Brandon L. Clay's Blog, page 9

Check Marks the Spot!

The last several weeks, I have been conducting seminars and webinars preparing agents for the Annual Election Period where millions of seniors will make healthcare decisions. The season lasts only 7 weeks and it takes about that long for an agent to get ready for it...certifications, tests, mandatory face to face sessions...the list feels endless. I have had several hundred agents attend my last sessions and the #1 question for many of them, especially those that are new to the fray, "Brandon, will all of this be worth it?' I understand and sympathize with the question... why endure all of this for just 7 weeks of frenetic activity...dare I say chaos?  Easy...the financial opportunity is great. That is the elephant in the room.  No one wants to turn their back on chaos when there is opportunity "hidden" in its midst.  The #2 question is, "Ok, how am I suppose to do all of this and make a living at the same time?" How do you eat an elephant (you had to know that was coming)?  Conventional wisdom says one bite at a time.  I want to revise that...take each bite strategically.  When you have competing priorities or a long list of things to do you, have to make a series of choices.  They should not be random choices, or based on doing things you like to do first or putting off the things that you hate to do.  Let me give you some food for thought (the eating theme continues!); Make a complete list of all the things you have to do.  Look at that list and ask yourself the following questions; Which things have the most value once completed?In sales, things that make money should get to the top of the list by default. Revenue generating activities are always a high priority.  Things that put you in the position to make money are equally as important.  Getting a certification that allows you to earn another $50,000 a year is high value.  What are the hardest things to do on your list (time and effort)?Do not use the difficulty factor as an excuse not to do the arduous tasks.  It should be used to prioritize them or give them dedicated blocks of time to complete. There are some things that allow for multitasking...not these things...these items require focus to complete. What are the easiest things to do on your list (time and effort)?Can you finish 2-3 things on your list in a hour and "knock them out"?  These items are a chance to win "quick" victories of progress. You can juggle these easy activities and multitask to get more done.  What items have timelines? There are some items on your list that "crack the whip" and keep you on time with specific actions required.  Webinars with dates, online training, etc.  They can't be done on your timetable but must be scheduled...or missed. What items have deadlines?These are the "hard stops" that drive most of us.  We procrastinate until the last minute looms.  Most deadlines in business have windows of 30 or 60 days.  Manageable, if you begin early and work progressively.   If you wait until the end and scramble to get things done, this will only exacerbate the chaos. Look at that list again.  It may still look daunting but you have at least "triaged" it to provide a hierarchal view that allows you do to "first things first"...you are building the foundation of an accomplishment strategy.  Tomorrow we will review how to attack this segmented list and work it down until...  Check Marks the Spot! Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success! 

Organized Chaos!

It was the 70's.  I was in middle school, and at lunchtime a crowd of kids gathered round as one of the nerdy kids (I have some nerve!), Steve, pulled a block out of his pocket. It was full of mixed up colors and had the ability to twist and turn as you contorted your hands to control it. He began moving the colors swiftly, left to right then right to left.  He stuck his tongue out for dramatic effect.  In about a minute, he made a couple of feverish twists and turns and then dropped the block of plastic on the table...   All the colors were lined up.   He passed the block around and people quickly got frustrated as they could easily get one row of colors lined up, but the moment they moved it...they lost what was gained.  People were cussing (I said it was middle school!) and passing it on to the next person to prove they weren't dumb.   Even the teachers tried to do it...no success. The next week, more people came to school with the little block puzzle.  At the end of the month, almost every student had one...the school had to ban them during class! By months end, there were still only a handful of people that could complete the puzzle... yes, I was one of them.  The elite group of us began competing for speed, while others were just trying to figure it out.    We even sold the "secrets" for $.50...yes, a lot of people bought them!  Rubik's Cube.  Over 500 million of these things are floating around.  A phenomenon?  An obsession?   A Cube of Chaos?  A metaphor for life?   My friend Steve had given me the secrets that first day.  He even let me take the cube home. It was frustrating and exasperating, even with the secrets.  It felt like an impossible puzzle to solve.  I can still hear him now.  Some of what he told me might help you with the Rubik's Cube of life...the "chaos" you are facing; You have to see the big picture.  Steve said the goal is not to get one row or one side, but to solve the entire cube.  When people are first handed the puzzle, they rush to get a row or one color complete.  People love the idea of progress, but if the first steps aren't leading them to the desired outcome...they are missteps. You have to make moves with the end in mind.  Your strategy and tactics have to be designed knowing that chaos is the order of the day and that unexpected things happen.  Sure, you may have a row of things lined up, but it's the "random" color in the corner that you have to get in the right place.   You can't be afraid of how you look while you are doing it.  In the midst of chaos, you can't worry about looking cool, calm and collected.  It is when you are unsure of yourself and the steps you are taking that you might look awkard for a while...until it all comes together! You can't be afraid to make mistakes.  In the twist and turns of life, we will not always get things right.  Steve said, "If the color you need is not in the right place, you will have to "undo" the damage and go back to the last place where everything was right...and keep going".  It's not over...you can still do it. You have to get help when you need it.  There are times when you need a template, a guide...the "secrets" to getting through the chaos.  Seek the advice of people who seem to be "calm and collected" and have been through what you are dealing with.  Books, webinars, seminars and 1:1 coaching is the fastest way to make it through. The next few days I am going to focus on helping you get organized.  Many of the sales people I work with are gearing up for the Annual Election Period, where over 50 million people will be making decisions.  It lasts for about 7 weeks and is frenetic to say the least. The key to keeping your sanity and making some money is turning that Rubik's Cube of a mess into... Organized Chaos! Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success! 

