Building on what you know
The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.
Tony Garobaldi reached a goal he hadn’t planned on achieving for another four months - to double his income. Tony is over the moon and we were thrilled to see him so excited about his business, especially since he was in such an anxious state when we first started working together.
At the end of last summer, Tony came to us because he wanted to get into the business market. He had recently been to a workshop on selling to high-net worth business owners and afterwards decided that he needed to migrate his business in that direction.
When we began talking about the business market, we noticed that Tony seemed to tighten up. His voice grew less confident, his shoulders hunched over and he seemed very nervous. The more we discussed adding different types of clients to his current market the more uncomfortable he became. We knew that before we could move forward, we needed to explore his confidence issue more thoroughly, so we asked him why he wanted to get into the high-end business market in the first place.
“A lot of the people I work with are doing it,” he said. “They all seem to be making lots of money. One woman I know, is making a killing advising real estate developers. I’d love to be making even half as much money as she is.”
“So, you actually want to increase your income?” we asked him. When he nodded, we asked, “Do you have a strong interest in and knowledge of what makes businesses perform?” Tony shook his head and looked downcast.
Making more money wasn’t a sufficient reason for moving into a new market. But wanting to increase his income was a completely valid desire. To help him achieve that goal while maintaining the self-confidence he had built-up so far, we tried to shift his focus away from his desire to get into the business market. He needed a new dream, one that grew out of his own current situation, not one that was thrust upon him by somebody else.
When we asked Tony to describe his current business, he told me he was Italian and worked almost exclusively in that market. He loved working with people from his own culture - people he understood. He knew how to talk to them, what their hopes and dreams were likely to be, what challenges they were likely to face. Every time he made a sale he felt a surge of satisfaction. It felt great to help a member of his community. He felt that he was providing a service that few others could, and that gave him a tremendous passion for his business. Often, that passion allowed him to persevere when accounts or sales became difficult. He always had confidence that he was doing the right thing for his clients.
His only real concern was that he was making a lot of sales but they were relatively small. His income had plateaued at $125,000 and he wanted to move beyond. When he had first started in the business he had set himself a goal of making $250,000 a year. Now, after 6 years in the business, he had a stable practice, but he was only halfway there.
Now that we had a clear picture of Tony’s business, but, more importantly, we had an idea of how to solve his real problem - how to double his income. We spent the rest of the meeting exploring our solution and before we left had set the clear, but achievable objective of doubling his income in the next 12 months. Tony was eager to get going. He left our meeting with renewed passion for his business and a determination to meet his goal ahead of schedule.
Two weeks after our meeting, Tony booked a meeting with a couple of his current clients, Mr. and Mrs. Spataro. Tony knew this was going to be a key appointment for him. The Spataros were not a big client, in fact, they were well below his average client size, but they had massive potential. They, and his other clients just like them, were the keys to meeting his goal.
Tony arrived at the Spataro house on a Thursday night after dinner. Both of them worked during the day, while their four children were at school. This was the only good time to meet. Tony didn’t mind the late hour, however, and he loved being invited into his client’s homes. He had met the Spataros on many occasions over the years and they were very comfortable with each other.
Tony followed the approach we had laid out in our strategy meeting the day before. The first thing he did was re-establish their confidence in him. He reviewed the work he had already done for them and asked them if they had any concerns about their insurance, his service or had any other needs they wanted him to look at? Both the Spataros shook their heads. It was important to them that their children would be taken care of should anything happen and they were confident Tony was taking care of them.
Tony agreed and said that there may be other things they could examine to cement their children’s futures. As well, he asked them what they were doing about their own futures. He asked them when they would retire and what they wanted to do afterwards. Mr. Spataro wanted to spend time travelling. He had always dreamed of seeing more of the world and thought they would have the chance once he retired at 65. When Tony asked how they were providing for that day, however, Mr. Spataro was unsure because, aside from their savings, they were relying on his pension from the union.
Tony took a closer look at their current situation, compared it to where they wanted to go and saw that they would have trouble accomplishing everything they wanted. The good news was, Tony was able to show them that investing their savings in a slightly more aggressive manner, diversifying their asset mix and making regular payments into an investment portfolio would probably get them where they wanted to go. As well, he showed them how they could inexpensively set money aside for their children’s education using an RESP. They even considered insurance on the children as an investment tool.
By the time he left, Tony had taken care of the Spataros retirement and estate preservation needs. They were even happier with his work than before. And, for Tony, he had gone from having two products with the Spataros to having ten. Before he left he checked that they were happy and confident with his work. Then he asked if they knew anyone else, with similar needs, who might benefit from his services.
That one meeting with the Spataros was pivotal in Tony’s career. By the time he had worked the Spataros network of family and friends he had sold over 70 different products. He had turned one small customer into one of his largest accounts.
Over the next few months he repeated this approach with his other clients and in just eight months Tony made $250,000. He had reached his goal four months ahead of schedule.
Lessons Learned
Tony’s experience shows the importance of working in markets that suit your experience and skills.
In Tony’s story we saw that you should look for the untapped opportunity in your current market before being lured away by profits in another market. Tony was able to go deep in his relationships with his current clients by serving their spouses and children. He found unexplored needs within the immediate family and was able to turn one sale into many. Tony was also able to go broad, across the width of the Spataro’s extended family and network of friends. He asked for and received introductions and referrals that enabled him to make even more sales.
Had Tony pursued the business market, his income would have likely gone down. This is not true for everyone, but Tony’s was inexperienced. He would have had to learn a new market from scratch and become comfortable with a new set of client needs. While he was doing that, his efforts would be spread thin, his income would probably drop and he may even find his competitors taking some of his clients in his natural market.
Tony was successful because he focussed on his niche. He was able to work in an area that he knew better than anybody else and his income doubled as a result. Now, three years later, Tony’s income continues to soar at a remarkable rate.
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The Covenant Group is referred to by many as where entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and authors of the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.