You have a conversation scheduled with a potential new client, and you’re excited. You get on the phone, and everything goes well; the next step is for your to write a proposal…that’s when all the energy and excitement drains out of you. Writing proposals is a drag. It takes too long; it’s tedious but somehow high-stakes at the same time! Plus, who even reads all of this? What if you could win business without writing proposals? In my experience, if you slow down the sales process, you can win more business with fewer proposals. Instead of rushing into writing the proposal, have another call. Present some ideas along with some tentative costs. Gain agreement with the client … [Read more...]
About Brad Farris
Do you want to be perfect or present?
I was listening to Rachel Rogers and Corey Arvinger talk on the Hello7 Podcast, and this section caught my ear! Rachel: And I think making quick decisions is the mark of a powerful CEO, right? A lot of people think about it forever, hem and haw for months. And it's like the opportunities are passing you by while you thinking about it. Or, you know, we’re so worried about, well, it's going to cost me X. Okay, but what is it costing you to not make that move? How much are you losing by playing it safe all the time? Corey: Me and my mom have these conversations, and I’m like, “You're trying to show up perfect instead of being present.” Like why are you trying to be so perfect? Just be … [Read more...]
Your personal highlight reel
Would you be willing to take 30 seconds to do a little experiment with me? Think back to a time in the last few weeks when you were in top form. Everything was clicking, you were at your best, and you could feel it. Do you have an example in mind? What did that moment feel like? Now, expand your view. Suppose you went back over the past few years and assembled a highlight reel of the times when you performed at your best. It could be in any context, with your kids, clients, a volunteer group, or anytime you felt confident, effective, and alive. What do you see in those moments? What do they have in common? How could you have more moments just like them? What would you … [Read more...]
There is nothing to fear but fear itself.
Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. – George Addair Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard clients say: “How much should I worry about [ fill in the blank ]?”“Even the idea of this conversation terrifies me!”“Looking at my financials makes me anxious, so I avoid them!” When I hear statements like these, I know that fear has joined the conversation. There’s nothing wrong with feeling fear. Humans evolved a very well-tuned system to respond to fear. It’s a part of what has guaranteed our survival as a species! This is not a life-or-death situation. The problem is when our bodies and brains fire up that fear reaction; they're trying to save us from a … [Read more...]
What’s happening in the economy?
There’s a lot of alarming economic news out there! Just look at these headlines! More Americans are worried about inflation.Consumers are becoming substantially less confident about the economy.US economic growth to slow sharply with higher unemployment in 2023.More than 52,000 workers were laid off in the tech sector. When you read those headlines, what story are you telling yourself? Are you more confident about your business or less? Now, notice what happens when you read these headlines: Goldman Sachs chief economist puts the likelihood of a recession in the US over the next 12 months at 35%.Paul Krugman sees “soft landing increasingly plausible."The US is past peak … [Read more...]
Money is fuel
This clip of Simon Sinek is worth watching (It’s just under 4 minutes long). As I was listening this snippet caught my ear. I like to think of money as fuel, and the car is the company, and the purpose is the destination. If money is fuel, it makes the car go. You absolutely have to have money to make the company go. There is no dreaming big if you have no fuel. You can have the most beautiful car in the world, and yet, if you've got no fuel, it's pointless. But we don't own a car to buy fuel. We don't own companies simply for the money. It's the destination. You wanna be able to go somewhere. The passengers are the employees and are not excited about the fuel in the car. How … [Read more...]
Aim high when driving…
One of the things that I told my children when I was teaching them to drive is it better to make small adjustments to the steering wheel than big ones, particularly when you're driving fast! Big adjustments to the steering wheel can make the car feel and act unstable. The same is true in your business. Your people feel comforted by small adjustments. When we make gentle corrections and nudge them in the right direction, that lets them know we're paying attention and that they're important to us. Contrast that with the owner who comes in one day, and it's all about content marketing, and then the next day it's all about pay-per-click advertising; or who this month is implementing EOS … [Read more...]
Money is a tool.
I spent the last couple of weeks asking people, "What is money?" And most people will tell me, "money is a tool." For most of us, money is used to get things we want. If I want to hire an employee, I need money. If I want to take a vacation with my family, I need money. You get the idea. There's an old story about the CEO of Black & Decker telling his salesforce that, "Nobody wants drills; they want holes. They only buy a drill because they need a hole." The tool is not a destination; it's a vehicle to get us to our destination. But is that how we act around money? Do you know want anyone who has 30 drills? Are there 20 different shovels in your garage? Of course not! … [Read more...]
Why doesn’t this ever work?
A few weeks ago, I talked about how “being with what is” is a leadership superpower, so when I heard this Byron Katie quote this week, it hit me hard! “When you argue with reality, you lose, but only 100% of the time.” ~ Byron Katie Right away, some examples came to mind: That was such a good lead; I’m sure that deal will close! So I chase after them, following up over and over. The reality is that the deal is lost. I lose by wasting valuable time pursuing a dead deal when I could spend that time filling the top of the funnel with new leads that might close. But filling the funnel is hard work, and this one was so close. She interviewed well; her references checked … [Read more...]
Getting Unblocked
On Tuesday, we talked about your biggest block. What is the one thing in the way of taking your business from an 8 (on a 1-to-10 scale) to a 29 or 100? How could you blow away your expectations and radically improve your life and business? I heard back from some of you with some insightful thoughts about what’s blocking your progress. (If you didn’t read Tuesday’s conversation, take a minute now to think about it.) How do I fix that? When I’ve been working with clients who uncover their biggest blocks, the next thing out of their mouths is usually, “But how do I fix that?” My answer to them can be a letdown; I always tell them, “I don’t know.” (Yeah, folks spend big money for … [Read more...]
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