Go Deeper!

Happy Friday and Happy Labor Day Weekend!      My math scholars will immediately recognize this symbol. Participants in my trainings will also recognize it.  I use it to demonstrate a basic principle of life.  I hold up a dollar bill and ask the group, "For a dollar, who can tell me the first 3 digits of Pi?"  Usually, a decent number of hands go up and people start shouting out... 3.14 I give the dollar to the first right answer I hear and congratulate them on their smarts.  Then I hold up a crispy new $20 bill.  The crowd is now on the edge of their seat.  I then say,  "For $20, what are the next 3 digits?"    Silence.  I wait. They ponder. More silence...then after about a minute someone shouts out...   3.14...159!   I gladly hand her the $20 bill.  Someone in the group says, "No fair, she used her cell phone to find the answer!" Life doesn't care where the answer comes from, you have to use every resource available to you to get the answers you need.  Why do those "extra" 3 numbers matter?  Have you ever seen the movie Apollo 13?  Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon...directed by Ron Howard (yes. Opie from Andy Griffith!)?  After their craft was damaged, they were trying to figure out how to get home.  There were no fancy computers...only slide rules (anybody?) and good old-fashioned formulas to calculate the trajectory needed to "slingshot" off the moons gravitational field to make it back home. 3.14 wont get you back home...3.14159 will. There is an expression I coined a few years ago and I now use it everywhere I go, "Smart skims the surface, but genius goes deep." To get the answers you need to "slingshot" out of your current situation or get to a higher level, you will have to Go Deeper.  Being smart can make you money in sales, going deeper will help you "get rich"! Take another look at the tools and resources around you... something is there that you didn't notice before.  I consider myself technologically savvy.  I do my all my own book design, layouts, websites and use all kind of technology to do the things I need to do.  I have always shied away from Word Press.  At the time I was introduced to it years ago, it was an open source program and only "real" geeks and geniuses could use it...there I admitted I don't know everything! Recently, I have been working with a partner to develop a platform and content for insurance agents and his young son said, "You need to take another look at Word Press...it does amazing things!" On the word of a technology "young gun", I decided to take another look.  I went to YouTube, forums, blogs and support resources and spent a few days trying to get it to make sense.  Then, in a flash, my eyes opened.    I could see it. The answer I needed to "raise my game", develop content, training platforms and other ideas have been shown to me this week because someone made me Go Deeper. What will you see if you look again?  If you Go Deeper? I did a webinar yesterday and showed a group of agents a true ground floor opportunity.  Many of them had heard of it and even sat through a meeting about it already...but not one of my meetings! I do more than rote training.  I am always focused on showing someone why Opportunity Is Now Here...to give them a in-depth sense of how things come together so they can see the entire picture...not just the surface...I make them go deeper. One more time for emphasis...Go Deeper! A BIG Happy Friday shout out to Justin B.!   He spent 2 hours walking me through it...showing an old dog new tricks...helping me...   Go Deeper!   Until next week, I wish you Money, Power, Success!   

The Be Back Kid!

