As our economy starts to emerge from its pandemic slumber, I’ve been encouraging my clients to get more systematic and take more action to build their business development pipeline. I worked with a cohort to get started with outreach, and they saw success; that’s why I built the Online Lead Generation and Engagement course. But…
Now I know I’m not usually in your inbox on a Wednesday! But yesterday, I talked about the importance of daily action and I had to come back today, so you knew that I was practicing what I preach! You see, it’s a huge mistake to make business development this “thing” that you do. Like…
On Saturday, I told you the story about going to 27 new business meetings in a row without closing a single client. That was a painful process, it was a lot of rejection, and the reason those appointments didn’t close was primarily that I wasn’t executing well. It sucked. But during that same time, other…
“You can have anything you want if you are willing to ask 1,000 people for it.” ~ Byron Katie When I first started my business, I worked with a sales trainer. He told me, “Get 30 appointments in your first 90 days, and you’ll have a thriving consulting business.” I didn’t know any better, so…
The sales funnel is a useful concept for helping us visualize the journey that a prospect makes toward becoming a customer. But the idea of the “funnel” makes the process seem more predictable than most of us find in practice! Just because someone is in your funnel doesn’t mean that they will buy, or even…
When it comes to your sales pipeline, there’s just one thing you are in complete control over. You can’t control when people buy or who will buy, but you have complete control over the top of your funnel. And unless you’ve got something seriously wrong, the more qualified leads you put into the top of…
In our last email, we talked about the benefit of having someone outside the sales team, who can provide objective feedback to improve your new business team’s efficiency and effectiveness. But how does that work when I am the management team and the salesperson? In most of the firms I work with, the principal is still…
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a creative firm with someone in the role of Sales Manager. Sometimes the owner/founder is playing that role, but at best, he’s a player/coach. When I look outside the creative world, I could make an argument that sales managers are the most undervalued member of a growing company’s…
French cooking techniques and recipes have influenced cuisines all around the world. Chefs from every modern cuisine, from cultures worldwide, come to France to learn from the masters there. One of the defining features of French cooking is the ingredients. You cannot make an excellent, top-shelf French meal without choosing the freshest, most flavorful ingredients….
It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked. ~ Warren Buffett What’s going on right now is not a test, but it is showing you what’s not working. If you step back from the crisis a couple of paces and look at your business overall, the stress of…