Tim Bursch

This is my story for #FAILweek. How to Fail. Don’t Plan.

The State: I was working with a partner in the investment business. Big dreams. Lots of ideas. We were targeting clinics and hospitals for new clients. Our project was a big conference down south at a hotel/casino. I was responsible for marketing and running our booth. Our goal was to find (big) clients and build relationships. I was hopeful that running a golf contest (Doctors like golf right) would work.

The Fireball: I walked away with one or two leads. Boom!

The 3 main reasons I failed:

1. I didn’t have a good plan. It was generic.
2. I wasn’t offering anything of value to prospects. Except golf balls.
3. I didn’t engage with people where they were. The potential clients were there for education. I stayed at the booth.

The Lesson: Looking back it’s pretty obvious. I got zero results because I didn’t have a plan. I am learning more and more to start at the goal and work backwards. Break the big mountain into small hills. I also learned to bring something of value to a prospect. It could have been a resource or a connection.

Failure is not fun, but I’m slowly learning that it’s part of being human.

Have a story about failure? Add yours to the comments. Or head over to #FAILweek.

Image by: PhotoDu.de

Tags: fail, plan.

I found out about The Pants on the Ground video from my son. He saw it at a friends. Hilarious.

I talked about it with another friend, showed it to my wife and daughter. More laughter. So everyone’s talking about General Larry Platt and his song. We are sharing this story.
I then clicked on a link in twitter for the video above and being Viking’s fans, I roared some more. These guys are sharing the same story.

So, what happens to a business team when they share a common story? Probably not the manly pats, but fun? Sure. What if you shared one fun story each week with your team? And then you found some application together? Larry did not give up. He didn’t care about his age. How about when a prospect says no? Have fun with that and find another prospect.

A story connects people. It can bring out joy and smiles. What do you do to connect your team?

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