"More Like That Please"
Before I took the leap into self-employment, I worked for a serviced office provider.
My job was to open new centres across the UK and part of that involved selling office space.
When I was quite new to the role, I managed to negotiate a big contract. It was the highest-value contract of the year. It also meant that, combined with the other deals I'd closed, the centre would have reached its twelve-month target within three months.
The day the signed contracts came through and the deposit landed in the bank, I was over the moon. Weeks of hard work had finally paid off.
I got on the weekly call with one of the company directors who was my line manager and broke the good news.
"Well done," she said, "More like that please."
And then we moved on to talk about other stuff.
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed.
I'd worked so hard and landed this amazing deal with a globally recognised company and all I got was a "well done" and "go get some more."
But that's the thing with sales - it never ends. You don't close a deal and then sit back for the rest of your career. You have to keep going out and getting more.
And it's the same when you run your own business.
Last week, I launched my new membership - Write with Lisa. I'd been building up to it for weeks. I was excited for launch day.
And on launch day, all the pledges went through as planned. Cash in the bank. A membership with members. Awesome.
Job done.
But it's not job done, is it?
The hard work doesn't stop there.
In fact, the hard work is just beginning. Now I don't just have to get new members, I have to retain existing members as well.
If my existing members leave, I'm back to square one. And if I don't keep getting new members, the group won't stay fresh and interesting for those existing members.
So I have to keep promoting my membership. I have to keep getting new members. I have to keep marketing and selling forever.
Marketing and selling never ends. There's never a point where you don't have to do it anymore. You never complete it.
You might get to a point where you are at capacity, but there are no guarantees those clients will hang around forever. You need a plan to replace them if they go.
I often compare marketing to exercise. If you want results, you have to put in the work, even when it feels like a slog.
And once you hit your goal, you either set new a one or you change your activity to focus on maintaining your results.
But you don't stop completely. Because if you stop completely, you start to lose the progress and gains that you've made.
And that can be hard when you're relying on self-motivation alone, which is why so many people prefer to book hosted exercise classes, join sports clubs, or get involved in group events and activities like Parkrun.
It's easier to motivate yourself when you're doing it with other people.
The same goes for marketing. Having the support of others, having people keeping you accountable, and doing it with others can help keep you motivated. And that's what my membership is all about.
Monthly co-working events are like exercise classes - a chance to work on your content alongside other people who are working on theirs. And the group discussions and member chat are there to keep you accountable, give you motivation when you need it, and allow you to get advice and feedback from others.
So if you are struggling with the idea that marketing is forever and you would like to feel less alone with it, why not join me for only £20 per month? I'd love to help you reach your writing goals.
Lisa
Your weekly ten-minute task
The weekly ten-minute tasks are short simple tasks that should take around ten minutes to complete (although you can spend longer if you want to). The goal is to help you improve your sales and marketing processes.
Completing these tasks won't magically transform your business, but doing one small thing each week to improve is better than doing nothing. So block out ten minutes in the next few days and complete the below task.
Ask for feedback
Client feedback is an excellent sales and marketing tool. Not only can you share the feedback to help build trust and demonstrate credibility, but you can use the feedback to inform your future marketing.
Why did the client choose you over your competitors?
What did/do they like most about working with you?
What results have you helped them achieve?
Were there any unexpected positive consequences of working with you?
What words do they use to describe you, or your products/services?
How can you incorporate this feedback into your marketing messages?
You can only utilise client feedback if you get it, so this week, I want you to contact three of your past clients and ask for feedback. Ask them to leave a Google or Facebook review, a LinkedIn recommendation or send a written or video testimonial that you can add to your website.
Weekly anagrams
Sometimes you need a little break from work or something to get your brain going while you have your morning brew. That's where the weekly anagrams come in.
And this week they are all European cities:
- mad stream
- baits larva
- change open
- ex mogul rub
- solo
If you are unfamiliar with how anagrams work: An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, using all the original letters only once.
Feel free to send me your answers once you’ve got them all – there’s no prize, but it’s always good to share your achievements. I'll give you the answers in next week's email.
And talking of answers, here are the answers to last week's anagrams:
- hush zit = Shih Tzu
- amid natal = Dalmatian
- fenland wound = Newfoundland
- marino nape = Pomeranian
- bald roar = Labrador
Thanks for reading
That's it from me this week. As always, if you'd like my help with anything sales, marketing or business-related, you can book 90 minutes with me.
