Symptoms:
Cody knew that the firm he represented was considered best in class by the other major players in the market. As far as technical competency, customer service and the ability to deliver more than clients expected, Cody's firm always scored extremely high. With that ace to play whenever he needed to, he was sure that his new position as a Business Development Specialist would soon prove to be the road to riches. After his first 90 days Cody and his manager met to review his progress, and the picture was not pretty. Feeling the pressure to turn his fortune around quickly, he only felt more confused since so many of the people he had met with had openly said they were "interested" in his offerings. Why wasn't it working when all the stars seemed aligned?
Diagnosis:
Cody had fallen quickly into the trap that derails many business development efforts; believing that everyone that showed "interest" was actually a real prospect. The system and disciplines that should have allowed Cody to truly qualify, or more accurately disqualify, an opportunity.
The best-in-class deliverables that everyone said they were looking for lost value when actual budgets, preexisting relationships, willingness to commit adequate resources and unrealistic time frames came out of the shadows. Excitement and reality aren't often compatible, and Cody was finding that out the hard way.
Prescription:
Fortunately, Cody learned quickly to stop believing that interest is a qualifier. Putting together proposals is too expensive an exercise to be wasted on suspects that don't truly qualify for your work. You will rarely lose an opportunity because you are too qualified, but you rarely win when a suspect wants you to sell your services for low ball budgets or require you to deliver 10 weeks of work in eight, plus start in less than 24 hours. The reasons why you might not do business are often more important than all the reasons that make an opportunity appear like a no-brainer.
Cody figured out that controlling his emotional need to be the automatic winner would give him the freedom to ask the tough questions that would allow a suspect to turn themselves into a real prospect. Commit to dealing with the "why not" issues before all the excitement of the "no brainers" sends you on an expensive, wild goose chase.
Critical Thinking:
Just because you believe "it", doesn't mean they will too.
Final Thoughts for the Morning:
“Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.” — Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter.
Your Top 3 Goals & Tactics for the Week
LAST WEEK: Update us on how things went last week with your stated Goals and GD Tactics.
THIS WEEK: What are your three most important goals for this week?
