What will your 2017 look like? Right now, I’m willing to bet that everyone reading this has projected that 2017 will be your best year ever. Me too. I’m also willing to bet that by April 1 – if not sooner – most of you will be saying, “Well, I can still hit my projections, if I have a solid last part of the year.” Then by October, you’ll be saying, “Well, things will get better in 2018.” I’m not saying this to put you down. I’m saying this as the result of something I discovered recently. More about that in a moment.
You see, most business owners – and salespeople, and sales managers – depend on EXTERNAL factors to lift their boats. I just got back from a big trade show in Las Vegas, and the common theme that I heard was that “2017 was going to be a great year.” When I asked why, they’d say, “Because the economy is going to be very strong.” I happen to agree with that sentiment – but I always wonder what we can do to make our OWN economy. This leads back to my discovery.
I’m going to step outside my normal mode here of ‘how to’ articles, and talk about my own business and something I’ve done recently. I’ve had a lot of discussions with potential clients in the last two years, and I’ve done pretty well in winnning new projects with new customers. My closing percentage on proposals is well over 50%, and I suppose it ought to be, if I’m trying to teach you how to sell, don’t you think?
Still, “well over 50%” isn’t 100%. As much as I wish I didn’t, I lose sales, too. We’re all living in the real world here. When I counted my losses over the last two years, I found that I had 33 proposals that did not result in a ‘yes’ answer. That bothers me; that means there were 33 business owners that didn’t see the value in working with me. And these were business owners who had needs.
Some (most) needed to turn around an underperforming sales force. These were comprehensive projects that included consulting, coaching, and training.
Some wanted training for salespeople or sales managers.
Some wanted individual coaching and consulting for themselves.
Some wanted help in hiring people.
ALL of them had unmet needs and goals.
Whether they were trying to build value in their business to sell and have a comfortable retirement, or whether they wanted to maximize profit to enjoy a better lifestyle, or perhaps they wanted to set the business up for success for the next generation of their family, they all had needs.
I decided to do some follow-up. I decided to call each of the 33 to see if, and how, they met those needs, if they didn’t invest in work with me. The results were pretty depressing.
I got ahold of 26 of the 33, which I figure is a good ratio. Two of the companies were – unfortunately – out of business, so that answered every question I had for those owners. Out of the 26 that I called, I reminded them of the goals they had when we talked, and I asked them how they achieved those goals.
The answer shocked me. ONLY ONE of those 26 had hit their goals, and they did so by choosing a different coach. That’s fair enough. I’m not for everyone, and everyone isn’t for me. To be honest, this was the least upsetting answer that I received.
More common was an answer that, “Oh, well, we didn’t hit our numbers because, you know, the economy.” In other words, these business owners decided to play it safe, do nothing different, and defer their dreams and goals for a day when some undefined outside source would carry them to prosperity. How mediocre. There’s nothing worse than just settling for being blown along with the wind.
That, however, wasn’t as bad as the answer I received from four of my contacts. Four of these business owners confessed that they wished mightily that they’d worked with me back then, WHEN THEY HAD THE MONEY (I’m not cheap but I generate ROI). Now, no matter how much they wanted to, they simply didn’t have the cash in the bank. I suspect that in another year these phone numbers will be disconnected as well.
I’ve been reviewing those sales, examining my own efforts, and wondering what I did wrong. Should I have closed harder? Should I have presented more aggressively, or maybe asked a question that I neglected to ask? At this point, it’s hard to say, and it won’t make much difference. I will say that two of the 26 have engaged me now, so there was a profit to the exercise (and that, too, should be a lesson to you – don’t neglect past prospects as a source of future business).
So now that I’ve given you a peek behind the curtain, I have some questions for YOU.
How confident are you that your 2017 will be what you want it to be?
What are you going to do differently to help you get there? Don’t give me bilge about ‘the economy.’ MAKE the year be what you want it to be!
If you need outside help, are you going to engage that help? If not, why not? In fact, let me say this: If you need outside help to achieve your goals and your dreams, there is no excuse for not getting it. If I’m not too proud to use outside help (and I’m not), you shouldn’t be either. Get the help you need.
More to the point:
If you’re a business owner, have we talked? If not, why not? Contact me today. I’m a nice guy – really – and I’ll be happy to give you a free phone consultation to see if I can help.
If you’re a salesperson, have you looked at my products to help you sell more and build better relationships? You can buy them here – and I’ve even extended my New Year’s sale to help you afford them.
My pledge to you is this – I’ve learned many things from these 26 calls, including identifying service offerings that might have made the difference. Look for these new service offerings in the first quarter of 2017. There’s nothing I hate more than calling past lost sales and hearing about goals unreached, dreams deferred, and battles unwon. I want to help you reach, achieve, and win. That’s my theme for 2017.
