About a year ago my friend Harvey Mackay walked into my office and asked me for my top five. Who were the five people that were going to change the complexion of my business? At the time, I didn't have one, but he quickly taught me it's importance.
So now, I want you to do the same. Take out a piece of paper and write down five people you want to meet; five potential clients that you want to have that will be a game-changer for your business.
Who would the top five key people or companies be? Whether it be through a meeting, a new job, or even just a chance to talk, what would change the stakes and boost your business development?
If you don’t have that list right in front of you ready to go at a moment’s notice, there’s something really wrong.
Why wouldn’t you? If there’s a name you have in mind and it’s just a matter of meeting them for your business to be able to really take off because of the insight that person can add, or a customer that could really change your business, you should have them on your list!
If you're prepared to go find a connection to your top five, then it's your job to call on all the relationships you already have to help make that happen! As I always like to say:
"It's not who you know, but what you know about who."
For example, when Harvey had me make my list I put Amazon at the top. I knew that if Steiner Sports could further its relationship with the biggest retailer in the world, it would obviously benefit our business. So every time I talked to one of my friends or maybe a client I would ask, ”Do you know anybody at Amazon? “
Sure enough, last year we got connected to three senior people at the company. Granted, I want to meet Jeff Bezos and that hasn’t happened yet, but we’ve been out to Seattle a few times and throughout this process we’ve made good relationships with the top people that handle our area of the sports gifts and memorabilia market and consequently we have tripled our business on Amazon.com in the past year.
I identified what would be a game-changer for Steiner. I put it on my list and from there, I didn’t stop until I found someone that could help me.
So, again, who’s in your top five? Who are the people that are going to change the complexion of your business?
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Everyday I ask myself, “What else?” How can I go further? How can I add value, differentiate and be a market disruptor? The way to have a more productive life and to add value both at work and at home, is by paying attention to details. My success as an entrepreneur over the years has been dictated by that. Subscribe to this blog to read more about how you can achieve that success, as well. Always remember, “What Else is in the Details.”
