I heard some brilliant advice recently from my friend and former client Craig Dunn, owner of Carolina Office Solutions here in Charlotte.
He said, “Now is the time to take small risks. Make small investments in your business, in your employees, and in yourself.”
I couldn’t agree more and was delighted to hear him share such an important message so succinctly.
One of my current clients put this message into action recently. I encouraged him to take action – any action – that would begin refilling his pipeline. My suggestions included:
- Former customers – call them up and ask how their business is doing. Ask them what they need and then help them find a resource to solve it. Or send them a card just to say, “Hi” and remind them you’re out there (Craig has started doing this again regularly and consistently – people notice and he stays top of mind)
- Current customers – what’s ONE thing you can do to “wow” them? To go the extra mile? To delight and surprise them?
- People “in the know” – Want to break into a new industry or work with a different batch of clients? Reach out to industry leaders and ask for advice. What does this industry need? Share your heartfelt passion and vision for helping. See if you can discover solutions with the help of these people “in the know.”
The thing is, it’s easy to give to these suggestions. It’s even easy to agree you’ll do them. The hard part is taking action. It’s risky. It’s scary. There’s the very real potential for rejection.
But what if taking action – any action – really works? What if those small risks, those small investments, are the unspoken secret for success?
With my support and encouragement, my client took action and it is paying off handsomely. His phone is ringing. He’s talking to potential clients and he even has a meeting set up with one particular person “in the know” in response to an inquiry letter he sent. How cool is that?
Are you ready to take small risks? To invest in your business? And take ACTION? Here’s a great way to do it and it’s seriously a game changer:
Angie, such good advice – & so simple to apply. As they say, sales isn’t brain surgery, but good ideas don’t work unless we do something with them.
What trends are you seeing as you talk with your prospects, clients, & networks?
Which sectors and/or industries seem to be taking off these days?
How are your clients using break-out technologies to organize & communicate in their markets?