{"id":8843,"date":"2023-12-15T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nichetwins.com\/?p=8843"},"modified":"2024-01-16T21:31:16","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T21:31:16","slug":"4-lessons-of-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nichetwins.com\/4-lessons-of-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"#42 | 4 Lessons of 2023 \u270d\ufe0f"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At its core, this is a side hustle newsletter. So, I don\u2019t speak about my 9-5 often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as 2023 comes to a close, I can definitively say that I’ve learned more at my day job in the past 12 months than any year prior.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve led the pursuit and negotiation of deals as small as a few hundred thousand dollars to as large as $32 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it’s all said and done, I’ll end the year with over $43 million in awarded new business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the ups and downs, I’ve kept a running list of personal notes and reminders to myself. Things to do. Things to not do. I find writing these types of learnings down helps to crystalize them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I looked back and reviewed them this week, 4 simple but foundational takeaways rise to the top<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I figured I’d share those with you today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because regardless of what your 9-5 or side hustle is, make no mistake about it – we are ALL in sales.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. It\u2019s not a deal, until it\u2019s signed.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBirds fly. Fish swim. Deals fall through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you had asked me in Q2 what my end of year number would be, I would have confidently said north of $70 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also would have guessed the ink would be dry on a much higher percentage of those contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But guess what? Deals fall through<\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often for reasons completely out of my control. Funding dried up, development plans changed, you name it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson for me here is not about how to save a dying deal. Instead it\u2019s a lesson in psychology.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference between feeling like I “won” $43 million vs feeling like I “lost” $30 million is perception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One mindset makes you feel good. Motivated even. The other, makes you feel like sh*t and deflated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said differently, \u201cYou never count your money. When you\u2019re sittin\u2019 at the table. There\u2019ll be time enough for countin\u2019 When the dealin\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Fail faster.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We all know failing is not only acceptable, it’s inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what’s unacceptable is knowingly failing slowly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spent over 4 months at the beginning of the year trying to make a deal work that I knew in my gut was dead on arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve already acknowledged that many of the reasons a deal can fall through are out of your control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what often IS in your control is how quickly you recognize a dead deal and cut bait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So ask the hard questions sooner.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are only so many hours in the day and deciding to spend time on one deal, is equally a decision not to spend time on another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The power of silence.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago I was on a conference call with my colleagues from South Korea and one of the more senior team members affectionately referred to me as the “fast talking American”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was said in jest, but like any joke with a kernel of truth, it stuck with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My challenge to any of my fellow “talkers” out there is this – try shutting the f*ck up.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seriously<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go into your next interaction with a client or potential customer with the stated goal to yourself of talking 50% less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m confident you’ll discover what I have. The beautiful power of silence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out, when you’re not talking, you give your customer more opportunities to speak and reveal more valuable information to you. Go figure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes, it also means you’ll have to endure some uncomfortable pauses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when you get to the other side, you’ll have built constructive tension…something you should be leaning into, not shying away from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently told Mike this and I mean it sincerely – the most successful strategy I have ever deployed in my career came a few weeks ago in the form of a 15-second period of silence on a negotiation call with 13 participants on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was excruciating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it was also exactly what was needed to move the deal forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Know your role.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been at the same company for over 9 years now. It shocks me to even type that out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this stretch, every 1-2 years I’ve either taken a more senior position or changed roles entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year I was offered the opportunity to interview for two separate internal positions that could have resulted in meaningful title and pay changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If these opportunities had come around any year prior, I truly believe I would have just kept my head down, applied and kept on climbing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not this year. And in fact, the decisions were easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had already spent a ton of time and energy thinking about it – long before the interview offers ever came my way.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had already evaluated my manager and my manager’s manager (who are both incredible by the way) and I had already came to the conclusion that those weren’t jobs or lifestyles that I desire at this point in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m enjoying being an individual contributor. I don’t want to manage a huge team again. I’m enjoying being able to spend significant time at home with my family. I don’t want to be on the road for 50% of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I genuinely believe an alarming number of people blindly pursue and accept jobs first and foremost so that they can update their LinkedIn profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t be that person. Spend the time and evaluate it now. Your future self will thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ll end with this…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our side hustle world, 9-5s often get a bad rap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s nonsense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your day job passes the 80-20 rule (80% enjoy, 20% dislike) and you find yourself constantly learning, keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a weekend!! \u270c\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Keith<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"mike<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Niche Twins newsletter sent weekly on Fridays at 8:30 AM ET<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n