Do you remember when the book The 4-Hour Workweek came out?
Everyone was all over it, because what’s not to love? Do just four hours of work a week, outsource the rest to an army of low-paid workers who are grateful for the opportunity to help you, and make millions of dollars.
There’s just one small problem.
It doesn’t work.
Of course, we want it to work.
We’ve been steeped in marketing that promises instant results: undereye creams that work in just one day, diets where you shed weight in 30 days, business programs that solve all your problems with one script or template.
Minimal effort, instant results.
Is it any wonder that we think there’s a silver bullet out there that will solve all our problems, without requiring us to do the work?
—
A student in Pack Your Pipeline recently shared a huge win with the group. She was on fire — she was being seen as an expert and featured all across LinkedIn in her area of expertise.
But, she said, in the few weeks she had been doing the program, that hadn’t turned into any checks from new clients, which are mid-sized and large businesses.
It takes “too much work,” she said, so she wanted to try something else.
I feel sad when women say things like this, because there isn’t an approach out there that won’t take work.
Sure, you can find plenty of coaches online who will promise you a silver bullet. Quick fixes. Super fast results. They’re out there, posing in front of mansions and private jets.
But when you unwrap the shiny paper, you’ll be disappointed, because building a business actually requires effort.
Getting new clients and building a pipeline is not a one-time event.
It’s an ongoing process that has to be part of your regular routine.
And by the way – “regular” does not mean “once every few months, when you realize you’re about to wrap up a big project and you have nothing in the pipeline.”
It’s even more important when you sell B2B. It can take anywhere from 3 to 18 months to land a business client. You don’t land those clients by doing a few sales things and expecting the checks to roll in a few days later.
Here’s some hard truth.
If you’re not interested in doing the work that’s necessary to build your business, then you should think long and hard about whether being a business owner is a good fit for you.
If that sentence makes you mad, that’s kind of the point.
I’m here to make sure you build the business you say you want — and that means telling you the truth.
You don’t have to use my systems and processes to build your pipeline and sign clients.
No matter who you work with, business development isn’t something you can do once in a while, when the mood strikes you.
It’s something you do as part of running your business.
—
My dad always told me that there are two basic instructions for everything in life:
- Read the instructions.
- Do the instructions.
You need to do both parts — preferably in that order.
First, you have to read the instructions so that you know what’s happening. But reading alone isn’t enough.
If you want to spend your time reading all the personal development books and devouring blog posts on strategies and tactics, that’s great.
But it won’t do anything for your business.
You have to take action. You have to DO what the instructions say to do if you want to get the results.
So, what are you going to DO this week to ensure that you have clients when you need them?
—
If you want both parts: the instructions, and the support and guidance on how to turn those instructions into the higher-paying clients you want in your consulting business, I’d invite you to apply for SIGNED, my 10-week program where I’m showing you how, step by step.
SIGNED is starting in just a few days, and you can be a part of it.
If you’re ready to build a solid sales process so that you know what to say to potential clients — and when and how to say it — then you should apply for a spot.
After you apply, you’ll be invited to a call with our team, and we’ll help you figure out if SIGNED is right for you and your business. If it’s not a fit, we’ll let you know right on that call.
