Very often in business we know just where we want to go. We know just what we need to do. We have the tools, resources, supplies and know-how. But if you’re not yet moving in the direction of your goals to grow your business, it’s time to get an oar in the water!
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Imagine if you could get your business or sales career moving the same way you’d get a canoe or rowboat moving.
Before you get in, you need to know where you want to go and what you have to do to get there. You need to gather all the necessary tools and resources. If you’re lucky, the weather conditions will make it easier for you to travel, but either way, if you’re determined to get there, you won’t let that stop you.
You are ready. fired up and motivated!
But your boat is not moving.
That’s because no matter how prepared you are, at some point, you have to get an oar in the water.
What does that mean? It means getting started. Initiating your journey.
Until you get an oar in the water, you’re not going anywhere.
And it’s exactly the same in your business and sales career.
When Ross Perot sold his entrepreneurial company to General Motors, it is said that he described the culture of GM as “Ready, aim, aim, aim.” And that approach doesn’t work too well for entrepreneurs and sales professionals. Our approach has to be ready, aim, fire, fire, fire, fire!
If you’re in a small boat, initiating first contact with the water is what gets you moving. If you’re in a small business, initiating first contact with your prospects and clients is what gets you moving. But in many organizations, that activity is put on the back burner.
Some salespeople spend the first few hours of their day getting ready to get ready. They’re looking over their prospect list, checking their email, skimming the news, having a cup of coffee. And of course, these actions don’t move your boat at all. Not only do they get you nowhere, they keep you from getting anywhere. So the earlier in the day you get an oar in the water, the more productive that day is going to be.
To grow your business, you need momentum.
Sure, when we first start out it’s slow. But as we build momentum, we start to go faster and faster. The more we practice, the better we get, and each day we take consistent action builds those muscles, so it gets easier. As a result, we can go farther and faster. We see new horizons and we’re able to reach new destinations much more quickly.
Getting an oar in the water early will benefit anyone. But the clients who participate in our Total Market Domination course learn the skills and tactics that make it far easier to overcome inertia, take action and produce results. Instead of starting out each day exhausted, and dreading the idea of picking up an oar, it’s like they get to start the day with a motor boat.
Push a button and go!
You see, when you spend your days creating top of mind awareness with the very best prospects in your market, instead of just annoying unqualified prospects with sales calls, the best clients start to come to you. They see you as the expert. They think of you first when they need the products and services you offer. It’s far more powerful and far more proactive than the typical, dull-as-dishwater, 70’s era closing tactics practiced by all the unfortunate salespeople who have never been trained on how to do it better and differently.
So ask yourself this question. What percentage of the very best prospects in your market, for the products and services you offer, even know you’re alive? And if you don’t like your own answer to that question, what will you do to change it?
How can you ever create top of mind awareness with the very best prospects in your market if you’ve never been trained on how to do it?
If you haven’t already done so, check out our 3 part video series on how to create top of mind awareness and dominate your market.
You can access it now at topsecrets.com/tmd.
That’s topsecrets.com/tmd.
Are you ready to grow your business?
Whenever you’re ready… here are the five primary ways we help promotional product distributors grow:
- Just Getting Started? If you (or someone on your team) is just getting started in promotional products sales, learn how we can help.
- Need Clients Now? If you’re already grounded in the essentials of promotional product sales and just need to get clients now, click here.
- Want EQP/Preferential Pricing? Are you an established industry veteran doing a significant volume of sales? If so, click here to get End Quantity Pricing from many of the top supplier lines in the promo industry.
- Time to Hire Salespeople? If you want to grow your promo sales by hiring others, click here.
- Ready to Dominate Your Market? If you’re serious about creating top-of-mind-awareness with the very best prospects in your market, schedule a one-on-one Strategy Session here.
2 replies to "Get an Oar in the Water"
David: You have incorporated new tech promo sales with old school closing methods. We call it, “Smart Selling”.
It makes a big difference these days, doesn’t it?