Why being your small business advisors pays off in the long run

Guest Contributor: Albert Luk

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One of the running themes of my posts is that achieving true success selling to small businesses involves not merely being a sales person but being an advisor. Entrepreneurs are like Swiss Army Knives- they have to do a lot of different things using the same platform. But with so much going on, not every tool that they have is going to be as sharp as the last one they used.

Thus, they have to rely upon advisors for help. A short-sighted sales representative may think that they do not have time to sell and advise an account. Better to take the money and run right?

Consider this statistic which adds some concreteness to the saying "what goes around, comes around": entrepreneurs who regularly seek professional advice experience 76% higher revenue growth than a counterpart that does not seek professional advice.

To state the obvious, rapidly growing clients are what every account manager dreams of. However, what the study implies is that rapidly growing accounts are not found but, instead, cultivated through active participation in small businesses ready and willing to seek out advisors. The pay-off for all parties appears to be well worth it.

From my own personal experience, I often pursued clients that most other lawyers would not. They were considered too small, in non-traditional growth industries, lacked adequate capitalization etc. etc. However, as a broad generalization, smaller clients with shrewd, albeit broke, management, a willingness to learn and, most of all, a real passion for their business tend to grow exponentially based on a wide range of professional advice (despite its structural issues at start-up).

It is those same clients who I grew with that are also the most loyal and greatest word of mouth referrals. If you are hitting the sales trail and finding no success perhaps it is time to think as an advisor as well as a sales rep. Good luck.