55 – February 24
“God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into the nest.”—Josiah Gilbert Holland
Julie, a sensational public speaker, hated making her sales calls. She loved speaking and was really good at it. She had valuable lessons to share and wonderful experiences to recount; people loved listening to her and learning from her. But “sending out ships” was hard: Pick up the phone, call strangers who may or may not want to talk to her, get rejected, rebuffed, put off, disconnected…oh, this was not fun at all.
She knew this was a necessity in her business, however. And it’s a necessity in every business! Until you become known, with so many repeat and referral clients, you have to be out there talking to people. The more you talk to people, the more you become known. You can’t wait for people to discover you and call you—it could be a long wait, and how will you eat and pay your bills in the meantime? Not making phone calls is like standing in the shadows at a party—you know you’re there, but no one else does. You have to pick up the golden phone and smile and dial.
She made one hundred phone calls over the next two days. And the hundredth call resulted in a speaking engagement for four thousand dollars! That’s her motivation for the next one hundred calls.
Am I hearing “Yeah, buts” from you now? Are you wondering how this story applies to you if you aren’t in your own business or in sales? Well, how about making one hundred calls to help your boss or your company improve their profitability and see what happens? Or one hundred calls to get a better job? Or one hundred calls to raise funds for your favorite charity?
What could happen for you in one hundred calls?
Today’s Affirmation:
“I receive tremendous rewards every time I dial the phone!”
If there’s a problem in a business, the problem is usually in the shipping.
Not postal service shipping, but “Sending Out Ships” – sales calls, marketing, advertising, etc. People need you! You’ve got to put your hand up, put a sign out, and let people know who you are, what you do, and where you are.
Here are some samples of ships you can send out:
Ads online
Ads in newspapers & magazines
Ads on television
Listings in membership directories
Networking (you’re the ad)
Give speeches
Facebook (and don’t just send pitches, be a real friend and contribute to conversations)
Newsletters
Blogs
White papers
Press releases
Joint ventures
Affiliates
Conferences
Web site
Membership site
Squeeze page or sales page
Shopping cart
Books and ebooks (The Wealthy Spirit was the best brochure for my workshop I ever did)
Book signings
Free teleclasses
Free consultations
Free samples
Advertising specialties (pens, t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.)
Videos on Youtube
Flyers
Postcards
WOM (word of mouth)
What else do you do? What works best for you in your business? How do you know what’s working? Are you keeping track of what pays off best?
