[Updated: Aug 2022]
In my previous post, I wrote about how to take the entirety of December off without feeling guilty (and having a battle plan for January) by starting to plan for it in the late summer. The whole point of this idea was to amplify the importance of understanding what your top three must-accomplish projects for your business are.
Now in early September, we only have 10 solid weeks left of the year, not including the time after Thanksgiving week. That’s right, just 10 weeks!
I was startled by this cold fact, when I was staring at the calendar a couple of weeks ago, mapping out a few projects I wanted to get done during the remainder of the year. Technically, we have 4 full months left before this year ends.
“4 months” sounds like we have plenty of time left to finish this year strong, right? Well, don’t fall for that trap!
The reality is, you and I both know that no big decisions are made (especially purchase decisions, unless they have excess that they can’t carry over to the following year) and no new projects are commenced during the month of December.
This leaves us with 3 months. But if you’re in the U.S., you might as well forget about the last two weeks in November, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. You might have noticed that things get really quiet after the Thanksgiving weekend.
Although I was aware that Q4 flies by very quickly, somehow realizing that there are only 10 solid weeks left made me feel a bit panicky for a hot second.
Every time I face a situation that overwhelms me or makes me feel anxious, I quickly look for something positive about the situation. So, I immediately thought, “Wait, I can get a lot done in 10 weeks. It won’t be that bad if I plan it out right now.”
This is how I ended up writing about the concept of taking the entirety of December off, and how to do it right.
Well, I decided to take it even further by asking myself the following question:
“What if I pick just 1 deliverable to work on over the next 10 weeks, hold space for those who are interested in participating, and cross the finish line together? What would that be?”
It had to be something that entrepreneurs and small business owners care about the most, and I knew just the thing.
Getting More Qualified Leads & Prospects and Finding Ways to Establish a Solid MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) Ranks #1 on the Priority List for Many.
In other words, generating more revenue opportunities is on the top of service providers’ minds at all times. At least, that is what I hear from 8 out of 10 business owners I encounter, on average.
If you’ve been reading up on my blog posts, you know very well that I advocate for building robust back-end office functionality, which consists of streamlined logistics, a clean financial management system, and a reliable team you can depend on.
Yet, time and time again, when I ask business owners what their main concern is, they respond by saying they want to increase revenue.
I finally came to the realization that increasing revenue is the mental hump most business owners need to get over first before they can think about beefing up the organizational structure so that their businesses can handle incoming business opportunities in a sustainable manner.
This is totally understandable.
Often what stands in the way of simply doing the work to increase revenue is reconciling the love/hate relationship you might have with sales-related activities. You would absolutely love to have the “good problem” of having endless business opportunities. But you hate the idea of having to put yourself out there to acquire those opportunities.
Maybe you feel you are too introverted to do any of it without feeling drained.
Maybe you can’t stomach the idea of publicly failing with your attempt to sell.
Maybe you are afraid of being perceived as an overly assertive or distasteful person when you talk about your business.
Once you join this challenge, though, you will realize that any of these statements are just “made-up stories.” Your brain comes up with these false beliefs to keep you in your comfort zone.
But rest assured, I will provide all the resources for both the strategy and the useful mindset work so that you won’t get in your own way.
I will break the topic of resisting or disliking sales down later in this post, so read on!
By the way, in case you happen to find this post at any other time (not in early September), don’t worry. This is the kind of challenge you can take on whenever you feel you are called to do so. Just reach out to me and I can guide you through the process.
Why Not Focus More on Content Marketing? Why Not Spend More on Facebook Ads?
You certainly can. But remember, this is about generating leads quickly. Let me share the key reasons as to why sales & business development is an ideal business activity to focus on when you set a time limit, in this case, 10 weeks.
Sales & Business Development activities will:
1. Provide first-hand insight on what your prospects are thinking about right now.
2. Allow you to sharpen your skills in spotting opportunities you would not have considered before.
3. Give you a chance to overcome the fear of selling.
4. Force you to rethink both your message and offerings.
5. Shed some light on things you can improve in order to serve your customers better.
Not to mention the sales skills you will acquire can save your business from getting into the classic “feast or famine” issue as well as any unforeseeable “black swan” events i.e. sudden loss of clients down the road.
