A Lesson from Dick: The Little Wins
Dick Staron was the editor of my first book. He knew how to edit. With many small changes; by inserting a word here and deleting one there and by flipping the sequencing of three or four others; he could take leaden prose and make it sparkle.
On top of that, his ideas about promoting a book helped turn Rain Making: The Professional’s Guide to Attracting New Clients into a best seller. Along the way, he taught me a lesson about selling, which I have since employed in all my own efforts to build a practice.
“Selling a book,” Dick would say, “is a lot of littles.” He meant that getting a book noticed, talked about and sold depends on getting a reference here, a quote there and getting the book higher up in the to-be-read stack of a few influencers.
With modification this advice holds true to building the revenue base of a professional practice. There are legitimate big events—signing that first big client or publishing a book, for example. But, without the small wins, the big ones will never happen. Without the small wins, the big ones will never happen!
Let’s consider the winning of my first big account. I would never have won it if I had not first 1) asked to interview some executives at another firm, 2) sold a small project to one of them, 3) when this man quit, tracked him down to his new employer, 4) met a middle manager with responsibility for buying the services I offered, 5) through this man gaining access to the executive who had replaced my original contact, after he left this firm, too . . . I could go on, but I think I have made my point.
At the time, none of these small wins looked important. But without them I could not have won the engagement that provided eighty percent of the fees I earned during my first year in business.
If you recognize the importance of these small wins, you can use them to mark your progress in the absence of a big one. If you are having small wins, you are likely on the way to a big one. If not, you had best go get some. If you are having a series of small wins at the same firm, you are probably close to winning an engagement.
The small wins can also help you go the distance to building a client base. Use them to sustain your morale. Celebrate them, if only silently. Did you meet your client’s CFO? Break open a beer, because you can’t sell him anything unless you know him. Did you get an opportunity to speak at an association? Have a glass of merlot, because you have just increased your credentials as an expert. Have you . . . Well, I think you get it: Selling a professional service requires a lot of littles.
Thank you, Dick.
