When Everything Feels Like A Priority

What a week.

My grandpa always used to say, “Once Halloween hits, Christmas is just two weeks away.” I don’t know if that’s ever felt so true for me.

Even though we’re actually just inside of three weeks until Thanksgiving here in the States, I’m getting holiday party invitations, the stores are decorated differently, and it’s snowing this morning as I type this.

Despite that and this week getting away from me in some unexpected ways, here are three main themes I couldn’t get out of my head.

Get more specific

I’m working on an e-book right now about two significant blind spots companies often overlook. These companies still experience moderate success because they do many things right, and every business has its flaws. But as economic conditions tighten, these two areas demand sharper focus.

1. Know Yourself
2. Know Your Best Customers

There’s a reason why these are the first two of The 7 Steps to Sell Like You.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time over the past couple of months refining my approach here. It’s very easy to call these “done” and move on when you’re really only getting started.

It's not that people don't know this is important. It's that they stop too soon—thinking they're done when they've barely scratched the surface. Real clarity requires refinement. But once you get clear, it’s amazing how quickly the jobs to be done fall into place.

One simple way to start this process is to ask yourself why what you’re doing is working or not.

Everything feels like a priority

When you’re trying to build (or rebuild) something, it’s interesting how all the tasks pile up. When I started this business ten years ago, I didn't know where to start. I just got going and picked things up as I went.

A lot of great things happened: a couple of podcasts, dozens of speaking engagements in front of thousands of people, 456 consecutive weeks of publishing this newsletter, hundreds of YouTube videos, over 13,000 LinkedIn connections and followers…

It felt like the way you build a brand and a business.

As it became clear to me that I needed to evolve, and when I stepped back for a minute to do so, it’s interesting to me how tempting it’s been to jump right back into all of that. And just when it feels time to press go on something, I’m reminded of all the infrastructure work that it takes to do it right.

Again… more clarity, more foundations. If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. If this newsletter feels a little different from how it has in previous iterations, well, that’s the point.

If it feels a little awkward to you, well, now you know why…

Negotiating all of this

I got asked by my friends at Sales Assembly to step in and teach a session for their clients on negotiation earlier this week. They’ve been really great to work with, and the attendees are always so engaged.

I’ve never considered myself to be a tactic master when it comes to negotiation, but a few principles and mindsets will really take you far.

What I continue to find is that sellers don’t give themselves enough leverage in the negotiation because they overlook some crucial aspects of the selling process.

It doesn’t need to be as hard as most people make it, and I wrote about that in the blog this week if you’d like to check it out.

Between finishing that ebook, some client work, and a full-day workshop in Charlotte this week (no snow there, thankfully), I've got an exciting week ahead.

I hope you’re looking forward to yours just as much, and I’ll see you here next Sunday.

Thanks for being here.

Cheers,
JB