Studio Note #75: Count the Wins.
The scoreboard doesn't always tell the whole story.
I didn't close a Vendorfied Network membership yesterday. But I didn't get a single no, either.
I'll take that as a win.
I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about how to get our business in front of the right people. Cold outreach is part of that equation, whether I like it or not.
I'm no stranger to cold calling. I've spent plenty of time selling over the course of my career. But one thing I've learned is that all sales are not created equal.
Right now, I'm selling a service in an incredibly crowded space. The people I'm trying to reach are already bombarded with offers for financing and working capital. I'm not introducing some revolutionary new concept. In fact, there's a pretty good chance they've already dismissed three similar pitches before I've even picked up the phone.
The challenge isn't simply explaining what we're offering. It's giving someone who's heard it all before a reason to keep listening.
Yesterday, I decided to approach things a little differently.
Before picking up the phone, I spent some time rehearsing conversations with and AI agent I have built. We worked through introductions, potential objections and different ways a conversation might unfold. It felt a little ridiculous at first, talking to a computer like it was a prospective customer.
But it worked.
By the time I started dialing, I wasn't nearly as concerned about what I was going to say. I had already said it a dozen different ways.
And then something interesting happened.
The conversations didn't go exactly as rehearsed. Of course they didn't. People aren't scripts. But because I wasn't preoccupied with what to say next, I could actually listen.
One conversation revealed an opportunity I hadn't anticipated. Another opened the door to a relationship that could prove valuable down the road.
Nobody hung up on me. Nobody told me to get lost. Nobody even said they weren't interested. In fact, they all asked to be sent more information.
Now, I'm not naive enough to mistake politeness for a closed deal. I've been in business long enough to know that a pleasant conversation and a paying customer are two very different things.
But I also know that people have absolutely no problem telling a cold caller they're not interested.
And yesterday, nobody did.
When you're building something, it's easy to measure every day against the things you haven't accomplished. The clients you haven't landed. The revenue you haven't generated. The distance between where you are and where you want to be.
By that measure, yesterday was just a day without a sale.
But that's not how it felt.
I tried a different approach. I had good conversations. I learned a few things. And I finished the day feeling better about our chances than I did when it started.
None of those things will show up on a balance sheet.
Not yet, anyway.
I don't think recognizing small victories means lowering your expectations. I think it means understanding that progress and success aren't always the same thing.
Sometimes progress is simply removing one more obstacle between you and the thing you're trying to accomplish.
Yesterday, that obstacle was figuring out how to have a better conversation about what we're building.
Today, I feel like I'm a little closer.
Count the wins. Even the ones that don't come with a check.