This week’s question from our portal “Ask Us Anything” comes from Alexis.
Over the past five weeks, I’ve started keeping all my commitments and rebuilding trust with myself. It’s amazing. My business has been very profitable; it’s grown exponentially every year.
But suddenly, we’re now one month away from bankruptcy. It happened so fast. Everything is falling apart. Our marketing stopped working. The calls aren’t coming in. I used all my money in reserve to make payroll this month, and there’s nothing left. I don’t know what to do. I’m terrified.
I don’t want to fire anyone on my team. I’m doing everything I can with leverage—I’ve got my team making sales calls, we have great processes. But I feel frustrated. I’m finally keeping my words to myself and being committed, but I feel like it doesn’t matter. What am I missing?
The first thing you have to do is decide that you’re not going bankrupt. You’re not “a month away from bankruptcy” unless you say you’re a month away from bankruptcy.
If you want to keep your employees, then don’t fire them.
You’re going to catastrophic thinking in your mind, which is going
to create catastrophic consequences.
You’re NOT a month away from bankruptcy. You’re not in a situation where you can’t pay your team—you just paid them. In your mind, remove those things as an option.
So, let’s focus on what you do need to do and what needs to be fixed.
Everything comes down to what you decide. You need to decide you’re going to turn this around right now—period, no other option—and get all that other dramatic stuff out of your head.
Make a list of what needs to be changed immediately.
Without any drama, it’s all matter of fact, no emotion. What’s working, what’s not working? Where do we need to focus right now, and how do we need to change this?
This is about cause and effect. Certain things are affecting your lead generation. Usually lead generation problems don’t show up until several months after there’s an issue.
This is that “lag” of the journey. And now you’re feeling the lag of what the marketing didn’t do three months ago. It’s just going to take a minute to get it ramped back up again.
I would also say this: from this point on, everything that comes out of your mouth is about how you’re making sales now. It’s about how sales are coming to you easily and effortlessly.
Tell yourself you’re making sales every day. Every time somebody makes a sale, everybody celebrates the win. Get everyone on your team on the same page emotionally, energetically, and behaviorally, and you’ll turn this around so fast, it’ll make your head spin.
Stop saying, “The calls aren’t coming in.” Start saying the calls ARE coming in.
With everything you have in you, say: “These calls are coming in now every day, in every way. People are calling because they want to do business with us over and over and over again. They’re coming in.”
I’m serious. Don’t freak out. Start saying this all the same, and you’ll change it just like that.
