Where the value is clear the decision really is easy, but why is value such a moving target?
Imagine that you are given a true life or death choice – your net worth or your life? The choice is easy when you must give everything for even one more day of life.
But let’s change the question. What if you had to choose between all the net worth you have today and one more year of life at the end of your life.
The decision is not so easy.
I see this in business all the time. Sales are faltering and we feel that we need help but forego the experienced and expensive sales professional to hire someone cheaper. The result is that our hoped for results don’t arrive and our investment is wasted.
A new computer system is needed and our consultant recommends the premier package but we opt for the basic one with the result that the system needs to be replaced in 18 months.
A water pipe has burst in our warehouse and we are facing tremendous damage and so we pay whatever to have a plumber. An investment in a better quality lighting system will save many times its cost over ten years but we take the cheaper system to save today.
We need to hire a salesperson to help our company grow. We have the opportunity to hire our industry’s best, a legendary sales performer, but we balk at the price tag and hire a junior instead, hoping for a miracle that does not arrive.
Which came first – the chicken or the egg?
I learned something interesting recently about chickens and eggs. Without a rooster for fertilization, chickens still lay eggs but the eggs won’t hatch.
Do your plans fail to hatch?
I have worked with hundreds of companies and almost without exception, those companies that have invested in quality, whether it was staff or equipment, have grown and become leaders. Those companies that have avoided investing in quality have stayed small. You don’t get big and then find quality. You find quality and then you become big.
The recession is over! Sure, we have many difficult days ahead but the trend is upward. Now is the time to invest in your sales and marketing efforts so that you can grab every piece of the growing pie. Invest in your team and your systems and do it right so that you don’t waste time having to do it again.
Now is the time to act. In fact, those who did not cut back but actually increased the percentage of revenue they spent on sales and marketing are already ahead. If you wait until the economy is back on its feet, you will be too late.
I have always made every effort to invest in my business and myself. Quality matters to me! During the last many months of recession my business has become more challenging but my income has increased.
I am in a better business position now then I was twelve months ago. It has not been easy because of the many changes that I have had to deal with but because I acted aggressively I have survived and actually thrived. I contribute this to my consistent investment in quality marketing even during difficult times.
The early bird really does get the worm!
Pay for the results you want. Need someone to dig a hole? Anyone with a shovel will probably do but if you want someone to deliver quality results, a mediocre or unproven performer probably won’t deliver the deliverables that you want.
Quality costs! Full stop!
I can guarantee you that!
Even during difficult times.
Think about it!