Category: business

Free flowing conversations to build trust and establish rapport

Sales scripts don’t work because they are too structured, and the customer does not feel listened to. It’s best to let a natural conversation flow while still getting the information you need from the customer, rather than sounding robotic and reading off a list of questions or looking at a scripted “conversation.”

You should have certain questions you want answered so you can determine how to best help the customer, if you’re a good fit for them (and if they’re a good fit for you), etc. But really, you should be listening and responding authentically to establish the best rapport with the customer.

The bare minimum

When working a W-2 job as an employee, don’t expect a raise just because you show up to work on time, you don’t take sick days, and you‘be been there for a long time. Showing up to work on time and not missing extra days is the bare minimum of what you should be doing. That’s part of the job! But just showing up doesn’t necessarily mean you’re providing value to your employer. You still have to perform, and that’s what your raise should be for (if you get one). It should be based on merit – how are you “deserving” of a raise? (By the way, I despise the word “deserve”…we are becoming very entitled and often feel we “deserve” things when we really are owed nothing.)

There are a lot of downsides with being an employee, one of which is that someone else gets to determine what you make (whether that’s hourly or salary). But that employer has taken the risk of being an entrepreneur. They are responsible for keeping the business afloat, for always striving to find more customers so that they can pay their employees. If you haven’t put in the legwork and only see the end result of what you think the employer is making, it can seem wrong with how much they’re making with how “little” work they’re currently doing. But that’s the wrong mindset to have. And if you want to do something about it, you have three options: negotiate for higher pay, find another job, or start your own business.

Run towards something

Don’t just run away from something. Make sure you are running towards something else. For example, if you are leaving your job, you might be justified in doing so because you don’t like that job or you feel like the energy in the building is toxic.

But that doesn’t mean that wherever you are going is going to be better. You need to have excitement for where you are going. What are you running towards? Don’t only run away from something, but make sure you are purposefully and intentionally picking something you think you’ll like.

Now is your chance to take a chance. If you’re already switching jobs, why not try to do something you really want to do. If you enjoy it (and it pays you well), where’s the harm in trying?

Thoughts on revenue versus profit

If you are building a business, or if you are self-employed, are you trying to grow to eventually become profitable? Instead of focusing on rapid growth and ever increasing revenue, why not focus on growing sustainably and profitably from day one?

The saying is “revenue is for vanity, but profit is for sanity.” Who cares if you had millions of dollars in revenue when your business is not profitable (or is barely profitable)? Why would you want to work so hard and not make any money? It might sound good when you tell others how much you sold, but it’s not the top number that matters. It’s not how much you make, but how much you keep. What is your net profit?

Keep your ego in check. Focus on being profitable, on doing things the right way, on helping as many people as possible, and forget about the vanity metrics. Over time, they will eventually come. But just like a lack of sales can kill your company, so can growing too fast. Grow sustainably and do it right from the beginning otherwise it is going to be much harder to try to put the systems in place after the fact.

Being busy is not a sign of achievement

The busier I am, the more I have failed. If I’m to busy or overworked, that means I don’t have systems or processes in place to ease the workload. Or I haven’t hired enough people (or the right people). Or, if I have the people on my team, I haven’t delegated enough.

Instead of doing everything yourself, ask who, not how. Figure out who can do this for me. If you want to become the best, you need to scale, or else you’ll reach your limitations so quickly that you’ll never become the best. Figure out who the best person is to hire for the job. Figure out how can I outsource this, not how can I do this.