by Jared Goralnick
When I started SET, everyone was a prospect and most people were intimidating. But to truly succeed, you have to accept that few are good prospects and you can’t allow good prospects to intimidate. That’s okay, the way you perceive yourself and money change a LOT after being in business for a few years. Taking that to heart is what will help you to convert good prospects into great business.
When I got started at my business, I’d never sat at a bar, let alone “networked.” All these suits seemed to know what they were talking about–they were leagues above me. Over the next few years two things changed–I developed a formidable business and gained the confidence to see myself as an equal. Truthfully though, one really only needs the latter. Confidence and being personable are more important than “actual success” when you’re clinking beers. And I’m not trying to be sly, it’s just that there isn’t and never can be a real measure for success–while being a politician or exec at Verizon may place you in control of money and influence, they’re positions to which I neither envy nor aspire. Success is what you want to make of it.
Which brings me to the second part: money. I came to business soon after college, at a time when I respected money in a very different way than most businesspeople: everything was too expensive for me and the value of the dollar was quite high. However, I learned quickly that $50/hour was not exorbitant when you were only billing two hours per week. I remember the first time I had a “4-digit project”–who would’ve thought I’d be fighting for 6-digit projects just a few years later?
Which brings me to the point of this article: there’s nothing to stop you from winning a dream project. After all, they’re not that different (or dreamy)–they just involve more money. If you take your confidence to your table and mix it with a little skill & credibility, you can meet the big whigs and fight for the sexy client. (And if you’re looking for motivation, think about how much energy it takes to keep a $500 vs $5,000 client happy–it’s pretty much the same, right? That’s my point.)
I’ve been lucky enough to have more than 90% of our business come from referrals/relationships. The other 10% is the luck of someone finding us online (we don’t advertise). But I’ve never really cold-called. I think I want to start. It may not be completely cold by the time I get in touch, but the idea is the same–reaching out to someone that I essentially don’t know. There’s just one twist–if I’m going to do it, it’ll be for the dream prospects. Not the okay prospects I meet at networking functions or the good prospects that are referred to me…but the GREAT ones that I’d love to land. Otherwise it’s just leaving success up to chance, which usually results in lots of small projects.
So the next time you aim, especially if it’s pure risk (i.e., a cold contact), why not aim high?
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