Successfully growing a business takes two things: attitude and activity. Attitude includes: confidence, conviction, commitment, and perseverance. Activity includes: your most important sales activities: prospecting, presenting, and closing. Those will require that you have a plan, have the self-discipline to stick to the plan, and that you ultimately spend the right amount of time and money on those activities.
Speaking of time and money, you need to track both. The most important activities you spend time on during the day are the ones that bring money into the business. It isn’t working on your logo, driving to the post office, reading a book, watching a podcast, cleaning your desk, or entering information into the computer. During business hours 90+% of your time should be spent on activities that generate cash flow. As far as money is concerned, most of the money that comes in should be reinvested back into the business. Track this money to make sure it is well invested. Any money that gets invested in the business needs to return equal or greater value.
Next, you need a plan which includes how much business you need, how many people you need to talk to, and where to find those people. The fastest way to build business is by calling on people in-person or on the phone. Business is a contact sport and is all about relationships and in order to build relationships and connect with people, you need to be talking to them live, not sending e-mails. Business is also a numbers game, if you talk to enough people during the day you will eventually run into someone who needs what you have or knows someone who needs what you have.
So where do you find these people? Start with friends and family and get back in touch with people you’ve lost touch with over the years. Make sure all these people know what you do and ask them for referrals. Second is your target market and where they hang out. Where they hang out can be at work, networking groups, online, publications they read, etc. Next, get out and network, go to events, volunteer, look for any and all opportunities to meet new people. The bottom line is: you need a system for bringing new prospects into your business. If you still don’t have enough business and prospects, you need to cold call. Yes, you’re going to have to step out of your comfort zone and face some fears. Discomfort and fear stop most people. If growing a business was easy, everyone would be doing it.
When you are talking to people focus on what they want and are interested in. Ask good questions and determine whether or not you are a match. You always do what’s best for the other person. Also, when you do talk, make sure it’s about what they are interested in and how your product benefits them.
Ultimately failure in business comes from what you fail to do. The bottom line is: If you absolutely had to build your business and make it successful, and there was no other option, you would. If you had to, you’d focus all your resources and make it happen. Now go out there and take massive action.
John Chapin is a motivational sales speaker, coach, and trainer. To have him speak at your next event, go to www.completeselling.com John has over 37 years of sales and sales management experience as a number one sales rep and is the author of the 2010 sales book of the year: Sales Encyclopedia (Axiom Book Awards). You can reprint provided you keep contact information in place. E-mail: johnchapin@completeselling.com.
