Greg's Right FIT #407

Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week. 

In this issue: 

- Thoughts on Prospecting
- Being Human
- Random Stuff

Thoughts on Prospecting

• Pruning stimulates growth. This applies to prospect lists too. Removing prospects frees up to find more opportunities. Split the list in three. Top, middle, unknown. Prune the last group with gusto. 
• How many contacts are your people talking to in a prospective company? Most of our products impact multiple departments, good and bad. Just like a gardener rotates crops, don't overwork single contacts. Everyone your people touch is a marketing opportunity.
• The Cherokee called corn, bean, and tomato the "three sisters" because they help each other grow. Similarly, some partnerships and collaborations can help with finding new business. Keep an eye out for your companion plants.
• It's better to be there than to be good. Not all seeds will sprout, so encourage your people to not spend time guessing about prospects. Touch them all. (btw, this is the superpower of the new business development rep – even a blind squirrel finds a nut! Encourage activity.)

Being Human - I can see it

"You’ve got to visualize where you’re headed and be very clear about it." – Sara Blakely, Spanx Founder

How clear is the vision of where you want to go? 

I'm visiting with a small business owner, and she describes her business as a moonlighting gig that she'd like to work on full time someday. From the way she says "someday" I get the feeling it's not part of her spiel, just a thing she happened to tack on. 

". . .someday?" I ask. 

Yes, she says. Right now she puts in a lot of hours in her day job and when she gets home she works on the business. This is rough with small children, a spouse, and well, regular life stuff. 

I ask how big the business needs to be for her to work it full time, leaving her long days in the corporate world behind. At this she waves her hand as if to brush my question away and says, "it's a long way off." I don't have anywhere to be, so I press a little. How far off? What do you think needs to happen? What's working? What's not? 

"Ugh. You sound like my cousin," she said, almost under her breath. I don't know what to say. (is her cousin a good guy? handsome? rich? jerk?) As my mind drifts, she tells me everyone she knows gives her advice on how to build her business. It gets confusing. It gets stressful. And I'm stressing her out.

Her predicament isn't unique. Whether it's a startup or a 100-year-old business, without a clear idea of where we're going and what it will be like when we get there, all advice sounds like good advice. We need a way to navigate through the well-wishers and "one weird trick" suggestions to stay on track. 

A clear vision helps. It gives us a point of reference. We can nod politely, and thank them for their words. Later, we test the advice against our destination, our personnel, our funds, and our timeframe. Discard what doesn't fit and maybe try the rest.

It starts with a clear vision of where you're going.  

I'd love to tell her this, but I've worn out my welcome. We stand there, her being uncomfortable and me wondering about the buffet. She says, almost to herself but loud enough for me to hear, "I guess I wouldn't have to make the exact same as I make at my job now. I wouldn't have to commute. . .I wouldn't be eating out. . .huh. Yeah." She turns to face me, "Thanks for your help." 

Um, yes of course. My pleasure.

Random Stuff

"I feel that if Jacques Pepin shows you how to make an omelet, the matter is pretty much settled. That's God talking."
– Anthony Bourdain

On the first night we're in Paris, we eat at a quaint little restaurant near our hotel. Of all the things on the menu, my lovely bride orders an omelet. Looking around, she isn't the only one. I take note. 

During the early days of the pandemic, I try my hand at cooking some new dishes. Included is the French Omelet, taught to my by my YouTube friend, Jacques Pépin. He makes it look so easy. I work on getting the perfect level of gooeyness. I don't want it looking undercooked, so my bride thinks, "salmonella," and I don't want it turning it into a scramble. It's been hit or miss. 

Not long ago I start a TV series about a little cooking school in France. In an early episode the students make French Omelets. As the teacher is describing her technique I see one of my problems. Butter. I don't use nearly enough butter. Jacques tried telling me the same thing, but I wasn't listening. I get it now.

The only way to get good at something is to practice, right? This is what I do. I use more butter. I try a different pan. That one isn't helping, so I get another pan. I get another fork. I keep trying, man. I keep trying. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, right?

As of today, if you're over for breakfast, watching my every move, I will make a perfect omelet one out of three times. Considering I'll eat one of the non-perfect ones, you have a better than average chance of me putting a perfect omelet on your breakfast plate. It's almost muscle memory now.

And to my lovely bride, if she is reading, this is why we need to go to the store and get eggs, "again."