One. The magical number. If I asked you how many deals you needed to close, contacts to make, services to sell, calls to dial, emails to send out, you would like have a specific number in mind for each question. When I ask you what is the only number that matters for each, and tell you ‘one’, do you believe me?

We are geared to leverage anything and everything. We trick the system to make things look personalized. Adding [First Name] into a mass email and expecting that every recipient will feel warm and fuzzy when they get your spam.

The age of truly focused and personalized connectivity are gone. Yet, it is so easy to do.

Do you want to build your small business? One. One deal. Go and find one deal where you make money. Find one customer that believes in you. Find one contact that can introduce you to a decision maker. Make one call to someone who truly matters. More is not better. It is just more white noise.

One good deal will become many more deals. One good friend, will introduce you to many more friends. The concept is so easy, yet very few appreciate it. I have closed hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue deals in my career. Every deal starts the same way. As if it were my first deal. Not part of a sea of prospects, but rather a real living and breathing opportunity to make a difference for myself, my team, my company, and my customer. Punching a clock doesn’t happen in my office. Ever.

I have seen time and again how getting one deal has led to a company all of a sudden getting more deals. Do you ever stop to think about why your new customers are buying from you? It’s not your glossy brochure, your paid for p.r., or the paid ads you put all over the internet. It is because of the people and companies you already do business with. Doing a deal has a life of its own and will open new doors for you. But only if you are focused on the deal.

Take your marketing off of auto-pilot and roll up your sleeves. Man the cash register as we like to say. Ask your paying customers how you are doing as a vendor, and more importantly how can you do better. Become the best vendor they have. I am not talking about discounting your pricing. I am talking about knowing their business, why they do business with you, and making that better. Treat the relationship like its your only one. Trust me, they will notice and appreciate the attention.

When I look at my competitors in the market place from the largest to the smallest, I am always amazed at the consistency of this rule regardless of size. Go into a retail store and ask the manager who the best vendors are. They are always the ones who make the extra effort. The ones who stay connected.

Is your small business struggling? I suggest you step back and start to focus on your customers and nothing else. Get that in order first. If you are lucky enough that someone is actually willing to pay you for your goods and services, first off, well done you. But, be appreciative of that. Nurture the customer relationship.

One deal. One relationship. One customer. One is more than enough to become hugely successful. If you are struggling, drop us a line. We are here to help.