Running the road can be an adventure.  You never know day to day and appointment to appointment what is going to happen.  You stare at the list of opportunities for the day and try not to assess who will buy and who will be a challenge. But we are human and some amount of prejudging is what we are wired for...Miss O'Malley sounds like she need insurance but not so sure about Mr. Johnston. Yes...we all do it. We all have our own set of credos we operate by.  They may not be written down and we can't  recite them, but we tend to live by them. Met an agent about a month ago that said he hated "Be Backs".  For him, this was anyone that canceled, no showed, or didn't buy but said he should contact them later. He said it was a total waste of time and that his time was too valuable to chase people down. I told him he should rethink his position and strategy...that it was costing him.  I explained that real life happens to people and, yes, some are stalling or letting him down easy, but some of them really forgot about the appointment, have a sick relative in the hospital, or need time to make a decision. He would have none of it.  Good kid...building a solid business...but missing the mark on this subject. One day, we had a scheduled call and even though we allocated a specific time, I always ask, "Is this a good time for you?" He said, "I need 10 minutes to wrap up a client matter...please call me back then." 10 minutes passed and I did not call.  In 20 minutes, he called me and I did not pickup.  He texted me and I did not "hit him back".  He called twice again that day leaving voice mails...I did not respond.  That evening he sent an email saying, "Where are you?"  I answered... "I don't do be backs." The next day we spoke and laughed at my "lesson" that I had tried to impart.  He said he would try the approach I suggested and we agreed if it did not bear fruit in 30 days, he could go back to his old credo. Didn't take long.  The first week he had 5 no-shows and 4 cancellations - almost half of his appointments.  He followed up with each of them and reset 5 (55% appointment save rate) of them.  He ran those appointments the following week and closed 2 (40% close rate) but also got 2 referrals that he sold the same week.   4 sales that were generated from "be backs".  Nothing like a few sales to change your philosophy.  Yes, he will still have to deal with no-shows, cancellations and people who put off making a decision.  Sure, there are times with clients where you have to know when to fold'em and when to hold'em and stop chasing. Then there are times you have to be the... The Be Back Kid!  Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!   

Stay the Course - Keep Running!

  Ever seen a baby giraffe take its First Steps?  Gangly and awkward. Their front legs are about 10% longer than their hind legs (National Geographic.com!) and their weight isn't optimally distributed. No matter...the baby giraffe keeps on struggling...just to stand up. The struggle continues as they get their balance and take those crucial first steps.  As with nature and our lives, it is not the starting that determines success...it is the continuing... Staying The Course...to Keep Running.   When full grown and developed, the giraffe can run at speeds of up to 34.3 mph (that .3 matters when your predator can only run 34 mph!)...amazing! Goes to show that things don't always have to go right, look right and there are time when you will look awkward, but stay the course...keep running. Can I admit something?  The last few days were tough.   I am an encourager (couldn't tell, could you?).  That is what a coach/mentor does ...he inspires and instructs...he encourages.  I don't know any other way.  I even use exclamation points in my text messages.   When you are an encourager, you hear a lot about peoples challenges (I don't mind...I am built for this!).  This week was full of them for people.  Not the normal, "it will be ok" kind of stuff, but "real challenges". I am also a problem-solver.  As a result, I get vested into the persons challenge and try to determine strategically what can be done.  I offer my own brand of tough love when the person seems to be off-course from what they said they wanted.  I hold them accountable. Last night, the "little voice" that is in each of us spoke to me and told me to tell them to,  "Stay the course...keep running."   Whatever you are facing today that seems insurmountable I want to tell you to Stay the Course ...keep running . "I didn't pass the insurance exam" - Stay the course...keep running.   "I am down to my last $100 dollars and don't have gas to run appointments" - Stay the course...keep running.   "I am struggling to turn my business around and I'm scared I am going to fail" - Stay the course...keep running.   "Something big I had counted on fell through, I don't know what to do next" - Stay the course...keep running.   "I am overwhelmed by all the things I am facing"-  Stay the course...keep running.  When a child takes their first steps we celebrate the moment but we know it is just the beginning of the process.  Many of us are engaged in things that are new and we expect that life would "celebrate" us for taking the initiative.  The euphoria of first steps makes some of us think that the rest of the new journey should be a cakewalk.  That taking the first step is all we are required to do and the rest will fall into place. If only life were that easy.  Life is not always fair, but it is just.  Fair would be to give everyone the same thing, regardless of merit or effort.  One for you...one for me.  Ever had somebody get something that you got, but they didn't work for it? Just means people get what they pay for, what they sweat for, what they earn.  Success requires a price.  To pass a test or make it through a test. To build a business or handle your business.  There is a price to pay.   The currency of life is persistence, tenacity, stick-to-itiveness, grit, hutzpah, staying power, fighting back come hell or high water. Think you have run out of the currency of life?  Check your pockets...you have some left... Stay the Course...Keep Running.  Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!   

