Consulting 602
• When you arise in the morning, your belief must be that you have tremendous value to impart to a great many people.
• Focus on that value in your conversations, writing, speaking, and collateral. Don’t talk about methodology, technology, or models.
• Gaining business is NOT about finding pain or creating pain and alleviating it. It’s about improving the condition of your buyer. For strong people, that’s gain, not pain.
• Every day, make your intellectual property apparent to your highest potential clients through a variety of avenues. Don’t kid yourself: Posting on Facebook is not marketing to corporate buyers, for example.
• Every week, contact people you know and ask for their business and/or referral business. If that seems awkward or an imposition, see point number one above.
• The first sale is to yourself. Your age, gender, ethnicity, education, and the rest of your background are irrelevant to all legitimate, healthy buyers. Self-esteem will support that, not initials after your name.
• Be careful about to whom you listen and with whom you hang. Too many people seek to bring you down to their level of performance and pessimism, rather than raising themselves to your level of performance and optimism.
• If you don’t blow your own horn, there is no music. Hiding your value, your intellectual property, and your power is like hiding your money under the mattress—no one will steal it, but no one will see it, either, and it will never grow.
• Treat every experience as a learning experience, not a “win” or a “loss.”
• Understand WHY you are successful, don’t settle merely for the fact THAT you are successful.
• You grow by building on strengths, not correcting weaknesses. Most “self-help” approaches assume you’re damaged and try to “fix” you. Ignore them.
• Seek success, not perfection.
© Alan Weiss 2012. All rights reserved.
BRIAN HINES
The comment above: “Be careful about to whom you listen and with whom you hang. Too many people seek to bring you down to their level of performance and pessimism, rather than raising themselves to your level of performance and optimism”. I find this notion to be very relevant to what I say to my daughters often, “Don’t let people take your power”. Also, the notion is suggested in my email signature: “Be the Solution and Enjoy the Journey Along the Way~. Sometimes we have to remind our selves the long-term importance of staying true to high level performance and optimism. ~B
Tom Spencer
Alan,
Your last two points really resonate. Your penultimate point in particular.
My choice of university course was based partly on a desire to correct my weaknesses. I was weak in essay writing and comprehension, so I chose law school. Ironically, 10 years later, I am still relatively weak in essay writing and comprehension.
What I have realised is that people are looking to associate with “winners”. They don’t care whether you studied engineering, arts, or law – so long as you excelled.
Working to fix weaknesses can probably help a person become more balanced and well rounded. However, the opportunity cost is massive. Capitalising on strengths can help a person run miles ahead of the pack and achieve a happy and successful life. Focusing on weaknesses, however, means that progress is slowed and can only happen as fast as you are able to fix your weaknesses. And some weaknesses are difficult/impossible to fix.
Better to focus on strengths.
Thanks for your insights, Alan.
Alan Weiss
If a weakness is critical (you can’t speak the language) then fix it quickly. Otherwise, find your strengths and exploit them.
Alan Weiss
Brian, insecure people don’t try to raise their level, but rather lower yours.
james v.waldrep
Consulting 602 . Your comments were very insightful. I liked the personal
direction provided.