On the flip side, content marketing is a long game.
It is only effective if it’s done consistently over a long duration of time. This is the reason it’s not an ideal project for you to focus on for just 10 weeks. But I’m not suggesting that you don’t do content marketing or stop doing it.
It’s actually the opposite.
I do want you to approach content marketing as a way to provide values to nurture your audience over time. Also, consider your content as something you can always share with your leads to build solid relationships.
As for Facebook ads, this is a totally different beast to tackle. I know this because I have been at it for some time. If you are interested in getting your feet wet with FB ads or any other paid ads, check & see if you can say yes to these 3 statements:
● You are ready to accept that your first (or second or even third) attempt may not turn out to be anything close to what you expected.
● You will consider “wasted ad spends” as tuition to learn more about how it works.
● You are committed to experimenting with it by continuously reworking your messaging & copy.
To get better at paid ads, expect that you will have to make a fair amount of investment in this effort. It doesn’t matter whether you hire an agency or a strategist or DIY it, you will end up spending quite a bit of time & money.
Even then, if you are hoping that paid ads will fix your sales problem, you are in for a huge disappointment.
So, if you don’t think your business is ready for it, then you are probably right, and it’s wise to set that aside for the future. You can always go back to making paid ads your priority once you make enough money to consider this an investment rather than an expense.
“I Hate Selling.” Do You Really? Or Is There Something Else That’s Triggering You?
I hear this all the time. This is such a short statement but it packs so many layers of negative thoughts & doubts behind it. This is incredibly fascinating to me.
The deeper I dig with my questions to business owners, the more definitive patterns emerge, and some of them I can totally relate to.
“I don’t want to sound like a used car salesman.”
(Translation: I do not want to be perceived as a person who is only motivated by satisfying his/her needs by pushing something that they don’t want and getting rejected.)
“I feel like I need a shower after trying to sell.”
(Translation: It is so uncomfortable, awkward & stressful to switch gears to be someone else to sell my offers, and I am not proud of who I force myself to be.)
“It’s a waste of time to put so much energy into finding new leads and coming back completely empty-handed. I don’t want to do that ever again.”
(Translation: I finally worked up enough courage to overcome my fear of selling, yet I generated no results from my effort, and I am ashamed & embarrassed. I just want to hide under the covers and watch Netflix instead.)
“I ended up attracting all the wrong prospects. I just don’t have it in me.”
(Translation: Due to a lack of confidence, I ended up promising things I can’t (or should not) take on just to get them to say “yes” because I want to avoid hearing, “no.” As a result, I get them in the door, but things fall apart badly because they are not the right fit for my business.)
How many of these statements are true for you and the situation you are dealing with in your business?
Let’s just say you have identified yourself with 1 or 2 statements. This only means you don’t like the idea or the image you have about sales. That’s all there is to it.
So, what if you can reframe your beliefs about sales & have fun with the process? This will resolve the love/hate relationship I mentioned earlier in this post.
You Don’t Have to Be Someone Else in Order to Sell. You Do You. Yes, Really.
Somehow, we all collectively decided that selling is a bad thing, or sales is done in a way that we don’t agree with.
This belief creates a gap between us being ourselves, and someone we feel we have to be, who we don’t like.
This is the disconnect which causes us to go about sales in the most unnatural manner. Because it is so unnatural, it shows. And because it shows, it generates very little results.
It’s a vicious cycle.
Now the next question is, “Where did this belief come from and how did it get engraved in our brains?”
The stereotypical image of a salesperson most likely comes from our bad experiences in the past dealing with salespeople who are not top producers. The sad truth is that the majority of so-called account executives and salespeople are inexperienced and unfit to be in sales.
I, for one, have countless examples of bad encounters with salespeople that I can talk about all day long. I bet you can recall a few experiences, too, especially over on LinkedIn, right?
After being aggressively sold something that I don’t give flying rats about, my impression of sales was always, “Ugh, I don’t ever want to be one of those people.” You know, those who come across as someone with “no substance” and solely motivated to “meet their quota.”
