have happily spent—if only someone had bothered to ask.
Maybe they needed additional services but didn’t realize you offered them. Maybe they were open to a higher-tier package but weren’t presented with the option. Or maybe, just maybe, they would have bought more if you had asked a few extra questions.
You’re not just a salesperson; you’re a problem solver. Your job isn’t just to process a transaction—it’s to ensure your client gets everything they need. The next time you think a deal was “too easy,” ask yourself: did I truly maximize the opportunity? Did I serve the client to the best of my ability? Or did I just take the quick win and move on?
Stop Giving Credit to Luck and Start Owning Your Success
Sales success is predictable when you put in the effort:
Know your product inside and out.
Hone your sales skills—practice objections, closing techniques, and discovery questions.
Follow a repeatable process that leads clients to a confident buying decision.
Ask for the sale—because if you don’t A-S-K, you won’t G-E-T.
Top salespeople aren’t lucky. They’re consistent. They put in the work. They follow a strategy. And they don’t let excuses like “bad luck” get in the way of their success.
So, next time you close a deal and someone says, "Great job!" try responding with:
"Thanks! I worked hard for that one."
Because the truth is, you did.
About Lisa Proeber
Lisa Proeber is the force behind The Middle Six®. With more than 20 years of high-performing sales experience, she brings a breadth and depth of knowledge to her solo venture. The Middle Six® is not a gatekeeper; it opens the gates for anybody to learn how to succeed at sales. Sales is not a dirty word; it's equal parts art and science, starting from the bottom up. Ready to become a salesperson with a roadmap in hand? Join us, and let's make waves together.
