Taking The Weight Off

If you go all-inclusive to Tenerife for a week mid-December and over the Festive break indulge in the normal manner you will likely put on two kilos in weight by the time you return to work. And if, in the last quarter of 2017, you were not doing the key business development activities your pipeline will be a challenge.

We know that the three top challenges for Rainmakers are keeping in touch with prospects, structuring your business development activity and closing. Here is how to both keep those Christmas kilos off and make more sales in 2018.

Keeping In Touch

We have 71 ways to keep in touch, but you won’t be good at them all. Find out what works for you, spend time on them, develop them. Then go out and get busy. Do something every day, no matter how much work you have on your plate.

In Tenerife, two hours from 7am to 9am and a quick pre-dinner swim are my thing, as a farmer’s son I am always up with the lark. Every morning I knew I could be out in the dark, squatting at the sunrise and I know that running around in the heat of the day or in the evening is not my thing so there is no point in trying.

Kisstip: set ambitious goals, but ensure they suit your personality type.    

Structured Business Development

So much about rainmaking is perspiration, not inspiration. You set goals for the month, then for each week, finally each day. You measure and monitor your activity and regularly check your progress against benchmarks or targets. It’s all about the data.

It would be a lie to say I went out for two hours every morning and swam for half an hour every night, but it was close to that. And the evidence showed that I left 7000 calories in Tenerife as, despite throwing back an extra 1000 calories every day, I came back the same weight as I was when I left, but more toned.

If I miss a day’s 7am workout and skip the 6pm swim I am more likely to cheat myself for the rest of the week; if I don’t go out on day two because it’s still dark and my legs are heavy, days three and four might also be sacrificed on the altar of staying in bed; if I’m watching Countdown at teatime and the water looks cold I cut my evening swim and those calories stay around my waist.

Kisstip: make your business development activity suit you and make it habitual.

Closing

Just as I can’t come out of mum’s wee bungalow with ten bacon wrapped sausages, a monster sticky toffee pudding and a pint of butterscotch sauce inside me, you can’t come out of the client meeting without asking for what you want. I know that mum makes this dessert for dinner on New Year’s Day. That’s a 750 calorie food coma on the first day of 2018, so I envision this scenario and resolve to take only a half portion; am careful what I eat in the morning (porridge fills you up); and allow myself three pigs in blankets on arrival.

By anticipating the five-hour-calorie-fest I was ready when the sausages and pudding came around. The same is true when the inevitable opportunity to close, or advance, appears. You know it is coming at you and it is a crime to miss out so anticipate the challenging environment, know to flex when the going gets tough: and close more effectively.

And, of course, you will be those two kilos lighter.

Kisstip: sometimes you have to risk it for a biscuit.

Have a great 2018!

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Russell Wardrop is our Chief Executive. If you would like to know more about this subject, drop him an email and we will be in touch.