Last Monday was the last night I’ll ever lose sleep about sales. I was in Las Vegas last Monday night getting ready for the ISC West show. Just like the previous 30-40 nights, I woke up a few hours into my sleep and stared at the ceiling, wondering about sales. You see, every February and March I’m challenged emotionally. In my business, no one returns any calls after the holidays until the middle of March. Sales training and consulting is very important to security companies, but it’s not urgent during the first quarter of the year as they’re usually gasping for air themselves. So … I’m left in the dark as to whether I’ll have any work in May or June.
Then, ISC West and PSA TEC role along. I speak at these events and conduct dozens of personal meetings with potential or former clients. From that point forward, I know that I’ll pay the bills for a long time. Last Tuesday started that upswing for me, and I’ve been sleeping like a baby since.
So, why won’t this happen again next year?
Three reasons: I’ve invested, I’ve sacrificed, and I’ve taken action.
I’ve invested. In late 2013, I knew that I had to make changes. Although very busy and fiscally healthy, my business wasn’t performing like it should. I invested in a strategic coach. Yes, a consultant hired a consultant. I learned many things, including the fact that I needed a marketing strategy and that I needed to change my working habits.
I’ve sacrificed. Part of changing my working habits was to spend two days a week on the business and not in the business. This meant removing 40% of my revenue generating time – that’s a big hit. However, if I wanted to grow in a healthy manner, I had to sacrifice in the short term. In 2014, my income was 28% less than it was in 2013.
I’ve taken action. I took action on the marketing advice. Not only did I develop a high level strategy, but I hired a company and invested in a software (Hubspot) to drive awareness to my industry. I also approached industry leading periodicals and associations to offer my content and gain more and more exposure.
What has been the result? I now have programs that are exponentially better than they were before and can be implemented in a third of the time; I have a marketing strategy that is positioning my business as the experts in sales consulting and training for the security industry by sharing my content for free, and I’m a partner of leading security groups like SIA, PSA, SD&I Magazine, IPVM, etc.
Next February won’t be an issue, and I’ll never lose sleep again thinking about sales.
###
Are you ready to take the next step in growing your security sales business?
Partner with Vector Firm for Extraordinary Results
