Do You Need to Dump the Duds?

?I don?t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.?

– Bill Cosby


 

Like many people, I find flights often provide a good stretch of uninterrupted time to think, read or work. On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I used a four-hour stretch to prepare for our March 15th web-rally with New York Times best selling author Michael Port.

Michael and I have had the good fortune to share the stage a number of times. He?s written several wonderful books, my favourite of which is Book Yourself Solid. I?ve read it multiple times, but I used the flight to review my highlighted insights and prepare a few questions to ask Michael during our interview.

Only a few pages into the book, one insight caught my attention: Dump the Duds!

What Michael was referring to was getting rid of clients who you dread interacting with, who drain the life from you, and who bore or frustrate you. They?re the duds, and they?re doing nothing for your business.

I love this idea. Life is too short to spend with people we don?t enjoy. One of the great advantages of being self-employed is that we get to choose who we want to work with ? why choose duds?

When it comes to actually dumping the duds, however, we often encounter a series of mental barriers. We say things like:

?There?s not enough business out there?I better hold on to what I have.?

?If I cut them loose, they might say negative things about me, or no longer refer.?

?If I cut them loose, my competitor might do business with them.?

Let?s deal with these one at a time.

?There?s not enough business out there?I better hold on to what I have.?
This is about scarcity. The truth is that there is always an abundance of business for people who do extraordinary work. Duds, however, inhibit your ability to do great work. And that means you attract more duds, creating a negative spiral.

?If I cut them loose, they might say negative things about me, or no longer refer.?
I?ve discovered that duds know other duds. Do you really need those referrals? Do you really want duds referring even more duds to you? It?s time to expand your referral network into a new, dud-free zone.

?If I cut them loose, my competitor might do business with them.?
Hey – if duds belong anywhere, it?s with your competition! I have no problem with my competitor having my duds. In fact, I might even call my competition and refer my duds to them myself? 🙂

Michael quotes Raymond Hull at the beginning of the chapter as saying, ?He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.? I think Raymond ? and Michael ? are on to something. Chasing duds is a bit like chasing the pennies while the dollars are walking out the door. Don?t be afraid to let them go. They may well be the anchor holding you back.

If you?re interested in learning more strategies from Michael?s books, join me and Michael Port on our next complimentary Web Rally, details below!

Speaker: Michael Port, small business expert and author of Book Yourself Solid
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Time: 1 pm EDT, 10 am PDT, 11 am CST (approximately 45 minutes)

Register: Pre-registration is required. CLICK HERE to secure your webinar seat now.