I'm still here, but barely.

I wrote 3 articles here and 2 on LinkedIn in May. Compare that to 12 last May and 25 in May of 2006. I also haven't been reading or commenting as much as usual on other blogs or in forums. We took a short trip to SLC. We've contracted with a builder to build our dream house at the beach and we're busy working on a floor plan, talking to friends and relatives to get ideas, exploring suppliers, their showrooms, catalogs and websites. Oh, and visiting open houses to see what others have done. When the house is done, I'll be leavng Massachusetts and living at the beach full time. It's kind of fun and honestly, I don't know what will happen with you and me.

However, I do have a few 'sharables' from this past month.

I had a conversation with a business owner that reminded me how few people can develop a path to a goal that makes any kind of sense. Pick a number, any number, that you'd like to hit by any date in the future. What do you have to do to get there? Blank stare, or even worse, they say, "statistics in my industry/company/space show that 10% yields 40% plus or minus 85%." Ask yourself,

"Where did my business come from last year?

"How many first steps did I take?"

"How many second steps?"

"How many got real?"

"How many bought?"

"How much did they buy?"

"What's the number from above?"

Divide it by how much they bought.

That's your multiplier. How hard is that? and it's real! It's not statistically correct for your industry/company/space. It's you and your reality and you don't have to change anything that you do except how much.

Easy example: Pretend that your business comes from referrals and that last month you asked 10 people (first step) for referrals and you got 3 referrals (second step). You called all three and two scheduled a demo (got real). One of the two bought $5,000 worth of your stuff. Now pretend that you want to sell $10,000 this month. Ask 20 people for referrals, get six referrals. Call them. Demo 4 and 2 buy $5,000 each = $10,000. Simple? Yes. Easy? Maybe not. Should you get better at referrals? Maybe. Should you get better at sales? Maybe. Should you have other "first steps"? Maybe, but if nothing else changes, that's what you have to do to double sales.

That's it for now. I'll share again shorty. Meanwhile, if you want to have a free goal setting conversation with me. use this link to set it up.