First Step!

 When the kids were small, we used to celebrate the end of summer with a little luncheon or picnic. The most memorable was the summer that my daughter, Faith, was going into 1st grade. It was at Applebee's and to commemorate I went "all out"...everyone got their own desert! The table was covered with Molten Lava cake, Cherry Cheesecake and my favorite...Walnut Blondie - a delicious cake with ice cream and hot white chocolate maple syrup icing drizzled and served in a small cast iron skillet. Ahhhhh...I need a moment! In the middle of the grand finale, I noticed big tears coming from Faith.  I have learned with kids (and people) you don't always rush to ask what's wrong.  Sometimes they just need a moment...sometimes they need a "quiet" ear...sometimes they need help. As the tears continued to flow, Natalie asked, "Are you ok?" "No." "What is it?" I asked trying to be compassionate as my blondie melted faster than I could eat it.  "I can't read."  The admission burst the dam and she sobbed all the more.  No one tried to console her, not even my young boys...we all instinctively knew this was one of those times she just needed to cry. There is so much more to the story, but she ended up getting an award as the best reader in the school that year.  A week ago, she entered her Junior year (with only 2 semesters behind her) with a perfect 4.0 in Russian studies.  We just moved her and the dogs into her first place...she is amazing! Think back to some First Steps in your life...your career.  I bet that you are still experiencing First Steps...right? Today, I am doing a training webinar entitled - "Help!  It's My 1st AEP!" Doesn't matter if you know what an AEP is or not (Annual Election Period), just understand that for a few hundred agents that will attend...it is a First Step. I have some people I work with in a call center (good morning Princess Warriors!) and some of them are going to get their insurance license today...good luck!  Some has passed already (congrats!)...that is a major First Step. My colleague in Trinidad is prepping her second book release.  Even if you have done something before but are doing it in a new way...it still requires a First Step. What is it about 1st steps that challenges us, scares us?  I always say that anxiety is 99% excitement and 1% fear of the unknown.  We take First Steps believing a positive change will occur in our lives, but that doesn't take the fear away. Am I good enough?  Can I learn what we need to learn?  Am I wasting my time, money and energy? If those are the thoughts going through your head, take comfort...you are normal... you are human . Be encouraged....you can do this!  Say that to yourself 3 times...   I Can Do This!   Go on...say it!  That potent mix of excitement/fear coursing through your veins causes adrenaline (natures performance enhancement drug) to kick in.  Your blood pumps, the heart races, the lungs breath faster and deeper...your mind is alert...ready to take on the challenge of your next First Step!   Go on...take it!  Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!   

Chess Anyone?

Happy Monday! I used to play a lot of chess with my kids when they were growing up.  They are smart...and very competitive. Of course, their young minds were no match for my superior intellect (plus they were just learning to play!). To get into their heads even further, I would ask them, "Do you want me to play like a first-grader...or frustrator?" Depending on their answer, I would play at their level or I would give them my Fischer...my Kasparov. Kind of like choosing your level against the computer.  You can dial in whether you go for simple (level 1) or world-class (level 10). After a few times of getting beaten by the frustrator, they would invariably ask me to play like a first-grader.  As a good father, I would comply and they would win... Everyone wants a chance to win. If only life would allow you to "dial in" the level in which you play it...right? It does. Think of the levels as income possibilities.  We all get a chance to come in at "entry-level" income.  To get to 6-figures we have to work our way up through the levels.  The only way for us to go to higher levels is with the 3 Ingredients; 1. Margin - The Profit2. Core Compentecy - The People3. Strategy/Tactics - The Process Most sales people and business owners have products and contracts to sell products that would allow them to be profitable - check Most sales people and business owners have the Core Competencies (gifts and skills) necessary to make a go of it - check! What keeps their business struggling is a lack of effective strategies or the tactical will to do what is necessary to grow...or they don't have strategies and tactics to begin with. A sure recipe for remaining in first-grade...or getting frustrated. Sales is like chess.  You have to know the value of each piece (margin), what each piece can do (core competency) and you have to put it all together to play effectively (strategy/tactics).  The better your strategy and the better you execute the tactics of that strategy the more effective you will be and the higher you will go. Do you have a business or marketing plan? When you wake up each day do you have a preset agenda or do you just "go with the flow"? Have you evaluated your portfolio of products and figured out the best strategy to distribute them? Sure there a lot of moving pieces (pun intended!), but all of them are necessary to make your business work.  My kids used to think that pawns were not valuable...until I turned mine into queens!  Every tool you have can be used effectively if you look at it differently...strategically.   "These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess." Kobe Bryant   The best people in your industry are playing chess.  I challenge you today to get better strategies.  Once you outline that strategy, implement the tactics then measure, monitor and manage them until you climb through the levels and become a world-class business.  Everything you need is around you...step up to the table and challenge yourself...
 Chess Anyone?  Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!   

