Real Relationships Real Revenue - Audio Edition | Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career

In the last two episodes, we discussed the importance of taking a quick scan of your opportunity list and relationships, or first among equals list. In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I’m sharing step three of this method. In this step, you’re going to pick three actions that you’re going to take in the next week that are going to either move your relationships or your opportunities forward.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:  What BIG stands for How to use this method to move your business forward     The key here is consistency. By staying consistent with this method and picking your three most important things every week and getting them done, you will create unstoppable momentum. It’s a game-changer. You’ll always be moving your opportunities and relationships forward which will lead to more success.    To go deeper into this topic, check out Teresa Amabile’s TED Talk. She has some really great tips and advice that I think you’ll enjoy.    Resources Mentioned: Check out Teresa Amabile’s TED Talk

In the last episode, I gave you step one of the Most Important Things process, or MIT: Look at your opportunities.  In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I’m talking about how to review the other key part of this process - your relationships. It’s about anchoring your mind on your most important relationships for your future success.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:  Continuously evaluating your First Among Equals list Deciding if you have a way that you can invest in them weekly Why it’s important to keep your relationship list visible   This whole process only takes about 15 minutes of your time weekly. You’ll do this right after you take a look at your opportunity list. Avoid making your relationship list and then forgetting about it. It’s really easy to do but you have to look at it quickly every week so that you can keep those relationships strong.    If you want to learn more about relationships, make sure to check out my conversation with Bill Ruprecht. We dove into the topic of relationship discipline and I think you’ll find it fascinating.      Resources Mentioned: Listen to my conversation with Bill Ruprecht

In the last episode, we covered the mindset of business development habits. In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I’m sharing the first of three steps you need to remember when it comes to your business development habits. It’s ridiculously simple, but also very important so you don’t want to forget it.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:  Taking a look at your opportunity list Knowing where you are in the step to step process Finding the next thing you can do to move forward incrementally    So think about who you’re going to be seeing in the next week and use these tips to find out the next thing you can do to move your business forward incrementally based on your opportunity list.    If you want to learn more about moving things forward incrementally over time, make sure to listen to my interview with Brian Caffarelli. It’s a really great episode to listen to if you are ready to go deeper on this topic.   Resources Mentioned: Listen to my conversation with Brian Caffarelli

In this set of videos, we are talking all about business development habits. This might be the most important topic, so make sure to listen closely. In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I am talking about the mindset of business development habits. Don’t ever think that it’s business development or delivery. If you think you’re too busy for this, you won’t succeed.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    Why business development is so important How to incorporate it into your business Why scarcity is a good thing in your business   Don’t wait until you’re not busy to make time for business development. Remember, people value your time more when you’re busy. You’re more scarce and people want more of what there is less of. When you offer your time when you’re busy, it has more heft than when you’re not. You want to think about BD and delivery, not BD or delivery.    If you want to learn how you can have better business development habits, make sure to check out my conversation with James Clear. We talked about atomic habits and I think you’re really going to enjoy this interview.    Resources Mentioned: Check out my conversation with James Clear

This week on Real Relationships Real Revenue, we are talking about effective and strategic client planning. Many people make mistakes when it comes to this so we will be covering how you can do this really well, where you can get the most ROI on your time invested, and how to do it in a way that your clients will love.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    The biggest mistakes we see with client planning Anchoring and the status quo bias Earned dogmatism Self-enhancement bias Why you need to be looking toward the future Questions to ask yourself about your clients Future vision Why you should focus on the top three things  Using mnemonic devices, alliteration, or rhyming Creating your to-do list Creating your to-don’t list The say no nicely model Thinking about business development meetings as agile sprints Spending time in the meeting looking forward Tying everything back to the strategy Celebrating incremental progress   The most important thing for you to remember when it comes to client planning is to look forward. Don’t spend all of your time looking into the past and examining what did or didn’t work. Give it ten minutes and then switch to your future vision. It’s the only thing you can control.    These tips and strategies will help you look at the current situation, plan for the future, come up with effective strategies, take the necessary tactical steps, and manage everything ongoing. If you implement these tips, you are sure to find more success.      Resources Mentioned: Learn more about the status quo bias Check out my conversation with Michael Hyatt Check out my conversation with Jane Allen Watch the video on saying no nicely Check out the Winning More PDF

