Close Encounters Of The Profitable Kind

You’ve spent the last two years diligently working your social networks and, in return for your efforts, what do you have to show for it? Nada. Butkus. No sales and not even a sales suspect let alone a qualified prospect. The same result might hold true for your in-person business-development activities. Bad luck?

First off, trite as these sayings may be …

You make your own luck
The harder you work, the luckier you get
Luck is where preparation meets opportunity and, my personal favorite …
No amount of planning replaces pure dumb luck

They all continue to hold true. I happen to strongly believe in both preparation and in luck. I also believe in persistence and, particularly if you are in sales, without persistence you will likely come away with … butkus.

Did you hear about the one where a fellow attended his networking group meeting and met a guest speaker which resulted in over $1,000,000 in sales? How about the gent who, while his peers avoided public hearings at all cost, he actually thrived on them? A chance encounter at one meeting, actually as a result of an introduction give at that same meeting, resulted in a multi-year multi-million dollar contract with a major retailer? Maybe the one where he attended his first networking group meeting and ended up selling one of the members a $65,000 sign. Yep. All true and all me.

This is a short article so I’m not going to belabor the point. If you aren’t even in the game, how can you ever expect to win? If you never swing that bat, and you might strike out a lot, is there even the remotest of chances that you will knock one over the fence? Certainly, my stories are not unusual in any sense. This same kind of “luck” happens to many others and it happens every day.

Earlier I mentioned that you must have persistence. Add to that commitment and patience. Keep doing what you are doing, do it consistently, and you will be successful. Stretch yourself into areas that may be outside of your comfort area. This is called growth. Almost five years ago, and with absolutely no training or experience in marketing, I decided to pursue the study and application of social media. I entered this arena, quite literally, kicking and screaming.

My first couple of years were, at best, painful. I had no idea of what I was doing, how I was doing it, or why I was doing it. It all seemed to be a waste of valuable time. I had next to nothing to show for my efforts but, I kept at it. Believe me, I am nothing and nobody special in any sense of the word. I’m not even well designed for social networking. I am task directed and barely social. More introverted than extroverted. A technical neophyte. Equipped with the patience, temperament, and the tolerance of a two-year old and I am approaching that age when your maturity level regresses rather than moves forward.

So, if I can do this, and be measurably successful (yes, I make nice money doing this now), please believe me when I tell you that you can do it too! “Close encounters of the profitable kind” are not once in a lifetime occurrences. Sometimes they are by chance. More often they are by design. Either way … you win! The more you want them, the more you work for them, the more they seem to appear! At least they do for me.

Bio
Twitter
YouTube
Latest Posts

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!