There is just no getting away from the fact that you get distracted.
Constant emails, meetings, interruptions and reports keep you from
getting your real job done. You know what you need to to do. It’s simple in many cases. You just need to get a handle on your time and these bloody distractions.
On top of all this you have to sell. You have to network. You have to make the calls. Your stuck.
You do have a choice however, and you must exercise this choice. You have to focus. You have to firstly choose to stop the interruptions. You know you can, but it certainly isn’t easy to do so.
You have a choice to focus on the priorities. You have a choice to not worry about the low value tasks that pepper your to do lists. They will never go away.
You are not alone but you will be in the minority if you make the change. Change is never easy but if you want to grow your sales and grow your business, change is inevitable.
Are you perpetually running around after the same clients? The ones who are unbelievably time consuming, and ultimately never going to move you or your business forward?
Your choice is simple. Do you spend 80% of your time chasing smaller less profitable clients, who are a complete drain on your enthusiasm, energy and time. Or do you change?
You can decide to choose your ideal 50 clients. The must haves. The ones if you “owned” them your business would improve beyond belief.
You can then focus on acquiring them.
You can focus on getting to know their businesses intimately.
You can focus on where they network, and go there.
You can focus on putting a programme of activity for the remainder of the year, that increases your brand awareness, and builds the number of touches you have with them.
You can focus on being creative in your attempts to get their attention.
In other words you can choose to focus 80% of your selling time on the “must have”clients.
This is a huge shift for most people, but if you really think about it, it makes perfect sense.
You don’t have to produce a prospect list a thousand strong.
Keep it very targeted and specific.
Check out my blog with great sales tips
Now using our GOSPA model we can now focus even more effectively on the activity needed to make this work for you.
Goal
I have 5 of my “must have” clients signed up in full by 31st December 2011.
Objectives
I have 1 “must have” in July, August, September, October and November.
Strategies
This is where you come in. What are your strategies??
Direct Mail?
Strategic Alliances
Telesales
Networking
Online
Be specific. How, when, where and why?
Plan
Now put all of this in to a plan. In order of importance and in chronological order also.
By month. By week.
Activities
This is the single most important factor to the success. This is your FOCUS.
In this very simple example you could literally just focus on 5 clients per week, 1 per day. For 10 weeks.
Now all you have to do is make this 1 client your main focus for each day.
It is the FIRST action you address. It is the MOST important action you address. If nothing else gets done, it is this action.
Action exercise.
Set yourself a goal to have a “must have” Top 20 or Top 50.
Make it your goal to know them inside out.
Make it your goal to “own” them.
Make it the single most important focus DAILY.
Read the list everyday.
Share the list with your team. Eat sleep and drink this list.
Focus on your actions daily.
If they are genuine “must have” clients your focus will yield truly remarkable results.
Focus really does deliver results. Trust your instinct.
