[Fredslist] How to Screw Up in 2009

[Adrian Miller]

How to Screw Up in 2009

You’re bound to read plenty of articles about how to succeed this  
year. Some undoubtedly have great tips, but just as many have  
uninspired, absurdly upbeat ideas that you’ve read a hundred other  
times. So, I thought I’d mix it up a little with a primer on how to  
shoot yourself in the foot, create your own problems, and just plain  
screw up this year.

No, I don’t want you to follow my advice, but these not so gentle  
reminders will help you avoid some of the most common ways that so  
many of us fail. Enjoy!

Cower in Fear
With the overwhelmingly bad economic news we’ve all been subjected to  
over the last several months, it’s natural to feel uncertain about  
where business is headed. This inevitably leads to fear and backing  
off from investing in the very things that generate business. One of  
the quickest ways to screw up is to cease your marketing, networking  
and public relations efforts. If you start retreating, your  
competition will be more than willing to fill your vacancy.

Don’t Exceed Your Clients’ Expectations
Sure, you’re already bummed out about business being slow. So, don’t  
exert any extra energy to go above and beyond what your clients  
expect from you. Trust me, if you only do the bare minimum, they’ll  
reward you with no more future work and plenty of free time for  
whining and complaining.

Don’t Mine the Gold in Your Existing Client Base
Want an especially fast and easy way to screw up this year? Keep  
hitting your head against the wall going after those expensive,  
impossible-to-get, cold leads, and avoid the warm, cost-efficient  
existing clients to whom you can cross-sell. Sure, your current  
contacts might very well appreciate and need what you might have to  
offer, but it’s so much more fun putting the effort in with those  
chilly individuals who will never buy from you.

Stay Focused On What You Can Get, As Opposed to What You Can Give
It’s all about you, you, you – right? When it comes to networking,  
just keep thinking about what you can get out of each one of your  
contacts. Don’t bother to be helpful or useful. Selfishness is the  
name of the game when it comes to pointless networking in 2009.

Develop a Reputation for Irrelevance and Inefficiency
Like it or not, each one of us is an individual brand. Some have  
quality brands that clients appreciate and buy from, and others of us  
are more known as the cheap knock-offs that should be avoided. To  
avoid success this year, work extra hard on letting your good name  
fall apart in your clients’ and prospects’ eyes. Try making some  
promises that you can’t keep, never follow through on what you say  
you’re going to do, and maintain a bad attitude at all times.

There are countless ways to royally screw up this year. Yet, there  
are just as many opportunities for great success. Stay positive,  
motivated, and helpful to others; and you’ll find that this year will  
be both productive and fruitful.


Adrian Miller Sales Training
516-767-9288
516-445-1135 (cell)
www.adrianmiller.com
http://www.adrianmiller.com/blog/

http://www.askadrianmiller.com/

www.mysalesquestion.com/

See my book: The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success" at
http://www.theblatanttruth.com/

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/amst


"What if we train them and they leave? What if we don't train them  
and they stay?"






-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.gothamnetworking.com/pipermail/fredslist/attachments/20090130/8e892514/attachment.html