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No matter how strong your team is, you still have to take care of the details.
Last week I had some interesting conversations after my post about David and Goliath. To catch up on that, there’s a link below where you can see it.
This week we’re looking at a nuance regarding David preparing to battle Goliath that many people overlook. You must remember David had already spoken to Saul, the king of Israel, that God was on his side and would help him deliver Israel from their enemy Goliath. But even then, right before he goes out to fight Goliath, we see him selecting five smooth stones. Why is that a big deal? Because it would have been understandable if he just chose one smooth stone. I mean, after all, he’d just told Saul and his army people around him that God was on his side.
But even with God on his side to take care of this job, David was going to do what he knew best and do the best job possible. And as a shepherd boy, he knew what was involved with defending that flock from lions and bears, and he wasn’t going to leave anything to chance. He did his bit as best as possible.
Often I talk with advisors who will call after an important meeting, sometimes kicking themselves. They’ve gone into that meeting a little complacent, a little scattered or not as organized as they should have been. They’ve reasoned before it that the prospect was nowhere near their A group of clients regarding assets or regarding complexity. Instead of delivering the best job possible, they delivered a subpar performance and are kicking themselves after hearing that prospect has gone elsewhere. And frankly, as they’ll often admit, they really didn’t deserve to have them as a client anyway.
You need to bring your best job possible to any meeting, to any business that you’re looking to grow, every single time. Don’t get complacent, and don’t get sloppy. So,
- When preparing for meetings, be sharp. Don’t get lazy or think you can just throw up a subpar performance and have that do.
- Practice what you’re going to deliver. Understand how the flow of that meeting is going to unfold so that you know, every step of the way, this is completely in your control and exactly how you have anticipated it.
- Earn the right to expect success. Now, whether it happens or not, that ball is out of your court, but you need to deliver everything in your capability so that you’ve earned the right to expect success. Look, David selects five smooth stones, even though he knows God’s on his side. He’s going to take care of what he needs to do, and you need to do exactly the same. Upon doing that, you respect the person you’re talking with and, most importantly, grow your business even sooner.
I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor idea next week.
Related: The Value of Bad Days