Although all my posts are important, this one may very well be more importanter than all the others combined. Yes, I know I said, “more importanter.” Do I have your attention?
For those of you pressed for time, I will cut to the chase. Get this and get it good: If you want to succeed in this business or any other business, it is more important than ever to “use” your friends. “Two heads (set of eyes) are better than one.”
By “friends” I mean mentor, coach, reliable source or any other name you choose to use. I was reminded of this on two occasions just last week.
The first instance involved an important proposal I was writing for a client. I spent a lot of time crafting this document, and I was ready to punch the send button when I heard my own words coming back to haunt me. (As they so often do.) “Not yet. Seek a second opinion.”
I sent the proposal to two of my “mentors” and as it turned out, I was glad I did. They both returned with the same sage advice. “Too long.”
If you have been doing any sort of writing for any length of time, you are probably finding yourself quite impressed with your own choice of words and phraseology. If you are like me, you might even make yourself laugh as a result of your brilliance.
“Too long” was the reply from two sources I trusted. I cut the piece in half before casting my fate to the wind.
Instance number two came hours later. This time I asked four of my fellow associate (Travel Agent Success Series) co-authors what they thought would be a good strategy in approaching a lucrative opportunity. Again, I was ready to do “The Solo Marchev Dance” but I thought better of the idea.
As I knew would happen, I soon received four valuable bits of advice to ponder before sending my future into email-land. Who knows what will come from either opportunity, but I do feel comfortable that this collective input helped make both proposals more plausible and meaningful to the recipient.
Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t care who you use and I don’t care where you find them. But do solicit input from somebody (anybody) that you trust, and consider somewhat intelligent. It is just too difficult to go it alone today regardless of your entrepreneurial acumen.
Somebody far more intelligent than I once reminded us that “two heads are better than one.” More often than not, this continues to be the case.
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club, mike@mikemarchev.com.
*** You want more to think about? Check out my weekly podcast (Miked Up Marchev). Also listed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and iHeartRadio.