Herman School of Business
Working Smart AND Working Hard...
There is a difference between working smart and just plain working hard. But success usually requires that you do both. Some people think just doing one or the other guarantees reaching your goal…without any evidence that others got there that way.
I had a short meeting last week with a very successful Speaker who was kind enough to share her knowledge about how to improve my chances of being hired to Speak at various functions, and who to contact to make them aware of my availability when they consider who to hire for an event. Meeting her is working smart. In and of itself that meeting had a great message for me if I am to become a Speaker who will have greater exposure, find the right people who will hire me, and ultimately advance me to the goal of earning a payday, and selling more books.
By working smart and networking one contact I had met earlier let me show you how “easy” it was to work smart. Anyone would tell you to talk to someone who is good at what you want to do and get them to tell you the secrets they have learned, saving you time and energy. Look, if you run a business the formula sounds easy…just let your customer base know you are there and start counting your money. Easy, right? Not so fast Mr. or Ms. Short-cutter. Three months ago I ordered printing of my SPIRIT magazine article. And my updated marketing flyer. And copies of NEWSREACH where my book HERMANISMS is syndicated monthly. And I ordered a list of business owners who might have influence over events that require speakers. And I bought postage, lots of postage, and packaged my materials in those cool folders we had made a year ago to impress those who received them.
After gathering all of the material I started stuffing the folders, and then put them in the priority envelopes, along with a copy of HERMANISMS. I printed labels from the list I acquired and made many trips to the Post Office with boxes and boxes of the finished product. 500 envelopes in all were mailed. And then one person who read the book emailed another person to introduce me as a possible speaker. That person asked for my book and after reading it agreed to meet with me. At the meeting they assessed my skill set and gave me the name of the person I met with last week. I didn’t just call this woman up and ask for her help. I was referred to someone she knew who referred me to her.
The working smart part is knowing that you need to meet the right people to enhance your chances for success. Had I called her directly (remember I didn’t even know who she was) would she have responded as she did? She gave me her time and her knowledge, undoubtedly saving me steps going forward. But the steps it took to get that meeting were many. First there had to be a book, and then radio and TV stuff to put on the marketing flyer which got the SPIRIT magazine article, and a trip to New York took place to attend a seminar to meet the guy who writes NEWSREACH so he would see the value in syndicating the book. 24 months of activity took place before I sat with the woman last week. In fairness it was only a year ago that I knew I wanted to become a Speaker. But for twelve months there have been hundreds of hours of hard work…mundane, must be accomplished work…to get to that meeting.
There are now several engagements booked that will bring in income and increase my exposure. There have already been many appearances and speeches given which means I have gone from a person who wants to be a Speaker, to a person who is a Speaker. Not just because I have worked smart and just did the short-cuts…but because I have done both things you need to do to succeed. I have worked smart by figuring out ways to get there faster, and I have worked hard by doing the countless tasks required to make the short-cut be of value.
Business people often fail because they only do one or the other.
- Posted: 27 May 2008
- Comments: 0
- Category: Running a business
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