One of the most valuable lessons that I learned early on as a start up entrepreneur was just that, "Every deal has a life of its own." I liken this philosphy to the common cold. You come down with a cold. You can ride it out without all of modern "cures" and it will go away in about a week and a half. Or, you can pump yourself full of pills, liquids, sprays, and lozenges and your cold will be gone in about ten days! You may feel better during the ride, but it will take the same amount of time to get rid of your cold.
I have found that the same holds true with virtually any deal in any profession. You make the presentation. You do your diligent follow ups at the required intervals and sometime down the road the deal will either come together or it will not. Or, you make the presentation. You do your diligent follow up. Then, at sometime in the process internal or external pressures cause you to want to hurry up the closure to the deal. That is when you start spinning your wheels with unproductive follow ups, sublte pressure techniques, unrequested market data, etc. However, in spite of all of your extra effort and stress, right on the schedule at its appointed time the deal decides to come together or it does not. You may feel better about all the effort that you put into it, but I have found that it will take the same amount of time for the deal to close.
I want to head off any flack that I may take for this. Especially from those that equate being busy with being productive as I once did. I, also, will be the first to admit that a too simplified laisez-faire attitude may cause a person not to do the diligent follow up that is necessary. However, I am not talking about the extremes to justify the norm. We are talking about those times when you/I KNOW that you/I are trying to "push" the deal. To me, that is what my granddaughter refers to as a GWOT. A Gross Waste Of Time! Instead of being tempted to fill my time with unwarranted follow ups and contacts to feel busy, I try to spend my time on finding my next deal. My favorite avenue for new business is to go out among them! I may go down to the coffee shop, the golf club, social club, take my fishing rod to the Jetty, anywhere that I might interact with people. To the critical eye it may look like I am goofing off, but invaribly, this interaction will lead to a new deal that at some time in the future, as the deal dictates, it will come together or it will not.
If this is the first time that you have read my blog, my wife, Pam, and I have been start up entreprenuers for over forty years. We have been involved with everything from insect repellents, to lawn and garden products, to grilling and bbq wood. Our real estate business here on Hutchinson Island, Fl is our latest entreprenurial adventure and we are lovin' it! We recently relocated to Hutchinson Island from Maine. If you know of anyone who might want a nicely restored New England farm house complete with barn, farm pond, and only minutes from the coast, we have one. In the meantime, we are living here in the Colonnades on Hutchinson Island and are enjoying every minute of our time here. I have tried to make my website as informative as possible, but if you want Pam and I to check something out for you, let us know. We love almost any excuse to go exploring and to meet people.
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