Chatting To The CEO Of You, Inc…

This morning, the CEO of You, Inc took me to task. Frankly, it seems that I have been a little lax these past weeks. I blame influenza.
That’s one of the problems with being a very small business. The CEO can call you at any time of day or night. In my case, his preferred time is while I’m shaving first thing in the morning.
CEO: “You have been taking it very easy for the past six weeks! I don’t know if you recall that huge tax bill that we are facing?”
ME: “I’ve had the worst flu I experienced in years. And don’t blame me because the accountant forgot to tell you that this year you must pay last year’s tax and this year’s tax because the Norwegian government has changed the rules.”
CEO: “We’ll come back to the tax bill in a moment. For now, is there any reason why you won’t pick up the phone at 8:30 a.m. to make some sales calls?”
ME: “Yes, now that you ask. Who want to wants to be hounded by a salesman on a Monday morning?”
CEO: “I agree that nobody wants to be bugged by salesman, at any time. But, I am willing to bet that most people would be happy to know how to get more sales this week.”
ME: “Maybe, but you’ve got to get the timing right.”
CEO: “Maybe, but given your performance these past six weeks, I think I can tell you honestly that not making any phone calls at all is a little worse than making just one at a bad time.”
ME: “Ouch! I am finding it tough to listen to you while gouging holes in my face.”
CEO: “I can feel your pain, but you and I both know that it doesn’t matter how good our product is, or our service is. What matters is that other people know, and that they understand how it helps their business. So, Peter, what are you going to do this week to get sales?”
I’m not going to bore you with more detail of me talking to myself in the mirror each morning.
But, each of us small business owners faces this same question each day. Our success depends only on reaching out to enough people who will derive value from what we sell. There is nothing else anywhere nearly as crucial.
This was emphasised to me when a request from our Sales Motor site arrived over the weekend asking for help selling art. Sales Motor cannot help in that instance. But, a little training in direct marketing is going to change that artist’s life. Just as it has changed mine and allowed me to indulge my wanderlust.
(Which reminds me, I have six seats left at my direct marketing seminar in Sandton, 10 in Cape Town, and five in Durban. These three seminars are during the evenings of the week starting October 15. You can get exact details here.)
While we are talking about artists, if you have an iPad, may I suggest you look at a superb app called Paper? It makes even my doodling and sketching readable and, dare I say, enticing. It means that I can capture an exact thought without wasting hours trolling the web for a picture that does not quite describe what I want.
And now that we are on the subject of software, if you use Windows, may I suggest checking out a delightful free application called Dexpot which I find extremely useful, especially when using a laptop? After using Apple for ages, I’m used to having multiple desktops. (All my research happens in one, e-mail in another, accounting in the third, and so on.) This simple application offers the same facility within Windows.
On that note, have a chat with yourself tomorrow morning while you are shaving. If you are a girl, you might prefer to have that chat as you apply your face, rather than while removing the hair from it.
Have an outstanding week. I know mine will be because I will be en route to South Africa late next week. I can’t wait
All the best
Peter Carruthers