| |
|
|
How to Keep Big Opportunities from Tearing Down Your Business
by Mark Silver
Published on this site: March 28th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
It's the dream come true: "I love what you do. I want
you to do project X, so we can reach a 1,000,000 people (or
build that retreat center, or, etc., etc.)"
Pretend for a moment that I'm your mother, on email, and allow
me to warn you about those kinds of strangers.
A few days ago I was reminded of this dynamic again, when
one of the current Focus on Marketing ¢ participants,
using his newly-developed marketing message, started getting
some pretty amazing results saying it to people. One of those
results was a successful entrepreneur who shared his dream,
and wanted to support him in "going big time."
"What should I do?" he asked us in class. "Should
I drop all of this step-by-step-by-step building I'm doing
with my business and just go for the big thing?"
If you are even moderately successful in your business, you
will, from time to time, experience Big Opportunities come
your way. Television appearances. Enthusiastic would-be partners
with access to certain markets. The Really Big Contract opportunity.
Question: What do you do?
Answer: Don't be fooled!
Mother Teresa once said, "No one can do great things.
You can only do small things with great love."
Our culture is caught up in "lottery syndrome."
The Big Thing that is going to save you and your business,
and catapult you to instant fame and fortune. Be careful,
because these opportunities have the power to disrupt and
distract all of the great foundational, momentum-building
work you've been doing on your business.
Jim Collins, in his oft-quoted book Good to Great, writes:
"Then it began to dawn on us: There was no miracle moment.
Although it may have looked like a single-stroke breakthrough
to those peering in from the outside, it was anything but
that to people experiencing the transformation from within.
Rather, it was a quiet deliberate process of figuring out
what needed to be done to create the best future results and
then simply taking those steps, one after the other, turn
by turn of the flywheel."
In my own business I've had a dozen or two "Big Opportunities"
present themselves, and all of them, without exception, melted
away. Not completely. Many of them did produce results, but
not the kind I dreamed about.
Don't get me wrong. Big Opportunities can create big results
for you. But don't mistake them for a lottery ticket. Generally,
they will produce results that are in line with what your
business already looks like. Be grateful, and keep building
on them.
But don't expect a single one on its own to "save"
you.
So, what do you do when a Big Opportunity comes along? Don't
throw it away!
Keys to those kinds of Strangers
- If the Big Opportunity is about a huge project with
other partners.
Don't abandon the step-by-step process of building your
business. Dream big with your potential partners, and get
their support to build a prototype.
The international 3M best-seller- Masking Tape, of all things-was
developed through a series of $99 purchase orders by the
inventor Dick Drew (it was all he had authority to issue
without management approval), and released in a very limited
way in a test market. When it worked wildly well, and the
market demanded more and more of it, they rolled it out
bigger. Then they rolled it out really big.
Do the same thing- build a small model. If someone wants
to help you build a retreat center, first get them to help
you hold a single retreat at another location, and see if
the idea flies. If your business isn't big enough to hold
a retreat, get them to support you in developing the core
principles and activities of the retreat center, and offer
them on a small, local scale and see if people bite.
The right kind of investors and partners won't scorn you
for thinking small. They'll praise you for thinking practically.
Mistakes made on a small scale can easily be corrected,
whereas mistakes on a large scale may bankrupt you, or destroy
your passion and hope.
- If the Big Opportunity is a media appearance.
Unless it's Oprah, don't expect miracle results. Don't
expect millions of orders, a rush on your website, or overwhelming
response. You will probably be underwhelmed, even with a
major media appearance.
The best way to take advantage of a media appearance
is:
- Have something free and very useful and germaine to
the topic available on your website, and secure the
opportunity to mention it as a public service. And,
of course, your website visitors get it only when they
give their email address to be on your list. This way,
you can build a relationship with them over time, step-by-step.
- If it's major media, and you've never done that,
find a media coach immediately, and get some quick coaching
on how to deliver your message in the strangely unnatural
and quick-moving situation of a major media interview.
- Get copies of the appearance, whether in print, radio,
or on screen, and strategize how to use them to help
promote your business for years to come. You'll see
the biggest results long after your appearance, with
the repeated use of the materials in your own promotions.
- Remember Mother Teresa.
Keep love in your heart. Your business is about helping
people, and is going to be around a long time. Don't let
the Big Opportunities obscure your vision of Great Love,
and know that you are in this for the long haul, and you
don't need a lottery ticket to be successful. Know that
bigger and bigger opportunities will come your way organically
as your business naturally grows.
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of
Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your
Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line.
He has helped hundreds of people in small business succeed
without losing their heart, through integrating1500 years
of spiritual tradition with down-to-earth business practices.
Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com
|
| |
|
|
