Ever think about how much more you could accomplish if you would focus on less?
Get out of the idea that you can do it all and get really good at just a few things. Be very mindful of what you want your business to look like.
Decide who you want to work with and get very conscientious about only pursuing the types of people and companies that will allow you to do your very best work. Just because someone can buy promotional products doesn’t mean you should be selling to them. If you want a relationship and they want a transaction — guess what? — it won’t fit. If they want to solve a problem and you want to make a quick sale — guess what? — it won’t fit. Get clear about what your ideal customer looks like and pursue them. The opposite is also as true. Get clear about who your worst nightmare is and run the other way.
Know what you like to sell and get really, really good at that category. Learn the full range of opportunities and solutions that the product category can offer and become the expert. Clients like to know they are dealing with professionals and experts in their field. With the hundreds of product categories and nearly a million products available in our industry, you can’t possibly be an expert in all of them.
Pick a lane and stay there. I don’t believe that in more than thirty years of selling promotional products that I ever - and I mean ever! - tried to start a relationship by telling a prospect that I sold promotional products. I targeted large accounts and began the conversation talking about my experience in creating sales promotion programs and incentive programs to motivate the sales force, dealers and consumers. What’s your lane? What problem do you solve?
Keep learning. When you’ve narrowed down who you want to work with, what you want to help people with and what problems you can solve — you can focus your professional development to the seminars, webinars, blogs and articles that will help you become a true expert. You’ll have a whole lot of less in your brain and become a focused subject matter expert who builds relationships and builds a satisfying career.
Quit trying to do it all, be it all. Find your lane and passionately pursue excellence in your chosen profession.
Paul Kiewiet MAS+ is the author of Summit: Reaching the Peak of Your Potential and a Hall of Fame leader in the promotional products industry. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has helped thousands of professionals grow their businesses and their leadership capacity. Through his monthly Pursuit of Purpose column, Paul explores the mindset, discipline, and character that sustain long-term success and fulfillment.