In the Physical World, We Build a Contact List. In the Digital World, We Build an Email List.

Musings of a 1-Man Consultant

If you operate alone — You can relate to this.

Crickets. The symphony of 4-walled silence. Dread. Cluelessness.

You sit at your desk tapping your fingers, poking the pencil at your forehead, desperately figuring out your next step.

You have a great product and a brilliant service proposition. You are ready to rock your market.

The problem?

You are waiting for your princess-client-of-your-dreams (or prince) to drop from the bright sky filled with puffy white clouds.

Taking Action, Action, Action, Does Not Mean Taking Unbelievably Big Steps.

Every quantum leap is made up of small ones.

I am not a believer in deliberate, ambitious goals or over-the-top thinking.

I have been a consultant for 15 years. I know what causes a Corporate Titanic to sink.

Overly ambitious goals that everyday cubicle warriors find hard to realize.

Start small. Take that next natural step. It must be that next step that does not require additional deep thinking. Zero effort.

Like breathing. Like heading to the toilet for a bowel release when you need it. Think second nature.

What is the natural thing you must have when you start your 1-person business, 1-man entity, online business from scratch?

If you answered people — Give yourself a slap on the cheek.

(Your cheek! Leave mine alone.)

Spot on!

Of course. We must break down the P-word to make it actionable.

What you need is a list of people to contact.

This is my why.

Try Selling to Non-People

Does it work?

This is a non-question. Haha. Only human beings on Mother Earth buy stuff. Maybe your dog wears a top during his walk. But you bought it, not Waffles.

Waffles goes around his day entertaining his doggie thoughts, thinking about his dog cookies, clothed or naked.

Then, the next question would be…

How did the seller of Waffles’s top get your attention?

A List of Contacts

You need people to talk to. To reach out to. To sell to. To call. To make small talk. To build connections. To solidify connections. To consult. To sell.

I can go down the entire list.

But let’s keep things dead simple.

I am a firm believer in maintaining and growing my contact list. This contact list is a combination of,

• Phone contacts.
• Emails addresses.

In my day job as a 1-person consultant in my part of the world, I contact and speak to people.

All the time.

• I call my clients for a pulse check. All’s good?
• I buzz my prospects to walk them down the sales funnel. Let’s deal!
• I text my incoming leads for a cup of coffee. Hello!

I think about running a business in simple terms.

Yes, dead simple natural reflex terms. I am alone, so I have no time and mental energy for elaborate mind games.

I need people to reach out to and talk to to close a deal.

There are 3 anchor terms in the above sentence.

• People.
• Reach out.
• Close a deal.

A contact list solves the ‘reach out’ problem. That is why I am a big believer in getting contact information. Phone or email or LinkedIn, no matter.

I apply the same line of thinking to online writing.

I must have people to reach out to.

• Followers,
• Subscribers,
• Cross-platforms citizens,
• Peer-writers,
• Readers.

I want them to know I have a new piece of work published. I want to contact them and ask them how they run an Etsy store after reading their stories.

I want to consult them on their writing routine, ideation process, frequency, and how they are spitting out 1,000 words a day.

I don’t enjoy guessing. So, I ask people I trust online.

How do I reach out to these people?

Right. Via an email list.

And quite possibly, I will buy something from them or get them to buy something from me. A low-ticket deal closed… is a deal closed.

And you might be thinking… I have nothing to sell online!

I take a different view.

Do you write online? If you do, you have words to sell. You want people to read your work, don’t you?

Are you seeking opportunities beyond your words? If so, you need to make contact.

Back to the Drawing Board

Let’s assume that you are on your own.

You are running your show on Day 1, Day 2, Day 10, Day 100…

What should you focus your attention, time, and energy on?

For me, the answer is obvious.

A contact list.

• You need people to call.
• You need people to reach out to via email.

Without the above, you will be lost. Always.

Of course, skeptics will tell me they spend 20 hours every day building their best digital and/or physical products. They have no time to focus on a contact list!

That is like putting the cart behind the donkey.

Look, pals and gals. Look.

You are creating your best products to sell to or give to somebody… right?

Question: Where do you find your somebody?

Answer: In your contact list.

They are hiding there.

Stop scrolling your social media accounts. Go scroll through your contact list instead. You can notch your first deal there.

That, I am confident.

Like this story? Hit Subscribe!

Oh, oh, you can buy me a cup of black too! Thank you!