BY Liz Wendling
It is disappointing to observe how some professionals today look to hop on the fastest train on which they find the least discomfort. I call it the you-mean-I-have-to-work-at-this syndrome. Every day capable and smart professionals let opportunities slip through the cracks and leave money on the table because they choose easy over effective. Loads of people prefer the quick-fix over a long-lasting solution.
Beware of the bait around the next quick fix, new app, or snazzy tool that promises that you can put selling on autopilot and touts no selling necessary or you can produce an endless list of qualified leads in your inbox while you sleep.
I watch so many professionals spend thousands and thousands of dollars looking to automate as much of the process as possible, especially the parts they don’t like to do or don’t do well. They are hoping that they can bypass the selling process completely. I think not. It doesn’t matter how many tools or technology that you have at your disposal, selling is a process and you are needed in that process. You cannot put the human factor on autopilot and watch your bank account grow.
Picture yourself scrolling through some of the advertisements on Facebook that proclaim to help you lose 60 pounds in 30 days or a LinkedIn post that promises to help you make six figures in six weeks working only six minutes a day. Some folks buy programs that teach them how to generate endless qualified prospects who will beg to hire them. Worst of all are the programs that promise you that, if you use their million-dollar sales funnel or their ninety-days to ten-thousand-dollars a day email template, you will have all the clients you can handle.
Don’t credit the hype. Believing all of the crap out there will set you up for failure. Here’s why. When you aren’t making six figures in six months and are struggling to stay in the business game, you start to feel like, "Why is this not working for me? Why is it so hard to do this? There must be something wrong with me."
There is abso-freaking-lutely nothing wrong with you! I am not saying that it’s not possible to make six or seven figures in your business, but there is a lot you need to know along the way.
You will always find gurus who make those kinds of unrealistic promises in any industry. Think about the diet industry and the bold claims that promise you thinner thighs, sculpted arms, and a flatter stomach in just minutes a day with an easy-to-use contraption. Imagine a pill that melts away pounds of fat without you having to diet or exercise and that allows you to eat nothing but your favorite high-carbohydrate foods. This would be pure nonsense mixed with a ton of rubbish and a healthy dose of hype.
Sure, those bold claims are enticing and easy to fall for, but the hard-core truth is this. You cannot generate whopping results without doing the work, the heavy lifting, and the manual labor. You will sweat, and you will mess up your hair. You must do the work. You are too intelligent to fall for that crap. Believing that nonsense sends you right back to the beginning to start all over again.
You won’t be able to revamp your business overnight, but you will be able to transform it over time by taking the key steps that ensure its success. For the best sales results, you must make adjustments and take instant and deliberate action until you produce the outcomes that you wish. Otherwise, you will have to settle for sales scraps.
Liz Wendling is the author of two books (and counting): The Unstoppable Business Woman and Everyone Sells Something, a columnist for Colorado Biz Magazine, and one of the first nationally credentialed facilitators for Napoleon Hill Mastermind groups. Learn more at lizwendling.com.