Are You Planning for Success or Failure?

“You’re so lucky!” – Funny, the harder I work the luckier I get!

That line always makes me smile as there really is no shortcut to success. There is however a smarter way of working that does not involve the working hours marathon challenge where we try to out-do each other by the lack of sleep we claim to get, or the hours we clock up in the office. It is results that matters not effort in sales.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang discusses this in his book “Rest”, where he advocates how you can get more done when you do less. It’s all about being more productive by upping our downtime to achieve our goals. In short we need to plan for success, do what we need to do and stop being ‘busy fools’.

Smart business development can take a small enterprise from a lifestyle business to an investible business. This process moves it from being something which can provide the founder(s) with a comfortable lifestyle to a concept that will convince a professional investor to do just that: Invest.

Start-ups are notoriously slow when it comes from shifting from a lifestyle business to an investment opportunity. Part of the reason is that if the company and its income stream becomes satisfactory, meets initial expectations, covers the costs with profit, then the risk of changing the status quo is uncomfortable. Many avoid risking ‘satisfactory’ for ‘unsecured excellent performance’; this fear factor can drive inertia.

A plan for success would consider several future options for the business: sell it outright to a third party; bring investors in but limit the liquidity or prepare to eventually float the company.

How do you achieve inward investment?

It requires focus, structure and above all planning. A change in mind-set is required to move the business forward and instil the belief that it now has something to offer investors by way of a return on their investment. This cannot be done by passion alone. It needs to be backed up with an understanding of the business, a clear point of difference and proof of whether or not it is scalable and relevant.

Part of the planning process will cover the unique aspects of the product or service, if there are any. Assuming there are, then how to protect and develop them will be part of the criteria for securing third party investment. Professional investors are not just looking to get their money back with interest; they are hedging their bets on multiplying their initial investment ten-fold.

With larger companies, the investment is often in the form of support for key roles to assume the responsibility for generating income, in addition to delivering their professional service. This is a process that can be alien to many professionals and something to be feared or revered. Whatever your feelings about selling, the fact is an increasing number of professionals are being nudged into more commercial roles.

This takes some out of their comfort zone and enables others to thrive with the right support.

The success of selling begins in the mind of the individual not with the quota. It often requires a re-visiting of our personal brand and understanding our personal talents and acquired skills to see how we can best adapt to meet the commercial objectives set.

Discovering your inner sales person is not something we all feel we can or want to pursue.  However, when you understand your capabilities and adopt a structured approach, with self-belief, it is amazing just how powerful that combination can be.

In a highly competitive and disrupted working world planning for success combines both art and science. The secret is finding the balance.