I was onboarding a new client, she was telling me about some challenges she faced running her branding firm when she said,  “I don’t do numbers.”  “Excuse me? What was that?” I asked. “I don’t do numbers. I’m more of an art person; math, and numbers aren’t my thing.” “I see. You don’t do any math? You don’t look at any numbers?” My voice took on a concerned tone.  “No, I’ve got a good instinct for my business. I know the right amount that people will pay for a project, and when there’s more money in the bank at the end of the month than the beginning then we’re all good.” Ah, so there were “numbers” in her life.  What’s that about? Her “I don’t do numbers” statement was a … [Read more...]

Here in Chicago, we’ve just completed our third week under a “Shelter in Place” order. Three weeks of working from home, kids underfoot, hunting for toilet paper, and a thousand more adjustments. We’ve gotten our team settled, reached out to clients and prospects, applied for our PPP Loan, reworked our budget for 2020, and made our collections calls.  I don’t know about you, but it’s starting to feel—If not “normal” then—typical? So if the present is feeling more settled, the future is…uncertain doesn’t seem like the right word, right?  Yes, there’s uncertainty! But there are things we know.  There are at least nine million more unemployed people today than there were two weeks … [Read more...]

I’ve talked to a lot of business owners this week and heard a lot of different stories.  Some are fielding record numbers of new business requests; others had seen their business drop by 50% or more. Some who don’t know anyone who had suffered from the virus, others who had seen friends and family members get sick, one who had lost someone.  We are facing new challenges.  Everyone I talked to is working at a deficit. Working with kids (and spouses) underfoot, navigating a myriad of government programs, providing tech support to stranded team members, keep current projects moving while responding to panicked clients… It takes a toll on us. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and … [Read more...]

One of the consequences of living in a crisis is that our time horizon gets real short. It makes sense--the future is uncertain--it’s not clear what part of the things that we’ve adapted to are permanent, and which are temporary. Our clients and prospects are going through the same thing, so it’s not clear how we will serve them in the long term.  What needs to change? We’re not sure yet. So we default to working on near term priorities, things we know, things we can control. But if our team is functioning well, those near term priorities are our team’s job. They may need some help adjusting to the “new reality,” but once they are back and productive, they can handle stuff that … [Read more...]

I’ve been locked inside my home with only my family for two weeks. With one day blending into the next in a quarantine induced haze, it can be hard to find the right tone to reach for in these emails.  It can be hard to find a way to say what you want to say, while still being respectful to all that’s happening in the world right now. One of the places where this is the most difficult is in business development.  One of my regular readers referred me to this LinkedIn post: My heartfelt plea to business development/sales teams: PLEASE STOP the LinkedIn messages and emails of why your solution is something Atrium Health needs to switch to or use. There is a right time...but that time … [Read more...]

We’ve talked about my “boss” before, right? He’s a total nut job, always making commitments with unrealistic deadlines. He’s terrible at looking at a to-do list and having any idea of how long it’s going to take to complete that work. It’s his fault that I’m writing this email at a quarter of eight at night while my family is watching an Avengers movie. I should have told him OFF! I should have just said, “Write it yourself.” How many times has he put me in this situation? Too many. But this is the last time. Here are my rules going forward. Work is not going to interrupt my family time. I only have one family. I’m going to have lots of bosses. If you set deadlines that can only … [Read more...]

I spent time Friday and Saturday talking with my sister about her daycare business. On March 1st, she was taking care of kids for 121 families; she's got 5 families dropping kids off as of April 1st. We worked through the process of laying off all of her staff. "I feel like I'm starting over after 15 years of business," she said. One of my close friends and collaborators texted me on Saturday that her lungs hurt from coughing so much. She called the doctor, who told her that she wasn't sick enough for a COVID-19 test and to call back if she was having trouble breathing. My oldest son works in the restaurant industry -- he hasn't worked for a few weeks and rent is coming due. When I … [Read more...]

When I started selling professional services the process was simple.  Find where your ideal customers gathered. Go to that place and meet them. Follow up after the meeting to meet 1-2-1 for “coffee” Determine if they had a need and if there was a “fit” Schedule a diagnostic meeting (e.g. actual sales call) Close. That formula worked for me for over a decade, until it didn’t. As my business became more specialized and focused it became harder and harder to just go to meetings where my ideal clients were. And having all those “coffee meetings” was exhausting and inefficient. I was kissing a lot of frogs and not finding many princes! So I started to migrate my lead … [Read more...]

In our last email, I talked about some actions you needed to take as a leader to be available for your team, your customers, and your community while we’re all “social distancing.” But you can’t give from what you don’t have — so today, let’s talk about keeping your bucket full so that you can continue to serve others with generosity.  Taming the anxiety When we’re scared, our body reduces blood flow to our pre-frontal cortex, making it harder to think, and reason. This is not ideal! If you’re feeling anxious, the first step is to breathe.  Your body’s reaction to fear, and your body’s reaction to excitement, are identical except when we’re afraid we hold our breath. So breathing … [Read more...]

On October 17, 1989, my parents went to see the World Series game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s. Just as the festivities were beginning, a giant earthquake hit the bay area, destroying freeways, toppling buildings, and throwing the region into chaos. When my parents got home to their brick apartment building in San Francisco, their neighbors were all in the courtyard with their grills going. The power was out and would be for several days, so everyone rescued their best meat from the freezer and had a building-wide cookout. My dad said it was one of the best meals he can remember. Folks he had barely talked to before sharing good food and comfort. Strangers, and … [Read more...]