I’m sure you agree that when all we are shown are bad examples, our understanding of sales can become terribly skewed. That’s not all. The sad truth is anything we learn from our bad experiences is super difficult to “unlearn.”
To make matters worse, sales can be particularly hard for creative entrepreneurs, who take pride in their creative work. If you are one of them, you might feel that your work should speak for itself, with no additional explanation necessary.
But my guess is you know in your gut that this simply is not enough to maintain sustainability in your business without killing yourself. At least, not in the growth stage of your business where your business’ well-being depends on your pipeline being consistently filled at any given time.
The good news is that there are plenty of free resources out there that outline “how it’s done the right way” by top-producing salespeople. What their blogs, podcasts, and free downloadable swipe files will tell you is, “You don’t even notice you are being sold to, when you talk to top producers.”
Wait, there’s more.
You may have noticed this, but people are fed up with being forced to witness “conventional” sales & persuasion tactics. They can smell them from a mile away. And, once they do, their immediate reaction will be to run away as far as they can.
But why is this good news?
This trend where people are becoming savvier with spotting bad actors in sales gives you the opportunity to be your authentic self. That is the good news!
You don’t need to be a salesperson to do “feel good” sales.
You can be as creative as you want with your own strategies.
You get to showcase your genuine enthusiasm for what you believe to be helpful for your leads.
Isn’t this fantastic or what?!
Well, the bad news is that you want those tips fast, in a system that you can easily follow to get started right away.
Right?
What if there is a sales system that allows you to be yourself so that you don’t have to wrestle with the love/hate relationship, makes you excited about doing sales work, and gives you the results you want?
I’m glad you asked!
Let’s Make Sales THE Priority for the Next 10 Weeks & Let’s Do it Together!
This is how I came up with the idea of throwing a sales challenge that’s fun, systematic & repeatable. I’m having so much fun creating this opportunity for us that I even came up with a nickname for this challenge. It’s the 1010 (ten ten) challenge!
There’s 1 caveat I do need to address for the sake of transparency. Wait, I actually have 2 caveats, and here they are:
1. Even though none of the action items for this challenge will force you to become someone other than yourself, you WILL still feel resistance or apprehensiveness when you see them at times. That’s normal. Your brain is trying to keep you at the status quo so that you’ll be safe (but never progress.)
Solution? You’ll have to do it scared. Drop all your resistance, your excuses (that the challenges are all stupid), and your ego. That’s the only way to overcome misguided beliefs about sales. One saving grace is that we are in this together.
2. To participate in this challenge, you are going to have to shell out $50 for the entire 10 weeks ($5 per week.) There’s a symbolic meaning behind this. $5 is the average price of a fancy cup of coffee. (Sadly, this is no longer true in a place like NYC. It’s now $7. I don’t even want to think about how much it costs in London or Zurich.)
Anyway, I want you to consciously give up one cup of fancy, rewarding coffee per week to commit to this challenge so that you are constantly reminded of why you decided to make this commitment. It’s time to put some skin in the game.
Before you say, “This isn’t for me,” let’s give this a thought.
What does acquiring 10 new leads mean to you?
Let’s quantify what it means. If you are offering your service for, say $300, it means an additional $3,000 you could possibly gain from this challenge. If your offer averages about $2,000 per order, then you are talking about an additional $20K that your business would not otherwise generate.
You get the idea. This is a big deal.
Running a business is all about leaning hard on possibilities that we may not feel or see right now. My intention for this challenge is to provide an opportunity for you to experience that what you conceive in your mind can turn into reality.
Even if you don’t get to see the results immediately in dollars, you are setting yourself up for a great start in the coming new year, where you get to feel confident knowing you’ve been super productive during the previous 4th QTR.
Imagine confidently knowing what you’ve achieved during this challenge, and come December, you get to immerse yourself in the season of celebrations without feeling guilty!
How about putting a price tag on that feeling? I bet it’s “priceless.”
The next round starts on 09/12/2022. Save your spot today!
You Don’t Need an Email List. You Don’t Have to Have a Ton of Followers on Social Media. You Are Qualified for this Challenge.
