What does small mean? Agile, flexible, real time, fast and responsive to change!

The bigger you are as company the less nimble and able you are to adapt to incremental shifts and changes in your market. How quick do things change? Lightening fast! If you don’t adapt you are out of the game.

The smaller and indeed leaner you are ? the more energy you have. You need to be burn energy at a rapid rate and in your peak state as much as possible to get the best out of your business. Fat, bloated and overweight businesses are the enemy. If you think you’re working in or leading one, jump on the scales, not later or tomorrow, right now!

I believe energy is more important than time. I spend a good portion of my own time helping businesses and salespeople focus their time and energy to increase their output. In many cases it’s enabling them with tools to do more with less. To help them think small and focus on small tasks. And then master these tasks and do them over and over again, until they get to be “exceptional” at what they do.

You don’t have to be “BIG” to compete. The game has changed. Giant sales forces have been replaced with small tools and devices powered by the internet. Big offices have been traded for work from home roles. And there are multi-million-dollar lounge-room operations that compete with the big boys, and often win.

Bigger is not better, particularly when it comes to a sales force. Give me the 20% of high performers over the 80% just making up the numbers any day. Less is more. Don’t get caught up in the illusion that more is more.

I am confident I could come into your business tomorrow and sack at least half your sales force. The salespeople that are sitting in the cracks, lacking passion, or simply ill-equipped for the demands of the role. Why are they there? Safety in numbers. Big thinking.

I would rather have a business that turned over $2 million in revenue with $800K bottom line than one with $20 million and $2 million bottom line. The former is far less pain and stress with lower risk and fewer problems. Smaller resources, leaner, more energy, faster.

If you can’t be small then at least think small. Start by thinking of your smallest stakeholders (your customers) and make them important in a big way.

Ask yourself why are we doing what we are doing? Why do we need to grow? Why do we need to invest, raise money and do all this stuff? What does it all mean? What does it mean to the little guys, our customers?

If you can’t answer this question, change direction. Think small.

For more Selling Strategies advice, click here.

Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales! a leading sales training and sales development specialist. He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.