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Rod Aparicio

Perspectives.

Published 6 days ago • 1 min read

Now, it’s been 10 days since my last email after 2 years of non-stop dailies. Was on a trip in India with a client and it brought some perspective (besides the jetlag that really messed up my rhythm 🙃).

It brought perspective about the level of impact. The scale of impact.

Here’s a shift in my practice. From a perspective of one, to a perspective of one who leads.

A small firm. A small business.

If you’re running one of these you’re at a disadvantage. Or are you??

I’d argue that running a small biz gives you a few advantages:

  • You can break the traditional pricing model(s) in your industry.
  • You have more flexibility.
  • You can take certain calculated risks bigger players can’t/won’t.
  • You can choose a specific focus.
  • You can make changes at a higher speed.
  • You can re-structure things in your own ways.
  • You can be pickier with who you serve.
  • You can develop deeper expertise.
  • You can ditch hourly.
  • You can reposition leaner.
  • You can focus on transformations (meaningful ones).
  • You can shift your sales culture.
  • You can scale up your ops.
  • You can increase your margins dramatically.
  • You can make a larger impact.

Yet, it won’t be easy.

You’ll have trade-offs.

And you’ll need to decide the way.

Rod Aparicio

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Read more from Rod Aparicio

If you're not the big player in your space, you can still get a great deal of the place. Once you figure out what you're really good at, and what only you can do for your customers —what you do different in your market— you can challenge the big ones on your turf. It'll catch them off-guard. They won't know how to (quickly) react. And they'll panic in some way. But that's the fun part —seeing them like "WTF!" What's better: you'll be reaching their customers. But you're not there to win....

about 3 hours ago • 1 min read

How do you get to the 4 questions to figure out where you are in the mind of your prospect? With an empty mind. Without previous judgement, Without a solution. Without being in solution-mode (ready to fix the problem on the spot). You go in blind, as in a blind-date. To listen. To see if there's a fit. To understand if/how you can help. To say No when it feels like a No. That's your gift: knowing you're in control. To help.

1 day ago • 1 min read

To have advantage in a sales conversation. you'd wanna ask 4 things: What's the new status in the future when everything's going amazing. What's the reason behind the specific solution they're after. What's the urgency of doing it NOW, and not in a year. What's the reason for them to be even talking to you. Getting the answers to these questions will let you know where you stand —in the mind of your decision-maker, in the process, and compared to the alternatives.

2 days ago • 1 min read