A Producer. A position that is, according to Oxford Languages, defined as a person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies goods or commodities.

And I am here to say that I believe that everyone in business is a producer. 

Everyone. Even if everyone is not necessarily in “sales”. 

See, there are only two types of people in business. Those who produce excuses, or those who produce results.

I first learned this several years ago when I was leading a team in Fresno knocking doors and selling alarms.

We had a quick “burn and turn” rate with our sales reps because either you had it or you didn’t. 

I had a new team member who seemed like the perfect salesman. His pitch was good, and he had great communication skills.

But recap meeting after recap meeting, he would come up empty with some reason why the customer had not moved forward.

Even when offering advice, there was always a pushback.

So it had me thinking. Why wasn’t this guy producing? Was he not actually cut out for it? 

And my boss told me something at that moment that I have never forgotten.

Everyone is a producer. You will either be somebody who produces results or somebody who produces excuses.

So what kind of producer are you?  Let’s take a look at these two types of people and see how we can be better at producing results!

Excuse Producer

In whatever business or industry you are in, there will be elements within and without your control. 

Someone who is a producer of excuses will not take ownership of their role in the transaction or sale. 

If the potential client or customer does not move forward, the excuse producer will shift the blame onto something external that they could not control.

“The Customer wasn’t ready.”

“We didn’t have the right Circumstances.”

“Timing was the problem.”

If the issue is always out of your control as the producer, then how can you fix it? 

And that is the million dollar question. 

See, excuse producers will find themselves in a vicious cycle of failed transactions and missed opportunities because the “reason” was out of their control, and therefore, not their responsibility to fix. 

Let me be clear. There will be certain situations and moments in business that are actually outside of your control.

I am not saying that we can always control every element of every sale, transaction, or decision.

But what I am saying, is that we should be aware of our routine response. Our thought process. Our regular reasoning.

If we find ourselves coming up with excuses in every situation, then we may just be Excuse Producers. The very reason the business is not moving forward.

Result Producers

So how do we break out of that cycle? How can we stop producing excuses and produce real results?

Glad you asked, my friend!

When my boss told me that there were only two types of people in business- those who make excuses and those who get results- I realized two very important elements of result producers.

Producers Take Responsibility

Whatever business or life situation you find yourself in, realize that you can control how you react and respond.

If something in your business does not go the way you wanted, review the elements that you could control and see what could have been differently.

It’s not a failure if we treat it as a lesson, right?

Review and see what could have been handled or done differently and apply to your next interaction.

Responsibility is taking ownership of the situation. It is not the same thing as assigning fault.

Let me be clear. When something does not go as planned in business, do not allow yourself to get discouraged.

Responsibility and fault are not interchangeable.

A customer or client very well could have a valid reason they could not move forward. That is not your fault.

But a Producer who gets results will learn from that situation to see what he or she could do differently in the future to provide a solution.

Producers Take Risks

Someone who produces excuses is playing it safe. Whether it is in their interactions with others or in their decision making, they will stick with the familiar solid ground.

When you want to see results in your business, you have to take risks. Step out of your comfort zone! Take that leap!

Risks are directly correlated to opportunity. The world we live in is ever changing, and when a new opportunity comes knocking, only the risk takers will take that jump.

We’ve all heard that the bigger the risk- the bigger the reward. But even small risks give you the competitive advantage as well.

Business and networking is still about being smart in your decisions, but do not allow yourself to talk yourself out of doing something because it seems risky.

Go for it. 

And even if it doesn’t pay off, you won’t ever have to wonder “if”. 

Conclusion

No one wants to get to the end of their life and wonder “if they had done”, or “if they chose to” what their life would look like. 

So realize that every single person in business is a producer. You are either producing excuses or your producing results. 

Which one are you? Does your mindset need to shift from external circumstances to internal responsibility? 

What is one area of your business that could move forward if you just took that risk? 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

It would mean the world to me if you would share this post with your friends and coworkers via your preferred platform below as well.

Until next week, here’s to leaving every relationship better than you found it! No excuses 😉