Each According To Their Gifts!

  Happy Friday! About a month ago, I shared a picture of a band I was in while in college...click here!  I also admitted there was a time I used to imitate Michael Jackson...click here!.  I may have mentioned I was quite the athlete in high school and was the basketball team captain (youngest kid on the team - natural born leader!)...sorry, no click here...can't remember where I wrote that one. Yes, I am a man of many talents.  Modesty will prevail...in a minute. What happened, Brandon - You had so many talents you could have done anything you wanted? Actually, I don't have to tell you what happened.  You know. This daily email is not a fan club for me being a lead singer on a reunion tour from the 80's.  It is not me talking about the millions of albums I have sold and Grammy's won. Isn't about me getting inducted into the NBA hall of fame.  It is a blog about my gift...sales.  The gift of gab.  The gift of connection with others. Talent will let you "be in the mix" and get on a sports team as a mediocre athlete.  It will let you sing for a few hundred drunk college students.  But your gift will separate you from the masses.  It will make you special...exceptional even. It is an innate and natural extension of your passions...and purpose. Malcolm Gladwell in "Outliers" says it takes 10,000 hours to develop a gift.  I could have spent 100,000 hours on my singing and I would still have to lip sync like Milli Vanilli (yikes, that put a date on my tombstone!).  I could have did jumping workouts for 10 summers and never dunked a basketball (Spud Webb anyone?).  Why work on a talent, when you can focus on your "highest and best use" and flow in your gift?   In the 3 Ingredients, #2 one was sticking to your Core Competency...your gift.  It will be counterproductive to knock around in things that you are not well suited for.  That is not meant to be an convenient excuse for not doing the tough things we all have to do (like prospecting) but it is meant to provide laser-like focus on what you do best. I work with many agents who are tremendous at helping people join Medicare Advantage plans.  Most of these are zero premium plans and offer terrific benefits, but you do no have to ask for a check (to my large Caribbean audience, yes...no premium!) We have tried to get these agents to cross sell other products.  Many of them struggle.  They have a great gift of rapport building, consultative education and building trust...but some of them do not have the "gift" of asking for money. One of them finally said, "I will stick with Medicare Advantage...that is my gift."  I could have told her to stick with trying to sell life insurance.  I could have had her role play and ask for money five different ways.  I could have done ride alongs to help her develop the talent to close, but then I thought about something Captain Spock said to Admiral Kirk in Wrath of Khan II; Kirk:  "Spock, these cadets of yours - how good are they?  How will they respond to real pressure? Spock:  "As will all living things, Admiral..." Each According To Their Gifts!  Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!   

Let the Money Pile Up!

