I was talking to a friend the other day and she was telling me how tough the marketplace has been for her for too long. I shared with her my philosophy about the “pie” and what you need to do to get your fair slice. You see when times are tough the pie is smaller or to put it another way, your opportunities are fewer than when the tide is rising and there is plenty for everyone. But you still need to get your fair slice of the pie, a daunting task but one that you have to win-no excuses!
Here are some ideas for you to consider and implement NOW.
Say out loud, “THE ECONOMY STINKS”, OK do you feel better, now do something about it…….get the slice you want and leave the crumbs for your competitor.
1. Spend more time each evening and morning reviewing your game plan for the day.
2. Ask for referrals more often. If you did a great job taking care of the customer you’ve earned the right.
3. Think positive thoughts and maintain a POSITIVE ATTITUDE 99% of the time. Read books and magazines that are inspiring, hang out with positive people, eliminate the losers from your life, they’re going “nowhere” and want to take you with them.
4. Work two hours longer each day, add one in the beginning and one at the end (if you experience sudden euphoria, more energy, increased confidence, the prescription is working, no need to call your shrink). You’ll have 25% more appointments and 25% greater opportunities to close business.
5. Spend more time with your boss, reviewing your plan, your prospects, what the heck you’re doing. Get them involved in your “roadmap” to success.
6. In the “good old days” lead exchange groups were common. Today would be a great day to start one or find one to be part of, they can be fun, productive, maybe even motivational for you……..and you will definitely increase your number of new contacts
7. Take care of yourself physically, if you’re going to “fly with the eagles” you’ve got to be tough, in-shape, and mentally and emotionally healthy. Are you where you want to be-if not, do something about it.
8. Improve your knowledge of your products and or services and your competitions as well. Your confidence will increase and so will your bank account.
9. _________________________ intentionally left blank for you to fill in -I’m not going to do all the work
FULL DISCLOSURE: I originally wrote this almost twenty years ago when the economy was in the ditch, (and it was again at least three or four other times between then and now). The economy we can’t control, but how we respond to the hand we’ve been given will determine our success. I just spent the last hour in a meeting with my Evergreen Advisors Partners. We talked about three things in relation to our practice areas (mergers & acquisitions, business valuations, and CFO Advisory Services / Corporate Finance): Business Development, Business Development, and Business Development. IBM, (where I started my career) we had an expression – “Calls + Demos” = Sales”. September has arrived and we are going to accelerate everything we do at Evergreen.