This is the final episode around proper, groundbreaking, and efficient client planning. In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I’m getting into how you can manage things ongoing. I’m sharing my top three tips to help you succeed.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    Thinking about business development meetings as agile sprints Spending time in the meeting looking forward Tying everything back to the strategy Celebrating incremental progress   Don’t get caught up in focusing on the tactical aspects, you want to relate everything in your meetings back to the overall strategy and ongoing agile sprints to reach your goals. It’s so important that you don’t forget to celebrate those wins as well because the happiest and most productive people are the ones that celebrate incremental progress.    To dive into this topic more and learn about measuring success, check out this Winning More PDF we wrote about how to roll out your training and have more success in major organizations. If you run big client teams or are a big part of an organization, you’re going to want to check it out.      Resources Mentioned: Check out the Winning More PDF

In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I’m getting really tactical. Our first three episodes covered the current state, future state, and strategic themes, and to follow that up  I’m covering your to-do list, your to-don’t list, and how to say no nicely.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    Creating your to-do list Creating your to-don’t list The say no nicely model   These tactical steps covered in this episode are so important. This idea of being able to say no in a nice way that retains the relationship shows empathy, but also is very crystal clear on what you can and can't do with math, numbers, and logic. If you want to learn more about how to say no nicely, check out this video. It’s incredibly powerful and important when it comes to client planning.  Resources Mentioned: Watch the video on saying no nicely

In our last episode, we talked about really pinning down your current state and future vision during client planning. In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, we are talking about strategies. To get your clients from where they are today to where you want them to be, you need to get it down to three strategies.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    Why you should focus on the top three things  Using mnemonic devices, alliteration, or rhyming   The trap you need to avoid is having too many or too few strategies for your team. Three is the optimal amount to have. Do them in a way that people will remember using literary techniques. Remember, people buy into what they help create, so your client team is buying into these strategies when they help create them, themselves.    If you are interested in learning more about thinking about a vision, I recommend you check out my conversation with Jane Allen. It’s really inspirational and I think you’ll enjoy it.    Resources Mentioned: Check out my conversation with Jane Allen

In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I’m giving you a rock-solid first step to start your client planning. These are the most important things to getting your team grounded. We’re going to be covering your current state and future state. This first step will get your team unstuck and looking toward the future instead of the past.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    Why you need to be looking toward the future Questions to ask yourself about your clients Future vision   This will help you avoid the trap of being way too focused on the past. We’ll blitz through all of the science that we talked about in the last episode and get you clear on where you’re at today and where you want to be in the future. The future vision conversation is the most important part.    If you are interested in crafting a vision for anything, make sure to check out my conversation with Michael Hyatt. We talked about some really interesting ways to craft a vision for yourself or your organization.    Resources Mentioned: Check out my conversation with Michael Hyatt

  This week on Real Relationships Real Revenue, we are talking about effective and strategic client planning. Many people make mistakes when it comes to this so we will be covering how you can do this really well, where you can get the most ROI on your time invested, and how to do it in a way that your clients will love. These are the three scientific headwinds that are against you when it comes to retention and growth.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    The biggest mistakes we see with client planning Anchoring and the status quo bias Earned dogmatism Self-enhancement bias   We’re probably biased toward staying where we are at or even shrinking, but we need to be thinking about how we can be bringing new experts, new activities, and new solutions to our clients in a way that is helpful and proactive.    To learn more about the status quo bias, make sure to check out the Wikipedia page on it. It is very interesting and it might be a great thing to share with your team.    Resources Mentioned: Learn more about the status quo bias