If your thoughts are primarily fear-based, if you’re envisioning the worst for yourself and your business, if your conversations are focused predominately on bad news, then you’re seriously impeding your own success. Instead of giving succor to all the negative blathering, buckle down and determine to take three actions every single day to improve revenue. Here are some suggestions.
1. Don’t you DARE pick up that phone unless it’s to generate business! Be ruthlessly disciplined about generating business as JOB ONE. Any activity that doesn’t secure new business should be delegated or done during non-business hours. Prioritize everything else around this fundamental principle. During business hours, dedicate yourself exclusively to building your business.
2. Virtually stalk your prospects. Describe your ideal client. What types of organizations do they belong to? Join them. What kinds of publications do they read? Read them. What types of events do they attend? Attend them. Differentiate yourself with detective work about your targeted prospects. Research them; tap your network prospects. Research them; tap your network to learn more. This information helps warm up cold contacts, and sets you apart from most others who won't go to this much effort.
3. Work backward to move forward. If you're tracking important ratios, you know how many qualified prospect meetings it takes to generate one client and the average sale per client. With only these two pieces of information, you can control how much you sell each month. Determine desired sales volume, then conduct two to three times the number of qualified prospect meetings required to achieve it.
4. Invite scrutiny. Whose business acumen do you admire? Who's already successful in your field? Whose clientele does your product or service complement? Invite these folks to be your advisory board. Meet quarterly to gain their advice on your business challenges. Advisory boards impose a level of scrutiny and accountability that both challenge and comfort. Ensure you get unbiased, unemotional, tough truths by not including friends and loved ones on the board.
5. Your pipeline is your lifeline. NEVER stop prospecting. In good times or bad, keep your pipeline full! Even when you’re flush with business, don't get cocky. Realize that if you wait to prospect until you need new clients, it will be too late to achieve immediate results.
6. You lag before you bag. The lag time between your first meeting with a qualified prospect and closing the sale is an essential ratio for managing your productivity. The sales you bag today likely began at least three months ago!
7. Play the numbers. Whether you enjoy it or not is irrelevant — networking is an imperative. Learn how to do it well. If you want to survive the lean times, you have to network regularly and focus on helping others. Understand that networking is a numbers game. Play to win!
To Be Continued
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