All symptoms
All of the subjects from yesterday’s message look like somewhat related, some of them random, some of them to be grouped… and they all look like problems. But here’s the thing: they’re all symptoms. And —in the big picture— all symptoms of unclarity. To be unclear in the business, the needs it attends, to the segment it serves. If you had to score from them, how well would you do? 🙂
What’s coming
Here are a few themes that are recurring in the small/medium business I see. Which ones do you feel you resonate with? You’re struggling with getting your sales to be better. The market is highly competitive. You’re pushed to play on (the lowest) price. You can’t say No to customers. That’s losing business (and stupid). If you say No to a customer, you’re losing opportunities. Your competition is poaching your customers. Your revenue goals are not where you want them, despite everything…
Perspectives.
Now, it’s been 10 days since my last email after 2 years of non-stop dailies. Was on a trip in India with a client and it brought some perspective (besides the jetlag that really messed up my rhythm 🙃). It brought perspective about the level of impact. The scale of impact. Here’s a shift in my practice. From a perspective of one, to a perspective of one who leads. A small firm. A small business. If you’re running one of these you’re at a disadvantage. Or are you?? I’d argue that running a…
From cool-to-have to game-changer
Yesterday’s message was about thinking of what you think would be cool to have for you / your business 2 years from now. Now, that’s a good perspective to have. However, if you think of something that would be a game-changer in 2 years from now for your business… that’s a different story. Here’s the thing: Thinking of something cool to have can motivate you for some time. Thinking of what a game-changer for your business, that’s the one that will push you to: Think big. Make the hard…
Wet Water
Seeing everywhere “Need to set strategic goals” feels a lot like an obvious thing. Just like saying “we need wet water” If goals are not strategic, what are they? 🤷
Keeping your promise
All your customers want and expect from you is for you to keep your promise. Kinda “Duh!”, right? And yet, you’d be surprised (or maybe not) how many people, soloists, fractionals, organizations and companies just don’t do that. Not even in the bare minimum. You want to stand out? Keep your word. The bar is so low in your market. After all, you don’t sell your offerings. What you sell are 3 things: Your promise. Your competence. Your confidence. To make your clients better.
Question 1 before your new year’s resolution
Do you sell problems? Because, if you’re selling solutions… does that mean your competitors are selling problems? Can you make a strong statement of one thing you do that your competitors and alternatives to you won’t/can’t make? Here’s the thing Your market is being offered solutions, strategic goals, planning, innovative, out-of-the-box-thinking, alignment, hacks, scale-ups, the-best-of, etc. Stop adding to the noise. 🙂
Confusing what they want with what they want.
Most often, your customers will come to you asking for something specific. Sure, they might be right. And sure (as seen somewhere on linkedin), “they (customers) don’t ask for outcomes, they ask for capabilities”. 🤷 The thing is They’re most likely wrong on what the specific thing they ask for is the proper one to apply. They’re (mostly) self-and-mis-diagnosed. When they ask for “capabilities”, they treat and pay for what they procure as commodities. Highly replaceable. The risk is on them…
Opening minds
If you’re not the big player in your space, you can still get a great deal of the place. Once you figure out what you’re really good at, and what only you can do for your customers —what you do different in your market— you can challenge the big ones on your turf. It’ll catch them off-guard. They won’t know how to (quickly) react. And they’ll panic in some way. But that’s the fun part —seeing them like “WTF!” What’s better: you’ll be reaching their customers. But you’re not there to win….
4 things you want to ask.
To have advantage in a sales conversation. you’d wanna ask 4 things: What’s the new status in the future when everything’s going amazing. What’s the reason behind the specific solution they’re after. What’s the urgency of doing it NOW, and not in a year. What’s the reason for them to be even talking to you. Getting the answers to these questions will let you know where you stand —in the mind of your decision-maker, in the process, and compared to the alternatives.