It’s easy to fall prey to the growth-slowing traps of running a business.
Master Coach Steve Chandler challenges us to consider that a targeted approach based on specific priorities is more effective than putting all resources towards a wide range of tasks. If you are in any kind of sales (as most of us are on some level), your conversion rate has likely been a reflection of your interpersonal interactions. The richer the exchange, ranging from cold emailing to face-to-face meetings, the greater likelihood of success. The more meetings you have, the better your chances. We all know these basic tenants of sales. Yet we still have overriding fears that convince us to hide in other “necessary” tasks of the business.
Here’s a few examples of me telling myself I was growing my business while actually stalling it:
- Obsessing over images and design of social media posts, ultimately delaying posting or avoiding it entirely. 🙄
- Spending too much time on social media. Period.⏳🖼
- Consuming all the “how to’s” on how to be successful rather than actually looking for opportunities (paid and unpaid) to improve my skills and experience.🤓
- Shopping for the perfect presentation outfit. 👠
- Looking for the best CRM / note-taking / reminder / client tracking apps on the market.
- Taking clients out for lunches, dinners, mani/pedis, concerts without ASKING them about their business because I thought it was gauche.💅 (Pleaser Saboteur at play)
- Spending hours on LinkedIn trying to find the decision maker when asking my one contact for support would have gotten me there more quickly.📇
- Doing the job of my marketing team and rearranging decks they made rather than being clear about what I thought would best serve the business. (Controller Saboteur at play!)
In media sales in 2000’s New York City, I strived to be the fun, well-dressed, likable, and not-sales-y sales rep. What I didn’t understand then is that I would have been just as “cool” 😎 if I showed more respect for my time and the business by being more direct, asking the “scary” questions until they became normalized and not so scary.
All I needed as a sales rep (similar to what I do in my coaching practice), was to have as many conversations as possible to understand the client’s challenges and then determine if and how I could best serve them.
So when you think about your client interactions, what fears or apprehensions come up for you?
Look at the thoughts around the fear. Are they true? Will that person really think you are annoying if you call them? Probably not, but if so, so what? Trust that you are there to serve their business and yours. Once you break down the fear into a pile of unhelpful words and insecurities, challenge yourself to do the very thing you’re afraid of and see how quickly that fear dissipates.
Here is a line I wish I had in my sales days:
“Hi, I’m really looking forward to our lunch! I’m eager to get to know each other better and discuss (specific business points) to see how I can best be of service. Please bring any questions you have about our proposal. “
To me, such a note means this person is authentic and values her and my time.
So, tell me, what’s the fear preventing you from moving your business forward?
How can I serve YOU to get over the hump? Shoot me a message and I’ll set up a call to support you! 📲📲📲
