Why every business needs a Ben Zobrist #MVP

Why every business needs a Ben Zobrist #MVP


 

Every bleary eyed sports fan, casual or not, watched or is now learning about the historic comeback win for the Cubs.

This article isn’t about the win, not even about the organization – team – or even coaching – it’s about Ben Zobrist. If you don’t know who he really is, I’m going to share some highlights about why he is the ultimate team player. As a lifelong baseball fan I’ve dedicated all of my work tying baseball to business and how you need to have teammates, coaching and a plan. It’s called “Stuck On First” (more about that later).

Ben Zobrist is often called the “super utility man” and I’ve personally seen him play just about every position on the field except for pitcher and catcher. For the Cubs he was their 2nd Baseman until Javier Baez came along. Guess what Ben said? “I just come here to play baseball” and no whining about the position itself. Oh did I mention he’s a switch hitter and just won the World Series MVP? Oh and he’s won Back to Back World Series titles – just the 4th player ever to do this when switching leagues.

I’ve only met Ben as a fan while signing autographs so I can’t comment directly on what his work ethic is but I have no doubt following traits.

  • Tireless work ethic – you can’t be a switch hitter without hard work
  • Not afraid to fail – every player makes errors it’s how you bounce back that matters
  • Playing for a purpose – Ben always talks about his team, the organization, his coaches and his family. It’s NEVER about HIM.
  • Give it 100% – There is no tomorrow and always enter every situation like it’s the top of the 10th and he needs a hit to win.

Every player and owner dreams about hitting the winning run in extra innings but it’s thousands of hours of work shown in the result split second decision and hit.

Chances are YOU are the super-utility man in your business and that means you do everything. You are the super sales guy, the accounting department, the delivery guy and the guy actually doing the work. Now imagine a business where all of that happens but you have Ben Zobrist clones – your staff, colleagues, partners, suppliers & contractors fill that role.

Did you see the others on the field, dugout & bullpen? I did.

That’s how you build a scaleable business – you take EVERYTHING that Ben does and break up the pieces and processes. Teach & Coach YOUR team to do all the things you do and get out of their way. Chances are really good they are capable (if you have the right players) and want to please their coach. They can’t do that without some training and guidance. Spend the time to break down their swing so they can replicate it. Let them fail and support them.

In a previous business we had a process for EVERYTHING. Client intake, Marketing, Sales, Production even Billing. Guess what? 80% of everything that went on did so without me. When you have 26 employees and hundreds of contractors that’s a feat in itself. I knew EVERY part of our business – BUT I DIDN’T do everything I let my team take care of it.

Be a Super Utility man just like Ben Zobrist – 2016 World Series MVP – just don’t be afraid to let others up to the plate too.

If you want to learn more about how I did it I would love to send you a FREE copy of my book. Just click this link and I’ll get one out to you but I asking you to pay some shipping. If that’s an issue just message me here and I’ll mail you one for free.

Happy Selling!

Stop Fishing for clients!

So often I speak with clients and prospects and generally as a CEO, President & Owner one of their biggest concerns is growth.

In many cases they are just fishing and not hunting for new clients – not because they don’t know how to close those that stumble into their nets, but more often than not it’s because they really don’t know how to fish.

When a business gets to their so called 2nd Stage – they have some employees, a few large customers, a bookkeeper and the “Artist” that runs the business decides it’s time to hire a sales person because they just don’t have the time to do it.

Chances are they could not be more wrong.

I could share dozens of stories like this but I’ll just share one. The client was a fairly large company with over 100 employees and just a few large clients. Our goal was to diversify the client base with new product offerings and to new customer segments. The approach was just identifying a higher end client base that used similar products and services with just more “things” in the projects.

We raised the average sale from $5,500 to over $40,000. We raised the margins from just over 20% to over 30%. We added almost 7 figures of contracts to the base and had a top line increase of 14% overall.

Guess what? We didn’t make a dime.

