Doing "Anything" Will Hurt Your Business

DOING “ANYTHING” WILL HURT YOUR BUSINESS

I’ve been at networking events, talking to diverse suppliers and eventually in the conversation we get to the point where it has become obvious that their “pitches” are not working. Usually they know it and I know it, so then they will say “Look, I will do anything”. I understand that these are good folks with viable businesses who are saying if I can just get my foot in the door, you’ll see that I was worth taking a risk on.

The problem with that scenario is that it doesn’t help me as the person trying to find a place for them to do “anything”. For example, imagine that you are trying to participate in the Olympics and you are talking to the person who can get you in an Olympic event and they say, “Well, what’s your event?” And you say “well, I just want to be in the Olympics, I can run anything.”

Now imagine that the person to whom you are speaking is handling all the Track and Field events: the 100-meter; the hurdles; the steeplechase; relays; discus throw; pole vault; long jump; etc. And you say, “I just want to be an Olympic athlete, you know, I can do anything. Give me a shot”. The person answers, “I might be able to rack my brains and find something for you.” That’s entirely different from someone walking up to him or her and saying, “I know you place people in Olympic events and I want the 100-meter.” That person may then think “Do I have an opening for the 100-meter run?” To you, they might say “What’s your best time? How long have you been training?” If the answers meet their criteria, they can say “OK, if I can get you in the right environment, you might actually be a great candidate for the team”.

Now, do you see how different those two conversations are? When you say you will do “anything”, the recruiter has to ask you 20 or 30 different questions to find a niche for you. The diagnostic that they have to go through with the person who can do “anything” is very different from the one with the individual who is very specific about their skills/qualifications and what they can bring to the table. This brings us to the question of core. I have spoken of it several times before, and core is the single greatest strategic advantage for your business. It’s going to help you to get more corporate clients than anything that you can do.

Do only what you do best (your core) and build around that. There is no advantage in doing all the different things that do not pertain to your core business. You build around your core with a highly effective business partner blueprint. You find the partners that can perform the essential non-core activities and have them help you get in and win the business.

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