I was working from my home office recently when there was a knock on the door. It was a young guy with a new Edward Jones office. He was out making the rounds to generate business. Nothing like the personal touch and seeing someone face-to-face.
There are many ways to generate business including knocking on doors, advertising, speaking, networking, and dozens more. This person chose to put in the time instead of spending money to advertise, send direct mail, have someone make phone calls, etc.
When you’re new, you have to do what it takes. When I teach my class at the SBA on Dynamically Growing a Consulting Business I tell the students when they are new 100% of their time is spent marketing.
The benchmark in my industry seems to be you have to spend about 33% of your time marketing once you’re established. Compare this to other businesses. Partners in law, accounting, and engineering firms have to generate business, which means they speak, network, ask for referrals, etc.
Businesses have dedicated sales teams. People who submit bids, provide quotes, make calls, prepare proposals, or whatever it takes to keep the line workers busy. From huge companies like Boeing to the small business with 10 employees, someone has to generate revenue.
If we fast-forward five years the guy knocking on doors will either be out of the investment advisory business or generating referrals. What’s good when you have too much time isn’t good when there’s a product or service to deliver. It has to be done, but in a more effective way.
“Ambition is a dream with a V-8 engine.” Elvis Presley