The Service Delivery team didn’t pay attention to the details and it killed the margins. As a consultant we had no control over delivery and management’s assessment that their process was solid was really just a story they told themselves and the numbers proved those facts.

Why Am I Sharing This?

There are just three keys to finding the RIGHT customers.

We have to know what they really look like. You have to understand, at the core, what your IDEAL customer looks like and how your organization can service it. In this case we literally took the exact same product and just a fancier version. The organization just wasn’t ready.

We have to know where they ‘hang out’. In most cases your sales people are justprospecting all day instead of closing and this can be a big mistake. Your marketing messaging and funnels should help identify where they hang out because you have data and not instincts alone. Many ‘sales guys’ pursue the wrong clients because they just think they may be buyers when they don’t really know what the organizations ideal clients look like. Just think of how many people want a new BMW but if they don’t have the budget it’s just a waste of time.

We have to know how to reach them. This is likely the most difficult. Strong sales organizations focus on this aspect because they have built their ideal client profile (or avatar) and they strictly focus on that. I’m consistently amazed how many people I meet who don’t really know what they look like. If you don’t know what they look like how are you ever going to spot them?

If you think about all of the wasted time you and your team would have chasing the wrong prospects who never will be customers and focus on those who would be buyers your closing ratio will go up dramatically. It’s just a matter of using the storytelling concept of marketing and using you and your teams expertise to draw in the right clients.

The right clients buy from experts when they are ready to buy – not when you are ready to sell.

So next time you think about growth – think about these three things. It’s the same reason I don’t fish for Grouper in the lake behind my house. No matter how bad I want to catch one there – it’s NEVER going to happen.

HAPPY FRIDAY! Now go sell something!

My new Book is Here!

My new Book is Here!

Stuck_On_First_Cover_for_Kindle

Yes finally everyone my book is here – I want to tell you the I wrote every word in the book and it was a true work of passion. I had help of course but it is 100% genuine and read the book with #passion!

To make it easy it’s even available below – while supplies last!

 

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Did Denny Hamlin give enough? .011 Seconds says he did.

Did Denny Hamlin give enough? .011 Seconds says he did.

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I am not a NASCAR fan – there I said it.

I am a huge sports fan but some sports sadly, just don’t occupy my time.

But sports and business occupy a great deal of my time.  Day after day I meet with and share stories with entrepreneurs and owners who really want to get their business to the next level and in most cases just don’t know how to get there.

But it’s obvious to me there are few things these NASCAR guys have a few things we can take away.

  • They are ultimately prepared – they look at everything they can ahead of time in order to be proactive.  Remember they have no technology in the car so you can’t blame ‘the system’ if you run out of gas.
  • They are a team – everyone on the team has one focus – to get across the finish line first. From the engine builders, tire changers (those guys ROCK!), crew chief and every part of the staff has one goal – WIN.
  • REDLINE – they run everything they do at MAXIMUM speed and EFFORT.  There is no place for just going through the motions and letting the cards fall where they may.  They practice hard and bring that hard work to the track.

There is no 2nd place for effort – regardless of talent nothing beats effort. If you work on the right things for the right reasons your time will come.

If you look @joegibbsracing you see a culture of excellence, teamwork and performance.

What could you do with that extra .011 Seconds.

I bet Martin Truex wants it back – but do you?

 

———————————————————————————————–Bryan Durkin is the Author of “Stuck On First – the 9 Positions of a Playoff Ready Business”, Speaker and Consultant.  Bryan specializes in emerging growth oriented companies looking to get to the next level.  More information regarding Bryan and his book can be found at his website here.  He loves to connect to motivated CEO’s who are looking to make a change and grow their business today.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

7 Game Time Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!

7 Game Time Mistakes and How to Avoid Them!

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In this very short 20 min video, I share with you 7 of the most common traits of business owners and the biggest mistakes they make.  These 5 things will transform your business by avoiding the most common problems.

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