In case you are wondering whether you qualify to get the max out of this challenge, wonder no more.
Granted, this system I am going to introduce to you will take some leg work, but I trust you aren’t afraid of work that’s meaningful & respectful of your time, energy & money. Am I right?
The reason you don’t need to have these things in order for you to be successful with this challenge is this.
What we are about to embark on is going back to the basics.
Because the foundation of the 10 Leads in 10 Weeks challenge is so basic, you don’t need any of the things you think you need to get high-quality leads i.e. an email list, a ton of followers on social media, a super sleek website, a perfect sales funnel, etc.
Again, in case I haven’t emphasized this enough, you don’t need any of these.
If done right, you are going to have these things as byproducts of taking up the 1010 challenge. When the challenge ends, you will be able to keep growing them to fortify your own sales process.
I mean…, if this is not a win-win for you, I don’t know what is.
But since I’m all about overdelivering, I have various prizes for you for taking on this challenge & being one of the highest producers. To find out more, be sure to read this post to the end!
How Does the 10 Leads in 10 Weeks Challenge Work?
What I love about the 1010 method is its simplicity. But keep in mind, simple does not mean easy.
Nonetheless, mastering a simple method that’s repeatable is a beauty on its own. It prevents you from getting side-tracked a.k.a. shiny object syndrome. Also, it’s simple enough that you get to bring it back anytime you feel the need to do so without refreshing your memory any other time of the year.
You will find out all about what that looks like once you sign up.
In the meantime, here is what you can expect to see.
There will be:
✔ 1 clear objective per week that you will receive via email at the beginning of each week.
✔ 1 live Q&A session per week to answer any questions you have. (You can submit your questions in advance & watch the replay if you can’t make it to the live sessions.)
✔ Resources you can tap into that contain written, audio & video materials that are useful for maintaining a healthy sales mindset.
✔ A dedicated community page where you receive continuous support while you get to help others. You can also share your results with others.
Everything I listed above will be found on 1 portal that you will gain access to. Again, simplicity is key to attaining a new habit. So, I am mindful of keeping everything simple for you to navigate while you move through this challenge.
The next round starts on 09/12/2022. Save your spot today!
But I’m Busy Serving My Clients & I Don’t Know If I Have Time for This.
I hear you. How can you set aside some time for doing this challenge when you are battling with multiple deadlines & deliverables for your clients? This sounds like a logical concern, right?
Here’s the thing.
This is your resistance and fear talking. It sounds so logical that you almost think it’s a legit concern to take seriously. But the reality is, this is a clever way your brain chooses to think in order to avoid doing this work that is filled with uncertainty.
Once all the deliverables are delivered & all the deadlines are met, then what? Then you finally have the time to do business development & sales work? Does this remind you of something?
It sure reminds me of the “feast & famine” cycle that no one likes to go through (including myself.)
When I experienced my own objection of, “I don’t have time for this right now!”, I learned something about myself.
Every time I face an important business task that’s filled with unknown variables, I have the tendency to make it a huge deal, as if it would take a big chunk out of my day if I were to tackle it, to justify why I wouldn’t be able to take it on.
Quickly, I realized I was making it all up for the sake of resisting the idea itself because it was just “another thing” I had to deal with that was going to eat up all my time.
This prompted me to find a solution to overcome my resistance to doing the work.
What I came up with was quite simple: Make it a series of bite-sized tasks & celebrate like it’s my birthday when I’m done with one.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the compounding effect. The 1010 method allows you to leverage this concept where small incremental efforts reward you exponentially. So, none of us can use the excuse, “I just don’t have time for this right now.”
Also, taking the time to recognize small wins is nothing to scoff at. It’s because this act encourages us to do more of it.
To take it 1 step further, this is why I wanted to present the 1010 method in the form of a challenge so that we get to celebrate our wins together simply because the more, the merrier when it comes to celebration. I’m sure you agree.
Can’t Wait to Dive Right In? Great! Let’s Do This!
If you like what I presented to you in this post, head over to the signup page right now! Let’s get this party started!
I will see you on the other side!
Hey, I’m Maiko! I’m the host & facilitator of this challenge. I can’t wait to do this challenge with you!