The Art of Selling Searching for Fractals... Art Waskey 2009.09 The process of landing the large account had occupied the better part of a year for our organization. It was time to celebrate a job well done!
In his congratulatory message, however, one of the principals in our business had some words of caution. “Let’s not forget the track record of this account. They do not have a history of longevity with vendors. Their pattern is to switch vendors shortly after the initial assets are installed, creating an accounts receivable nightmare. We will have to micro-manage this account, so we don’t lose it through administrative errors.”
The principal’s challenge would be answered by fractalizing the account. Fractals are used in computer modeling in which irregular or fragmented shapes can be repeatedly subdivided into parts, each of which is a smaller copy (version) of the whole.
Simplifying the challenges you face into fractals is a 5-step process:
1st Begin with the end in Mind. (Steve Covey’s Habits) 2nd First things First. (Steve Covey’s Habits) 3rd Plan your Day. “Plan your work. Then, work your plan.”
Schedule 30-minutes alone between close of business Friday and noon on Monday; lay out a plan for your next work week. Each workweek afternoon review the next day’s appointments for possible modifications. My personal checklist is: ✔ things to do ✔ people to see ✔ places to go ✔ things to discuss or delegate
Schedule personal time daily to work on goals, projects, and personal growth activities.
4th Record the Details of your Day. Schedule 30-minutes a day to debrief your activities, process the day’s paperwork, respond to emails, file, route, or discard information. Recap the activities of the day and review tomorrow’s scheduled activities. Microsoft Outlook is an excellent software package for processing emails, setting appointments, recording contact information, and downloading content to your cell phone.
5th Manage the Details. My preference is to create some form of manual daily journal to record thoughts and a “things to do” list. This documentation sends a subliminal message of your intent to fulfill your commitment. Review your entries and summarize activities in a “TO DO” list for the next day. Prioritize your entries and include personal requests (emails, voice-mail, or face-to-face), unfinished business, projects, and appointments.
Rather than “micro-managing” a challenging account to death, creating fractals provides a template to develop systems that track and monitor the activities of the account and protect exposed assets. In personal as well as business activities, defining life’s dilemmas in fractals whenever possible and scheduling quality time for the planning and execution of your activities is truly the celebration of success!
Art Waskey is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for General Air Services and Supply Company in Denver, CO. He can be reached at awaskey@generalair.com
