Let’s say we were sitting in your strategic planning meeting this time last year, and we were planning out your strategy for 2020. Now imagine that I stood up in that meeting and said, 2020 is going to be a unique year! There will be a global crisis so severe that the government is going…
Last week’s email about “Focus increases Traction” produced this response from one reader: I’m prompted by your email about trying to do too many things at once and how much you can get done when you finally focus with a group that will hold you accountable and help you workshop your ideas. Over the last…
It’s 3 AM and I’m awake. For some reason my brain took this opportunity to review my sales forecast and it’s terrifying. I know I have one client project that finished this month, and one that’s finishing at the end of the year, so my top line is dropping. My 3 AM brain is certain…
Today, I’m going to take you on a bit of a journey – warning: it involves algebra! How many people do you have in your life that you trust? I mean, you’d let them hold your wallet, trust. You’d let them babysit your kids, trust. Think about it for a minute. Now, think about just…
Let’s say it was your job to get 3 large stones up a hill. Would you pick up one stone, move it 3 feet, then go back and pick up the second stone, move it 3 feet, and then move the last stone that same 3 feet? Repeating that process over and over until all…
A pattern that I see with agency owners in the growth stage is that they are the biggest reason their firms aren’t making progress. Don’t believe me? How many projects or initiatives are waiting on something from you? Your team is committed to a content marketing plan, but you are responsible for producing (or even…
I have gotten a number of replies to my email about Riding the Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship. Clearly it hit a nerve with some of you! I wanted to share some of the things that helped to make the roller coaster less taxing. Here’s a few (edited for length): “I’m learning more and more to ask…
Running my own business produced some of the best days of my life, and some of the worst. I’ve won big deals and then lost them again. I’ve hired the perfect person who would transform my business only to have them accept a counter-offer. I’ve sent an offer out to my list that got a great response,…
On Tuesday, we talked about how you are most likely the best salesperson your business will have. But that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone! Here are some ways I’ve seen agency owners get help to keep business flowing. Use a VA for outreach If you are doing some form of consistent outreach…
“Here’s the thing about creatives services, Brad. If you work really, really hard, learn everything you can and advance in your career, you get to be a sales person!” ~ Jim Farris (my dad) I’ve talked to many agency owners, and with one exception, none of them wanted to be salespeople. But when you own…