From RealSource... Glenn's Blog

Here is Edward Bear coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way...if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it!
                               A. A. Milne
                               the opening paragraph of Winnie-the-Pooh

Ever feel like Edward Bear when you are at work?   Bump, bump, bump, bump on the back of the head.

Yet even with bumps all day long, many people still do things the way they've always done them.  It is human nature to resist change even though our lives are almost nothing but change.  Big changes, little changes.  Changes we don't see, changes we won't see, changes we refuse to see.

A key to success is to get past the bumps and understand "there is more than one way to come down the stairs."  Sure, each day we have all that "bumping" that makes it hard to think about new and better ways. 

But you know what?  Some of your competition will see new ways.  Some new ways may not be an improvement.  But some will be better.  A few, from those that block out the bumps the best, will be much better. 

Do you just bump along every day?  If so, why?  Do you know?   Most importantly... what are you going to do about it?

So I'm in my closet a few days ago looking for a shirt to wear and thinking, "Hmmm, that shirt looks worn and a bit faded. That's odd." 

But then I realize that the shirt is 5 years old.  I have other shirts even older. 

The "guy" in me says, "Hey, it still functions just fine. No holes (other than the original holes).  What's the problem?" 

But the businessman side points out that, right or wrong, "My attire is a reflection of our company, our services and our attention to detail."

That lead me to consider, "What other visible reflections of our business is a bit worn or faded?"

Turns out several things were no longer as crisp, clean and colorful as we would liked. 

So, we are refreshing websites to new, more modern looks, revamping  branding efforts, added branded shirts and mugs to a new online store and working behind the scenes on a revamp of all our service lines and processes. 

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, we tend to revisit the brand, look and appearance on an ongoing basis.  The shirt was just a good reminder. 

I will also point out that I know enough successful business people to know not to judge a book by its cover.  However, I don't know that all of our perspective clients follow that adage.  Candidly, it is human nature to create first impressions that stick, whether they are right or wrong. 

Business has enough challenges without placing embracing avoidable challenges.  And like our clothes, our businesses need periodic maintenance, spring cleaning, updating and mending.

So, how about your shirts?  Or the face of your business? 

Fresh or faded?

Are you one of those cheerful people that when asked, "Who is your customer?" you answer, "Everyone!"

Really.

So a small boy in China, Donald Trump and the Pope are all people you include in your target market of viable and potential customers?

Okay, that was a bit silly.  But what about the neighbor that is filing bankruptcy, the poor college student that mows your yard for gas money, and that sweet retiree that has no plans to ever buy or sell again?

When I ask someone who their customer is (well, actually I ask who is their "ideal customer") it is so I can better understand the market they are focused on and the clients that are best for that market.  I might know or run across someone that could be a good referral.  But I need to understand who it is we are looking for here.

To me, the answer of "everyone" means "I have no idea but would be glad to help anyone that will pay me or finds me by accident."  

These are not the people I want to refer business too.  They apparently don't have a specific plan for their own business and it is unlikely they have a decent plan to help their clients either.

Now all of this does not mean you should ignore the people listed above.  You can build a relationship as appropriate and one day they may become part of your target market.  Or they may be able to speak highly of you to someone you don't know that is in your target market.  So you want to be a person of value and integrity to all.  Remember, there is a difference between someone in your target market and someone that knows someone in your target market. 

And I am not suggesting that you not do business with anyone outside your target market.  I am only suggesting that you focus your marketing efforts in the area of likely greatest return.

To me, the phrase "TARGET MARKET" means a clear, defined list.  Knowing who your target market is (and is NOT) helps you avoid wasting your time and money.  It also helps you avoid wasting the time of other people too!

Now... if we could just get the Pope on our list of references...

Do you distance yourself from your failures as fast as possible?  Work to forget about the deal that fell through?  Avoid discussing mistakes you made that cost you business?

Most people flee (or start the finger pointing at everyone but themselves).

If that is not you, then you know the type.  Unfortunately, when that happens, the opportunity to learn is missed.  We've all heard that experience is one of the greatest teachers.  What should be added to that is, "... if you understand and use what has happened."

Side note: I've also heard, "Experience is how you recognize a mistake when you repeat it!" 

Ego and self-esteem issues are what prevent most people from taking a failure, looking at it from different perspectives, considering the other options available at the time and understanding what role they played in the process.   Those that learn to learn from the deals that do not go well put themselves ahead of the pack.

Here are some great things to consider next time you have a deal or sales call or showing that have the desired results:

* What did everyone else see/hear?  Was it different that what I saw/heard?

* Was I interesting to anyone besides myself?   Why?  How coud you tell?  Are you sure?

* Was the deal setup to fail from the beginning?  (If so, why are you still playing along?)

* In retrospect, what did I miss?

* In retrospect, what did I misunderstand?

* Did I waste everyone's time, including my own?

* Was I properly prepared?  Really?

* Did I listen enough?  Did I listen more than I talked?

* Did I really understand what was the customer or other party's pain (price, location, effort, family, color, service, something else?)

* Did I project my feelings instead of honestly understanding the feelings of the others? 

* What will I do different next time based on this experience?

I am sure you have more great questions for yourself, so just consider this a suggestion list. 

I'm not perfect at this but look at deals that did not go as we would have liked (or simply could have been even better) and think about what can be learned. 

As an example, years ago we proposed a very large project to a client 200 miles away.  We did not get the project.  Years later when the project was clearly not finished, overdue and over budget, I called the CEO and asked if I could buy him lunch.  He said sure.  I got up, drove 4 hours, had a great lunch, drove back 4 hours... just to see if we had missed something. 

The CEO was very candid with both our proposal and how his project had gone (including the problems).  He was clear that because at the time he was new with the company and the other company had a small successful prior project, the deck was stacked too much against us to have won the project... AT THAT TIME.   Even with that, I did find things in our self-review I believe will help us next time in our approach and our early project discussions. 

So, what do you do with the failures?

"How can I be lost if I've got nowhere to go?"  This is an interesting lyric from a song I like. 

Probably revealing about how my brain works, I thought this was a great question about people in business with no business plan, no strategic plan, and no clearly defined goals.

When I listen to this lyric, I can imagine many business people that honestly do not think they are lost.  They think ALL of their problems are external to them.  The economy, the local market, the competition, the customers, the banks, and even colleagues.

Yet, even if all of these factors are current influences on your success, smart business people are still making clear plans and many are still making money.  Really. 

While I risk overgeneralizing, I feel that businesswomen and businessmen fall into one of three categories.

1) People with a discreet plan they are following.  They may not like where they are but they do know where, along the timeline, they are now.  Definitely not lost.

2) People with a plan that is either too vague to mean much or specific but ignored.  These people are lost because they know where they want to go but have no idea where they are now.

3) People with no clear plan.  They are not lost.  They know where they are and "got nowhere to go."  And tomorrow they will be in the same place.  Again.  And most don't like it and voice their complaints for all the hear.

Are you lost?  If not, is it because you know where you are going or have chosen to not go anywhere?

P.S. Any guesses (or research) on the name of the song and musical artist?  I bet you'll be surprised.