This text is from our consulting firm's latest 321 Biz Development episode found on eighteen podcast platforms. There is too much content to write for this article, so readers are referred to the podcast for the complete story.
November 3, 2014 was the day my company officially started.
This day was so memorable because it was the day I had to reinvent myself...and not by choice. I had to overcome a self-inflicted, personal and professional challenge.
I will say that others have endured more pain and suffering and resulting consequences than I, but, nonetheless, everyone has to rise to the occasion to move forward in life.
Little did I know that the corporate job I had in the early 2000's would be my professional and income producing salvation twelve years later.
So what happened on November 10, one week after I started my company on November 3?
A homebuilder near Wheatland California hired my company and a dear friend for $5,000 each to create a business development plan for 200 homesites.
The homebuilder had hired a real estate broker (a big name broker brand, too) to market and sell 200 homes in the $400,000 to $500,000 price range. The problem was, after one year of hiring the real estate broker, only two homes (out of 200) had sold. And the real estate broker was one of the buyers!
The end result was the homebuilder sold fifty home sites over the next 90 days.
It was this first business development transaction that I learned and validated three very important concepts:
Selling has more components than just having a great product or service.
Mastering a sales system is critical to succeeding in selling.
There are two sales activities in selling: effort activities and task activities.
On previous blog articles and podcast episodes, the three items above have already been dissected and discussed. This article and connected episode is for my own consumption and reassurance to motivate me to continue.
This whole time, I have been without a coach and just relying on professional instinct and individual drive I nurtured since I was 16 years old to develop business development solutions to help companies execute sales actions business owners may not know how to do or may not want to do.
So what has 321 Biz Dev LLC done over the last 3-4 years? I'm just counting the last 3-4 years because the company was in beta test mode for the first 2-3 years.
321 Biz Dev has trained or supported:
One homebuilder
One real estate executive in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
One yoga instructor in New Delhi India
Seven attorneys
Seven real estate brokers
Fourteen CPAs
Thirty-five real estate agents
Forty insurance agents
Four dentists
Two home improvement companies
And a number of marketing consultants
Some of the above business professionals were interviewed on the 321 Biz Development podcast. Some of the business owners were helped with both simple and comprehensive solutions.
Since I do not have a coach, it is difficult, at times, to stay motivated. So, to minimize the downtime, which I have full control of, I do three things:
Recall the number of business owners I have helped over the last six years.
Take joy in how business owners' sales productivity and sales performance have increased.
Get excited when small business owners take more control of their companies' financial future.
After six years, the 321 Biz Development podcast is featured on 18 podcast platforms such iHeart Radio, Spotify, iTunes and Pandora, just to name a few.
Our company occasionally receives calls from business owners asking about our consulting services.
However, these calls are very few...and understandably so. Our experience tells us that it is highly UNLIKELY for small business owners to admit they need help to increase sales. Small business owners favor paying marketing firms to promote their companies.
Unfortunately, business owners have discovered that sales productivity is not a passive activity to be relegated to disinterested third-party marketing companies.
I believe that many small business owners are so hooked on unpredictable social media and digital marketing that tried-and-true selling philosophies are overlooked or, for some business owners, not even known.
Our company is not saying that social media does not have a place in a business owner's marketing plan. Our company is saying that social media and digital marketing are not predictable methods to grow businesses.
So moving forward in the second quarter of 2021, 321 Biz Dev LLC will continue to motivate itself to reach out to more small business owners across the US, Canada and any place in the world where the English language is spoken.
321 Biz Dev LLC is talented at what it does and we plan on sharing our sales system training and business development solutions with more companies looking to increase sales revenue.
If this episode/article provoked some deep thought about improving your sales performance, please do not hesitate to contact me, Rick Nappier, at 726-999-0999.
Interested parties can click here to visit our website. Then, click the Questionnaire tab to complete the 5-minute questionnaire so 321 Biz Dev can learn more about your current sales situation or learn about your current or past experiences with trying to improve sales performance. A 321 Biz Dev specialist will contact you within two business days to review your responses.
We hope your enjoyed today’s post and linked podcast episode. Please check out the podcast episode for a lot more content on this subject matter.
Rick, CEO