     I think I have said I am not a big fan of rap.  Not hating...just not into it... Sugar Hill Gang and "Rappers Delight" is about as far as I can go.  In fact, Ole School Saturday is this week - Natalie, put on your dancing shoes...just not the ones you can only wear 2 hours please! I digress... The kids would always try to convert me to rap.  One day they came to me, "You have to listen to this ....it's a positive rap song." It was Kanye West (yes...I know!) and the song was called "The Good Life".  The lyric that got me...  50 told me, go 'head, switch the style up
And if they hate then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up
The good life   Profit - another way of saying "let the money pile up".  You have to have some left to put in that pile and if you recall, profit is what you have left after the transactions are complete.  Sure, that was too easy of a connection to my lesson.  The more subtle revelation I want you to see; "go 'head...switch the style up" If your business is not profitable, then it is probably time you make some changes.  Switch the style up!  In the 3 ingredients, the first thing to review was your margins...can you make money?  I have a basic concept I need you to adopt right now...no argument;  If you can't make money...stop doing it!  I am working with a several agents who came from environments where they couldn't make money.  They took lessor contracts...that is ok.  They paid for leads...also ok.  Where the hamster wheel revolved is that the formulas for getting to positive money (profit) were so in favor of the company, that the agents not only didn't make money...they owed money! The first area of evaluation for margin is revenue.  Top line money.  For the typical small business, there are two main things that generate revenue; Products & Partnerships Products are basic.  They are the widget you make and the widget you sell.  If you are selling a product or service that you make and deliver yourself, you have to be mindful of costs of production and delivery.  That is the foundation of your margin and profit potential. Most of you are brokers...right?  You don't produce the product, but you contract with companies to distribute their products...like insurance. Partnerships are ususally formed when someone is closer to the company and has a "master" contract and then contracts downstream to the individual producers.  Your contract will spell out how much you make for selling, servicing and renewing that product.  No matter how you are aligned you have to be in a position to sell effectively and generate revenue.  Do you have 10 contracts to sell but only sell 2?  What about the other 8? Can you learn and cross-sell those products to increase revenue?  If the answer is yes...switch your style up and engage them in your portfolio! The next area of evaluation for margin are expenses.  What does it cost you to deliver the product to the consumer?  The computer, the printer, the gas in the car...it all adds up to subtract from your revenue. Brandon, what advice would you give a business that is "bleeding"? For 30 days...watch every penny (I didn't mean dollar...penny!) coming in.  Evaluate - watch how you make it, what products you sell and where your clients come from.  Get top line revenue focused for 30 days with a simple eye toward increasing it...say 10% in that 30 days. With focus, I know you can do it...Trust me, you are missing opportunities because you are not looking for them! The next 30 days, watch every penny going out...reduce it by 10%. (read the 2 lines above again!) At the end of 60 days, you will have increased your margins by 20% (technically infinity but I won't take you there!).  You will have more left than you spent...it will feel like the good life. You might even rap a verse from Kanye...  Let the Money Pile Up!  Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success! 

The 3 Ingredients!

   Two partners were working on their business plan. One turns to the other and says, "Let's sell our widget for $100 - that's lower than anyone on the market.  We will make a killing!" The other partner responds, "But that's less than it cost us to make them."  "Don't worry...we'll make it up with volume!   Yeah...bad joke and you have probably heard the punch line before.  It would be comical if so many businesses didn't have balance sheets that played out this way.  Having reviewed many businesses...small and great...I have seen it too often. If you are just getting a business started, then it make take some time to become profitable.  New, large corporations sometimes forecast it will take years before they turn a profit.  Of course, they have the luxury of OPM (other peoples money...can you say IPO?) and time. Does your business have large cash reserves...time? If not, then you have to have a profit slant today and everyday.  How do you ensure that you have set up your business model for profit?  You make sure you have The 3 Ingredients.  If you design your business with these 3 things in mind, it won't be long before your Income exceeds your Outgo...profit; "Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art." Andy Warhol  
I am not a Harvard MBA (fooled you...didn't I?), but I have owned enough businesses and worked for enough that I have seen the pattern emerge.  The 3 things you have to have to be mindful of to make a profit; 1. Margin2. Core Competency3. Tactical Ability Margin - How do I make money?  Seems like such a simple question, but one many business owners don't ask until they find out there is no money to be made.  It is largely about the products you offer and the "spread" between what you get for delivering it and the cost of that delivery.  This is the key to making sure your business isn't the "punch line" from earlier. Core Competency - What am I best at?  It revolves around the natural and developed gifts of you and your team. Trying to be all things to all people will leave you doing things that aren't in your "wheelhouse".  Don't follow or copy others unless you have the gift.  Do what you do...and do it better than they do!  "Jack of all trades...master of none".  That will hurt profitability. Tactical Ability - Will I do it?  Doesn't matter if you have the skill if you don't have the will.   Many sales people are talented (core competency) but don't have a process and the discipline to follow it.  You can't be aimless and haphazard.  You need a plan and then do what the plan says.  Great plans require great execution.   There you have it.  Simple...right?  Until you begin to review the way you run your business today.  If you are making money...the 3 ingredients are in there...I promise.  If you are struggling to make profit, then adding them will be the foundation of your turnaround.  The next two days will be devoted to helping you E4 your business - Evaluate, Evolve, Expand and Explode your business...making it a a profitable one! You can send my 10% consultant fee to... Just kidding...  Your business just called and said on the way home can you pick up bread, milk, eggs...and The 3 Ingredients!  Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!