Small Business, Big Lessons® — No Pressure, No Diamonds

One of the best sales leaders that I learned a great deal from often used the quote from Thomas Carlyle: “No pressure, no diamonds.”

It felt like I was hearing this, and seeing it, daily — our Zoom backgrounds with an image of a lump of coal turning into a shiny diamond! I thought I was good, but he made me stronger and challenged me along the way! I’ve also heard BHAG. A phrase used by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their book “Built to Last.” Both terms set the idea in motion that without struggles and large goals, you’ll not make progress. While this can be applied to daily life, let’s relate this to sales.

How many times have you set a goal or been given a goal that you feel is impossible? How do you react to it? Do you give up and believe the bar is set too high? Do you toss in the towel, withdraw like a turtle into its shell — or rise to the occasion? I’ve had many instances where it felt nearly impossible. I’ve had many such challenges including in my own business. As an area developer we needed to grow from 3 to 12 locations in a very aggressive timeframe or get zero ongoing royalties while incurring significant out of pocket expenses. How about growing sales 500% year over year or you don’t have a job. Anyone ever build a new team from scratch, with little documented training, and have a double annual growth rate vs established teams. Perhaps taking leadership responsibility for a team that never made their numbers and were at the bottom of the stack rank.

I’ve succeeded in all of the above and more. This is how I stayed focused to get the results:

1)    Positivity and planning – I try my best to never complain or if I do – vent for a few minutes and then get back to the task at hand. Too many times people spend time on a goal not being fair and in general just whining. No matter the role, business owner, leader, or individual contributor, I start by focusing on what is in my control and planning for success. Without a plan, positivity is just a dream. What is it that needs to be done in small steps daily, weekly, monthly that will lead to the desired outcome. If I am not good at it and it is “required” for success, I either learn it or see if someone can help me. The key is taking ownership and responsibility and do the best with ones skills. Find others that can collaborate and exchange ideas and share best practices to help close your gap and assist them with your expertise. Push to make yourself and everyone around you  better. Tips from a previous post on Sales Funnel.

2)    Say/Do ratio and measurements – Do you deliver on what you commit to? Have you established a brand that will deliver what you commit to or is there always an excuse? As a refresher, here are my “Rule of Thumb Metrics”. Are you using tools for measuring and understanding your numbers. How many touches do you need to make to convert a lead into an opportunity, what is your win rate? If you know those and measure those on a regular basis to improve your odds of success. You will know well in advance if you are on track or if you need to change anything.

3)    Luck – A little luck never hurts. That can range from a competitor taking pricing actions that customers do not like to you happening to be in the right place, right time. Perhaps you can fulfill an urgent need others can’t. As I’ve always been told “luck is not a strategy” but it doesn’t hurt once in while! It also helps to build positive relations and have a strong network. Don’t just reach out during difficult times. There is a quote from Zig Zilar, sales guru, that I often think about “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Think through

Without stretch goals, it is easy to get complacent. Complacency is the death of any business. No matter if you are an entrepreneur, leader in a business, or individual contributor, set the bar high. Surround yourself with good ethical people, ensure you have good measurements in place and always be learning. Do not take a setback personally. It was just an event that didn’t go well. Stay focused on the prize and you’ll get there. Keep negativity to a minimum and find creative ways to win.

Has anyone else had incredible goals you felt impossible and yet overachieved? Feel free to post comments or email them to me. Small Business, Big Lessons® — No pressure, no diamonds!