You are probably aware of the expression “elephant in the room”?

It’s being used a lot at the moment and relates to an obvious truth that is apparent but being ignored, or it relates to a problem or risk that no one wants to discuss. (Brexit causing people to hide??!!)

It’s based on the idea that the elephant is so big in the room that it would be impossible to overlook. So, if you choose to pretend it’s not there you’ve chosen to avoid dealing with the looming big issue.

And the elephant is everywhere in these uncertain times. But I want to talk about the “elephant of opportunity” and not the “elephant of gloom”.

By this, I mean that too many businesses are choosing to ignore both the need and the opportunity for growth. The need because you can’t stand still – costs increase and competitors are sharp. The opportunity – because many of those competitors have become vulnerable and fast growth comes from taking THEIR customers off them!

Grow 2020 thinking – Steal Competitors Customers

I know that so many of you think that stealing your competitors’ customers is not ethical! Well, you’ll say that, but likely think differently! Coming up are two questions to ask the customer of your competitor – the person who is YOUR new customer prospect.

The first question to ask is – “What does XYZ Company (the name of your competitor) do for you now that you value?” The answer you get tells you how they measure the service from your competitor.

The second question is – “What could they do a little better?” The answer tells you what you must do to get the business.

Try it- it works!  The sales director of a company I was coaching was trying hard to get his label products into a large company but the buyer was reluctant to meet. Eventually, my client got an appointment (he used my get-past-the-gatekeeper tactics!)  tried this “customer-centric” approach of the two questions and came away with the business.

How you can grow – affordably! Check out my Make 2020 Great collection.

Grow 2020 Thinking – Growth means making mistakes

One thing I do know, and with certainty, is that if you want growth you’ll inevitably make mistakes.  The faster you want to grow then the more mistakes you’ll make. In my mind mistakes shouldn’t just be tolerated, they should be celebrated and learning should come from them.

The question should never be “did you make a mistake?” instead it should be “did we make a mistake that we learned from?”  And did that learning move us forward?

However, there’s a current and real problem around.  Whilst leaders are putting growth initiatives at the top of their wish-lists, they’re also demonstrating a dangerous level of timidity.

All too often I’m hearing comments like, “We’ve done something similar to this before but it didn’t work quite like we wanted.  How do we know that we won’t be making a mistake here?”

The answer, obviously, is that you don’t know it won’t be a mistake.  And the goal shouldn’t be to avoid making a mistake – the goal should be moving forward.

I’m not saying make the same mistake again and I’m also not saying that your goal should be to make a mistake.

The “mistake” questions you should be asking are:

• If this turns out to be a mistake, what’s the likelihood that we’ll learn something valuable from it?
• Does this effort have a better chance of being successful than the current steps we are taking?
• If this is a mistake, can we afford it?

If you want faster growth than you are currently achieving,  then you will need to try new things.  The problem with new things is that the only way to prove that they will work is after you try them.

If you are not tolerant about making mistakes then you’ll stifle your ability to grow. A good way is to find  a mentor – someone who has done it all before and discuss “mistake probabilities” with them.

Don’t forget to check out my Make2020Great options to support your growth in this next decade.