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Wisdom and Life Skills
:
The Rainmaker
By Gary Lockwood
Remember when scientists used to seed the clouds to try to make
it rain? They would fly over rain clouds and dump salt pellets
to try to force the rain from the clouds. I guess they figured
that they could just help Nature along a bit.
In my years of helping business owners and professionals
discover ways to grow their business, I've seen many who sat
around waiting for rain. They would wait by the phone, hoping a
prospective client would call or come to the business. Their
attitude seemed to be a combination of passive hope and
resignation. They hope someone will do business with them. They
hope that others will initiate contact with them. They seem
resigned to whatever business floated their way.
Others, including some of the most successful, took positive
action "to make it rain". These are the ones who made calls, ran
ads, got out of the office to make their own contacts. Through
their activity, these business professionals created
opportunities for new business.
A few years ago, my own business went through a slow period. As
the business slowed down, revenues decreased and demands on my
time decreased, too. For awhile, I enjoyed the slower pace. Then
I figured out that we were on a path to financial disaster. I
realized that something had to change drastically.
Verna, my wife and business partner, finally said, "Get on the
phone and stir up the cosmic dust"! So, I took her advice and
started making calls. I called everyone I knew. I called past
clients, old prospects, people from my old phone lists. I even
called people I knew in a previous company. Also, I got out of
the office and attended business mixers, seminars and other
events where business professionals (my target market) tended to
show up.
Sure enough, after I started all the activity, we began to
notice that the phone was ringing constantly. We were getting
calls from prospective clients wanting to know more about our
services. Even more interesting, many of the incoming calls were
from people we did not contact. It seemed like the very act of
outbound activity was causing inbound business.
Time and again over the years, I've seen this phenomenon.
Positive action, directed outward seems to stir up the cosmic
dust. It doesn't work if the actions are directed inward. No
matter how many times you count the inventory, rearrange the
furniture or have internal meetings, these inward-focused
actions won't cause clients to show up or prospects to call you.
So what does this mean for you? Consider a couple of things.
First, brainstorm the types of outward-focused activities that
are appropriate for your business. Would it be appropriate to
make calls (to whom?), go visit (where?), run ads (what type,
when?). Would it be reasonable to attend mixers, seminars, do
some direct mailings, conduct a telephone survey, or canvass the
neighborhood?
Next, pull out your calendar and start blocking off some time
for these tasks. Generally, this type of business-building
activity is best done in blocks of time, so pencil in blocks of
one to three hours for this.
Clearly, most of these actions require preparation. To make
sure you don't make a career of just the preparation, schedule
the set-up tasks on your to-do list for specific days. That way,
you're more likely to get them done.
Finally, just do it. You know in your heart that you enjoy the
results of this business-building action, especially when the
revenue starts to come in. The benefits to you and your
enterprise are legion. More clients, more revenue, better client
relationships and happier employees are just a few of the
advantages you'll realize when you take action to make it rain.
So, what are you waiting for? "Stir up the cosmic dust"!
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# 1999 BizSuccess All rights reserved. No duplication
About the Author...
Gary Lockwood is Your Business Coach.
Grow your business, make more money and have more fun.
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