New Business Development – Page 77

Revisit Your Goals

We’re more than a month
into the new year.

The goals we’ve set
for 2022
are likely getting a little fuzzy.
We might not be
super excited about them now.

Take time to revisit them
Remind yourself
why you set those goals,
what the rewards will be
when you meet them,
why they excited you.

If you’re struggling
to meet those goals,
brainstorm with trusted friends
or advisors
creative ways to do that.
Change it up a bit.

If the goals no longer
make sense for you,
of course,
scratch them off
your list
but stick with the goals
that are still relevant,
still important to you.

Revisit your goals
for 2022.

Adding People To Conversations

I sent an email
reminding a group of people
about a loved one’s birthday.

One of those people
responded
and added the loved one
to the email thread.

(head slap)

If you add someone
to an existing conversation,
either start a new conversation
or erase the history of that conversation.

And normally, you would announce
that person is joining the conversation,
saying something like
“adding X to this email distribution list.”

The exception is
when you need your boss
to see something.
That Cover Your A$$ move
usually means BCCing them.

Anyone in business
knows a boss can be BCCed
at any time.

Outside of business
and outside of the
boss-employee relationship,
BCCing someone is
a shady sh*thead move.

Think before adding people
to existing conversations.

The Next Purchase

My latest book release
garnered fewer than 100 ratings
on release day.

Those ratings tended to be
5 stars
and
1 stars.

Pre-orders for the next book
in the series,
however,
were amazingly strong.

THAT is the true
ratings for the current release.
Readers liked it so much
they immediately pre-ordered
the next story.

Reviews and ratings
are often left by
customers who absolutely love the product
or absolutely hate the product.

I use pre-orders
or additional sales
to judge how the product really performed.

Sales matter more
than ratings.

Stop Bad Behavior NOW

There is a f*ckin’ Nazi rally
being organized
in my home city.

That means I have to
leave my warm house,
take a day off writing,
and counter-protest,
waving a sign
promoting tolerance
and
ensuring the Nazis
don’t harass individuals.

But this has to be done
because if we don’t stop
the Nazis now,
we will be forced
to fight
and kill them later.
I REALLY don’t want
to be forced to do that.

This is the same
for bad behavior
at our businesses.

If we don’t stop
the bad behavior
when it starts,
the problem will escalate
exponentially.
It might spin
out of our control
and it WILL
cause damage.

Stop bad behavior today.

Getting Started

Getting started,
for me,
is the most difficult part
of any project
or
any day.

There are a few tricks
I use.

I remind myself
that it IS the most difficult part
and that once I start,
momentum will kick in
and it will become much easier.

I give myself
permission to start badly.
I’ll write awful scenes,
for example,
knowing once I get going,
I’ll have the momentum
to go back and revise them.

The focus is to start.
It isn’t to be perfect
or even to finish.

I’ll start with a favorite task,
something I love to do.

Or I’ll start with an easy task,
something I can complete
quickly
without much struggle.

I’ll end the previous day
in the middle of something.
That way,
the next day,
I’ll already be partially finished
that task
and I’ll know what I’m doing.

Do what you can
to get started.
The process will
become easier.

Start.

Rethinking Your Plan

Writers call it
‘shiny object syndrome.’

We have a plan.
It is a great plan
but it takes time to work.

We implement that plan.

Then we hear about another person
or business
that implemented a different plan.
They started with their plan
long before we started with ours
and they are now succeeding.

So we abandon our plan
and implement theirs.

We do this again and again,
never giving any of the plans
the time they need to work.

And we wonder
why we’re not successful.

Before implementing a plan,
decide how long
you’ll stick to it
before you try something else.

Put that date
on your calendar.

Don’t allow yourself
to jump from that plan
until that date.

Give your plans time
to work.

The Cost Of Debating Established Facts

Over 99% of scientists
agree that humans
are causing climate change.

Yet there are still
some people insisting
on having a debate over
whether or not this is the truth.

These ‘debates’ might seem harmless.

They aren’t harmless at all.
They have a HUGE cost.
They delay action.

They delay updating city drains,
for example,
to deal with flash floods.
That will cause property damage
and perhaps death.

They delay installing air conditioning,
as another example,
in long term care homes.
That delay WILL result in death.

Each debate delays numerous actions,
all of which will have a very real impact.

Right now,
you are likely having a debate
about whether or not a fact
is truly a fact.

This could be
whether or not your brand name
is difficult
to remember
or
which social media platform
most of your prospects use
or
whether or not
the red hats you purchased
in 2010
are a great giveaway
today
for your liberal-leaning customers.

These ‘debates’ have a cost.
Accept the facts
and make decisions based on those.

Just Because You Don’t Use That Feature

A blogger I admire
posted that the
“add a minute” button
on microwaves
was useless
because no one needs
to add that much time.

That is the MOST used button
in our household.

We do use it to
add a minute
but we also use it
to input the minutes.

You are likely not
your target customer.
You are definitely not
EVERY customer.

Consult with your customers
before taking away features
(or somehow track
how often they are used
by EVERYONE).

You’ll likely be surprised
how your product
is being used.