Time for a shift in your business? There was a period of time when getting print and promotional product clients was a lot easier.
People loved and appreciated your work. They answered and returned your phone calls. They placed orders proactively. Sometimes they even referred enough new clients that your customer base practically grew all by itself. Sounds like a fantasy! But does that still happen?
It can. But nowadays? Not so much…
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Today, too many people in our industry are fighting against reality. They’re pounding away on activities that used to work, but don’t work anymore. Instead of changing their actions, they blame the prospects, or the marketing method, or the economy, or the tariffs.
You’ll see them complaining in industry groups, saying things like “People aren’t answering their phones.” “Social media’s a waste of time.” “No one’s returning phone calls.” “Networking events are worthless.” “This economy stinks!”
And while people may be experiencing those things, the people who are making money in our industry right now are not doing any of that. They know that all the whining, blame-shifting and scape-goating is not going to fix problems that are partially caused, at least, by taking wrong or ineffective actions that no longer work.
So instead, they’re adapting their approach, refocusing their efforts, eliminating ineffective tactics, and engaging in the tested, proven, strategic methods that work right now.
You know, the gap between where you are right now and where you want to be is not going to magically fill itself. And you can’t count on the actions that used to fill those gaps to continue to do so in the future. Because they won’t. They can’t. It is literally impossible.
Of course, very few motivated people will sit around willingly and do nothing, as the things that used to work for them continue to lose their effectiveness. But very often, they just double down and try to do more of it with brute force effort. Putting in more time, more energy, making more calls, and overcoming more objections, while continuing to fall behind.
It’s exhausting to watch, and it’s even more exhausting if you have to do it!
So why doesn’t that work?
Because taking ineffective actions more aggressively does not create the results you want.
Yes, in business, particularly when you’re facing challenges, speed of implementation is critical. But that only works when you’re taking the right actions in the right order.
Doing the wrong things faster won’t get you to your goal. It’s like speeding off in a racecar that’s going in the wrong direction.
So while TYPICAL businesses try to fix the problem by running faster, working longer, pushing harder, and sacrificing more — to try to make the hamster wheel turn faster, and faster, and faster, while still getting them nowhere — smart, focused business owners are changing their approach to suit the times.
You probably already know that if your business is struggling, and you don’t change your approach, your results cannot possibly change. It’s like Einstein’s definition of insanity, doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result. And since so much has changed in such a short period of time, you can’t even expect the things that DID work well — even a few months ago — to work well now.
So what do you do?
Well, it’s likely that if you knew what changes to make — if you knew exactly what to do, and exactly how to fix it — you would have done it by now, right? Because, who wouldn’t?
What I’m talking about today is not for the majority of typical business owners who are just going to sit it out, wait it out, or worse yet, whine it out on social media.
It’s also not for average performers who take average actions to create average results. That’s going to happen by default. When things get tough, average sales inevitably decline.
Those of us who have been through these cycles before? We know the drill. You can read all about it in the industry publications when it’s in danger of happening, when it starts to happen, as it’s happening, and after it happened. Then, at that point, the articles will turn to discussions about the recovery. “Here’s what average distributors are doing right now to get back to their average results!”
But what if you could build it out, max it out, and scale it out now, instead of having to ride it out to the bottom, just so you can slug it out to get back to where you were before?
If you’ve been in the industry for a while, it’s very likely that your work has gotten better. Your expertise has increased. You have clients who love you, because the results you create are exceptional. If that’s the case, then why settle for lower sales, fewer clients, and “riding it out” when you don’t have to?
Right now, I’m working with a small group of industry professionals who are dedicated to growing, building, and scaling their businesses NOW, so they’ll be light-years ahead of the typical, average businesses who are content to struggle and lose business while they “wait and see.”
So if you’re ready to make the shift, to get more of your ideal clients faster and easier right now, go to TopSecrets.com/shift and download a copy of my free pdf that explains how we can help you. That’s TopSecrets.com/shift.
Isn’t it Time for a Shift in Your Business?
If so, check out the five primary ways we help promotional product distributors grow:
- Just Getting Started? If you (or someone on your team) is just getting started in promotional products sales, learn how we can help.
- Need Clients Now? If you’re already grounded in the essentials of promotional product sales and just need to get clients now, click here.
- Want EQP/Preferential Pricing? Are you an established industry veteran doing a significant volume of sales? If so, click here to get End Quantity Pricing from many of the top supplier lines in the promo industry.
- Time to Hire Salespeople? If you want to hire others to grow your promo sales, click here.
- Ready to Dominate Your Market? If you’re serious about creating top-of-mind-awareness with the very best prospects in your market, schedule a one-on-one Strategy Session here.