You know the feeling.

It’s Sunday evening, you are at home, catching the very last moments of peace before another busy week kicks in tomorrow.

While you’re relaxing over a glass of wine, you decide to have a peek into your inbox and review your plan for the week ahead.

You open your email, a message pops up. The subject catches your attention, it’s a promise and a good one. You start reading the copy and, suddenly you have that EUREKA moment.

You just had an idea that will push your business forward.

And, I bet you remember very well the name of the person who sent you the message.

Sometimes it might just be a tiny suggestion. A few lines that spark an idea. Other time it might be a long post describing what you need to do.

Ever happened to you before? Sure it did. And, how did you feel then?

Excited, happy, grateful? Most likely all three, and more.

Now imagine something else.

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Here’s something you might not know about your business: Money is not where you look for it.

I bet this sounds weird. Let’s face it, you probably thought you knew where to look for money before you even considered running a business. Not to mention that there is plenty of advice everywhere on the subject. You hear it everywhere:

The money is in a mailing list. Or in providing a great customer service.
It is in your sales pipeline too, get plenty of prospects and it is a given that some will buy from you. The money is in doing great work. The money is in pleasing your clients or in playing golf with them. Or in connections, friends from school that are on high positions.

Or …. no, sorry, I have to stop here. It’s in fact in none of the above.

Sure, this is how you get the money, but in reality, the money, the BIG money I should say is somewhere else.

The money is in LOYALTY.

Lists, long pipelines, lists of prospects, price, customer service, great work, all this can be beaten.

Your mailing list is not the only one the person subscribes to. Your customer service is great but what if they are after the price instead? There is always someone cheaper. Great work matters but many people can provide even better quality, sorry.

LOYALTY on the other hand is one thing your competitors can’t beat. Your clients cannot be loyal to you and them at the same time. They can’t be loyal to you today and to someone else tomorrow.

If they are loyal to you, then it’s you only.

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Your clients talk about you.

And, it’s not just about your work, products, services or your company. They don’t discuss your sales style or your recent presentation. They talk about YOU:

- who you are
- what you talk about
- how you say it
- what you wear (yes, that too)
- how you conduct your business
- how reliable (or not) you are
- how helpful (or not) you are
- your attitude
- your sense of humor
- your virtues
- your vices

and more…

They do it while they refer you to others. They do it while speaking to friends or business associates who consider buying form you to help them make a decision. Or perhaps they are trying to discourage them from doing any business with you.

Your clients talk about you, fact. Do you influence what they say?

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It’s your own fault that you can’t make any sales.

I am sorry but I have been selling for far too long to believe in any external factors. If you work hard, on many levels, your sales happen. If you don’t, it’s your competition who wins, fact.

There is nothing wrong in not being able to sell, especially at first, when you only start a business. Sales is something you need to learn and master. It takes time but it’s not that difficult.

However, making the same sales mistakes over and over is more than wrong. This post outlines exactly those.

Before we go any further, this is a long post, probably too long for most of you to read. That’s too bad because the real secret to making more sales is hidden somewhere in this copy and I am not going to tell you where. I want you to find it yourself, use it and then thank me for changing your life forever.

Ready?

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