So I was unable to post my blog yesterday due to all the crazy good stuff that is going on with my business. Not a bad problem to have but I did hate that I missed blogging yesterday. Going through this journey again has really focused my “chi” for success and allowed me to expand my business by just doing the things that I am discussing in this 30 day journey (revisited) on a daily basis.
Hope you are seeing the same success. Enjoy Day 25 and yes we are close to the finish line,. But remember that is where the real work starts!
Les Adkins is the CEO of Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Business Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn Join us on FB and Google+ as well.
(Original Post -Posted on November 7, 2011)
So I hope everyone had a great weekend! Now getting back to our 30 day journey. If you started your daily journey when I did (October 1, 2011) you have completed your journey and have a focused outlook and more definition around:
Living Life Outside the Comfort Zone
But if you just joined us or started your journey somewhere in the middle you are still on 
your journey and following these Monday through Friday daily blogs.
So it is now Day 25, What did I do Wrong? As an international sales trainer and speaker I focus on several things when speaking to audiences. But when discussing Sales I focus on two big things when you are in a meeting with a prospect.
#1. Executives and business people are too busy to meet with you just for the heck of it. So if you set a meeting there is something your company offers that they are interested in.
#2 If you don’t close the prospect (get the sale) one of three things has happened.
- You did not show the value of what you were offering to their business.
- Your service or solution did not meet their needs.
- And the BIG One – They did not trust you or felt that you could not implement the services or solution that you were offering.
So I recently had a big presentation. I did the discovery meeting (the initial meeting where you discover what their needs are), and I did a ton of research on their industry, their competitors, and even talked with local store managers.
But- Guess What? They did not buy!
So what did I do wrong? That’s what I need to figure out for myself.
Did I not build the trust?
Did I understand the individual needs?
Did I not show the value?
Whatever it was I was asked to come back in a year. So as you can guess I was pretty bummed. But when I told one of my colleagues about what happened they made the statement:
Well at least you were able to present to them.
I thought about that and realized he was right. At least I got the chance to present to them and maybe down the road they will move toward needing or wanting the services I have available. One of the main things is I got in front of them, many companies and sales people don’t even get the chance.
So what did I learn? I may not win every single company that I present to, but at least I was given the chance. And who knows what happens down the road.
As in life, and as in business you need to enjoy and learn from the journey. It makes you better, stronger and allows you to improve. If you won every one, you would never take a hard look at yourself and your company and ask.
HOW CAN I MAKE IT BETTER!
So you must always continue the journey! And always ask the question. “What Did I Do Wrong?” and then turn right around and ask “What Can I Do Better the Next Time?”!
