Read more about the 13 weeks here.
The value of prospecting is irrefutable. This is the main reason I selected it as part of my 13 weeks. Prospecting could include a lot of things, but for most people this week's focus would include finding more clients. For me, I noted desired focus areas of networking, leveraging connections, and asking for the business.
Not just Networking.
My intention was not just to do more networking because that is one of my best strength areas. I am naturally drawn to relationship building and feel this is easy for me. However, even as a business owner who knows better, I am not particularly good at capitalizing on those relationships. And frankly I am emotionally torn about this. I know darn well that when done well, it is absolutely the right thing to help more people by asking for the business. And yet, like so many people out there, including most of my clients, I don't feel all that comfortable wearing the "sales" hat. I love coaching! I am in business to coach people to succeed in business. So...well you can see the irony here. When in the right frame of mind I actually enjoy what can be called the sales process, but I tend to avoid it when I think of it as the sales process.
"Sales" really isn't a four-letter word!
We are all sales people in a sense. Perhaps if we think of it as gentle influence, expressing natural curiosity, and sincerely looking to be helpful by meeting needs, then we would never procrastinate or avoid sales activities.
Overall, I scored myself a 2 out of 5. Yes despite my disappointment in not really taking it to the next level, I did manage to hit all three focus areas. Unfortunately, I found myself organizing my business contacts list more than actually talking to people, but I did attend several networking events, and followed up with prospective clients. I also identified several opportunities for additional service offers with past and current clients. Now I just have to continue the follow-through!