New business: Reggae vs. Elvis

I was working on landing a new client and things weren't going as I'd wished, I wanted quicker response internally, more focus, etc. I could see I was getting some looks from our staff telling me to be more like the old reggae song, "Don't worry, be happy."

Why not lay back? I pondered that myself. Then it occurred to me. We had four prospective clients we were in discussions with:

Prospect A has been talking and emailing with me since 2005. Prospect B, since early 2008. Prospect C has played cat and mouse with me for six months; and we have been in a creative brainstorming mode with Prospect D for three months trying to figure out a solution to a huge issue of theirs.

No wonder I was intense about this. The amount of time invested to get to this spot was enormous, yet all that could be thrown away with a few thoughtless or dispassionate moves. And, on the positive side, we were in the position where one person or one smart move could make all the difference in the world and knock out the prospect.

Day-to-day "business as usual" can be like that old reggae song. New business is more like Elvis's song, "It's Now or Never."

New business performance is critical because of the investment and the fact that you can't easily recover from a mistake. So don't make one.

Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
http://www.labov.com/