Revenue growth is a proactive pursuit but most customer facing people spend their days reacting to problems. A customer calls and needs a product now, so we react and process the rush order. The next customer calls with a complaint, so we must fix it. We’re in the customer service business, we must serve the customer. As soon as this customer’s complaint has been resolved, what happens? The next one comes. Then the next. And the next. And before you know it, it’s 4:30PM and time to go home. The next day it begins anew.

 I call this the problem solving circle. It forces good salespeople and customer service professionals to sell only what’s requested by the customer. It limits us to selling the vast majority of our goods and services to repeat customers, not new ones — a travesty because new customers quickly become repeat customers and stay with you for years.

 The problem solving circle is relentless and endless. There’s no way out unless we force ourselves out. We must make time for the proactive work that strategic revenue growth requires. We must give ourselves just a few minutes per day to take proactive actions that increase sales. We must ask for testimonials and communicate them. We must ask for referrals and follow up with the names we are happily given by our customers. We must ask the did you know question, and follow up on quotes and proposals.

 We must forcefully bust out of the problem solving circle every day — even if only for a little while. If we don’t, it will consume us. It will cost us a lot of revenue, and it will keep good prospective customers from benefiting from your great value.

 Last week’s Revenue Growth Video is on precisely one such proactive action that will grow your business quickly and easily. And the latest edition covers our (but not our customers’) great discomfort with testimonials and referrals.

 My latest book, The Revenue Growth Habit, is the reigning, defending 2015 Sales Book of the Year (as selected by 800-CEO-Read).

 Want to grow your business? Sell more to existing customers? Infuse your culture with the positivity of your happy customers? Implement a simple but powerful selling system based on your great value as opposed to reducing your prices? Reply to this email or call me at directly 847-459-6322.