The Fallacy of Planning
The problem with a plan is this: If you miss it, even though you've done well, you feel like a failure. If you hit it, there odds are you were focused on hitting it and actually could have exceeded it.
Sorry, I Called Someone Else Who Bothered to Show Up
Small businesses are not usually destroyed by poor economies, technological advances, or larger competitors. They are most often destroyed by horrible business judgment. The basic horrors: • Not showing up when promised • Poor customer relationships • Failure to plan (cash flow, inventory, part-time
Confrontation with Buyers
I don't believe buyers are usually "damaged," but many of them aren't terribly good at what they do, though they have the potential. Companies don't develop their "bench strength" effectively. Don't be bashful about confronting a buyer who wants to involve
Applicability 101
I refer to corporate sales as "wholesale" and individual sales as "retail." In the former, you find a single buyer who can acquire products and services for a wide array of people at significant prices. In the latter, you have
Doom Loop
The doom loop traps you when: you need cash, you're nervous about the meeting with the prospect because you need cash, you're ineffective in the meeting because you're nervous, you don't get the business because you were ineffective, and now
Do You Have A Leak?
When you have a water leak, it makes sense to check the fittings, the faucet, the valves, and so forth. Somewhere along the pipe something has gone wrong. If you have a buyer who has agreed to review a proposal but
I Didn’t Listen and I Wasn’t Persuasive, Why Won’t They Call Me Back?
Stop bemoaning your fate and take accountability. Some things you can't control—it's rained on your parade. Most things you can–the buyer isn't calling you back because you haven't presented a compelling case for the buyer to do so. Learn to
Compound Interest
If you improve by 1% a day, in 70 days you're twice as good. If you market a little every single day, in the near future you're going to be very successful. But if you don't market every day, because you
What Happened?
People who don't have the time or inclination to watch, read, or listen to the news daily are not people I enjoy talking to. And, in fact, if you're only getting your news from one source there's a high probability
Storms
This recent Nor'easter, a huge storm with 75 mile-per-hour winds, blew down a lot of trees. But these were weak trees, or trees that grew or were planted in poor locations. The strongest survive and perpetuate the species. The storms and