Sometimes it's hard to look at yourself in the mirror. You mightnot like what you see. But usually we don't do that when it comesto our skills and abilities.

Instead, as some psychology studies have pointed out, we allhave a cognitive bias to overestimate our own qualities andabilities relative to other people.

In fact, in Minnesota where I live, we have the “Lake Wobegoneffect,” which was named after Garrison Keillor's fictional townwhere “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking andall the children are above average.”

So what does this have to do with sales?

Basically, most of us think we're better than we are. We're notbrutally honest with ourselves — and, because of that, wedon't do things that could actually help us improve.

Let's just look at one little example. In mybook, Agile Selling, I cite a study by SBI thatfound that 60% of forecast deals fail to close. That's awful.Forecast deals are ones that you're sure are going to close by theend of the month.

What happened to them? Why didn't they close?

Most sellers blame pricing, products or clueless decisionmakers. But what if you were brutally honest withyourself?

Truth be told, I've lost business because my follow-upsucked.

Other times, I've failed to build a strong enough business case.I've also missed a vital piece of information that cost me thesale.

And, more than once, when I was trying to be impressive about mymethodology, I've overcomplicated the decision process — andscared my hot prospect away.

I hate when I screw up. And, I still do.

But, by being brutally honest with myself, I discover areas Ineed to get smarter in. And I grow in my skills.

It's painful, yes. But this sales approach is the fastest routeto success.

Give it a shot!

Related: 7 ways for insurance agents to create a culture ofsuccess

Join us on Facebook and give us a Like!