Are you too busy to sell?
Are you busier than ever and yet still not getting everything done? Then you’re not alone. James West of ONLE Networking notes that business owners are universally struggling with clarity and focus. And most worryingly, that the most fundamental building blocks of business are being overlooked. Find out what’s really going on and how you can counter the trend.
I’ve noticed a worrying business trend. Despite it being obvious that small businesses should be prioritising follow-ups and sales enquiries, I’ve seen first-hand that those key tenets of a healthy business are not being prioritised. In fact, it’s worse than that: I fear sales is falling further down our list of priorities every day.
What’s this observation based on? I’ve noticed two things.
• Twice in the last month, I’ve effectively told people I want to pay them to do some work for us. In both instances, I had to chase them, and eventually I gave up.
• I’ve got my own pipeline of people who have asked to visit ONLE or expressed interest in joining, yet when I draw up my to-do list, follow-ups aren’t at the top of the list. I tend to get to them after everything else, if there’s time.
There’s more. We recently asked our members:
“If you were more confident, what’s the one thing you would do that would help your business?”
The most popular answers were:
1. Creating video content
2. Using AI
3. More social media
4. Cold outreach
Sales conversations and follow-ups were mentioned, but far less than any of those.
And I’m not saying those areas are unimportant or couldn’t deliver value. But going back to the original question: are any of those activities more important than progressing a real sales opportunity, especially when someone has already shown interest?
So what’s going on? More pointedly:
Why are we not prioritising the tasks that will bring money into our businesses?
There’s an obvious explanation related to fear of rejection. No one enjoys being told “no”, or (even worse for many people!) feeling pushy, and that will always play a part in sales being lower down the priority order than it should be. But that’s not new, and it doesn’t quite explain what I’m seeing.
I think sales is being pushed further down our agendas by the sheer amount of noise we’re exposed to. We are constantly surrounded by notifications that provide the perfect excuse to ‘move away’ from more in-depth or challenging activities (such as sales).
Added to that, we’re bombarded by trends and ‘must-do’ activities such as the latest way to ‘hack the algorithm’ or the lead magnet/funnel combo that promises to make sales without you doing any work.
This combination of ‘important’, ever-present distractions and the persuasive nag of the latest growth shortcut has created a dangerous fog. This fog is numbing our instincts and our logic.
The result is that rather than looking at our businesses and priorities with a subjective, logical mind, we stay busy. We create, we post, we test, we tweak, we explore new tools. All of it can be justified. All of it can feel like progress. But in the process, we’re neglecting the very thing that businesses are built on: turning interest into work. And then wondering why we’re not making money despite being constantly busy.
“I believe one of the most important disciplines for business owners today is setting your own time agenda rather than allowing other people/platforms and notifications to choose it for you.”
James West, ONLE Networking
Seeing the business wood for the trees
The good news? Just beyond this fog are the simple truths of building a business.
Businesses live and die by supply and demand: discover what people want or need, communicate the value to attract and convert customers, and deliver the results customers expect. Delivering that is a challenge that requires subjective, clear thinking and focus. It demands that business owners deliberately step back and ask: is this business still delivering and am I giving it what it needs to succeed? A business WON’T succeed with owners constantly hopping between tasks and channels, producing more social media content or trying to become good at writing AI prompts.
Here’s the key question to ask yourself:
“Am I responding to the noise, or am I doing what this business needs?”
It’s too easy (and forgivable) in business to respond to what’s in front of us, what’s being talked about, what feels current, rather than stepping back and asking that simple question: what does my business need today to move forward?
More often than not, the answer is far less complicated than the world around us suggests. It’s a conversation. A follow-up. A decision. A next step with someone who has already shown intent.
Unplug to see what your business needs
I believe one of the most important disciplines for business owners today is setting your own time agenda rather than allowing other people/platforms and notifications to choose it for you. There’s nothing flashy or progressive about it. It’s simply a case of finding the time to ascertain what your business needs now, and tomorrow. And then delivering.
Draw a task list based on that. Include sales follow-ups at the top. If someone has expressed interest in your business, that is not just another task. It is THE task.
Build your work around that reality, and then aggressively protect the time needed to complete those tasks, away from the noise.
Because if we don’t, the noise will keep filling the space. And we’ll continue to do more and more, while the most important opportunities sit there. View those sitting tasks as unclaimed money and maybe your perspective will change.