Last week someone asked me to sum up in as few words as possible what we do at Rainmakers. Challenge accepted. Rainmakers creates success and abundance for business owners and sales professionals. The reason our organization and members are successful is because we all follow a simple (not easy) process. While it takes hard work and commitment, the process works. We guide our clients through this process because we live by it ourselves. Let me explain.
1. Focus. Focus on what you’re chasing. Before you start marketing or sales efforts, define your goals (long term and short term) and decide how to achieve them. To do this, start by defining your WHY. Your WHY is the big picture goal or the vision for your life. Your WHY is what gets you excited. As an organization, the Rainmakers WHY is this: we want to create business development results for thousands of local businesses in Indianapolis just as we do for ourselves. Before members start our program, we clarify their WHY and define short term goals that will help them take the next big step towards that WHY. Get clear, get focused.
2. Accountability. Who is holding you accountable and who are you holding accountable? Once you have defined your goal and created a plan, put systems of accountability in place. A system of accountability is comprised of the people who surround you. They know your goals and hold you to what you say you will do. We recommend engaging with at least five people in your life who understand your overall goals and who will hold you accountable as you progress. Additionally, don’t just take, give back. Be a part of someone else’s accountability system.
Another best practice is to leverage technologies that track benchmarks so you can monitor progress. Many of the people we work use customer relationship management (CRM) tools for daily tracking and accountability. There are many options out there. Find the best fit for you. CRMs are a powerful resource to stay on top of your game.
3. Results. “When eating an elephant take one bite at a time.” – Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. Results don’t happen overnight. When you have a goal, a plan to reach that goal and an accountability system, magic happens! This is where our team comes in to ensure the plan will, in fact, get you to your goal. My team is incredibly good at getting results because we follow the simple (not easy) plan. We take a bite out of the elephant everyday, so to speak. It takes time and dedication. Not only do you have to develop the relationships that will hold you accountable, you have to have the self-discipline to work consistently even when you don’t want to. Results come for people who stick with the plan and reward themselves for following it. When they believe, results follow.
Keep growth simple and stay focused. Know what and who to say “no” to, as well as the opportunities to say “yes” to. Take one day at a time and celebrate the small wins along the way. The big stuff will come from those daily small efforts.
Oh, and most importantly, have fun with it all.
