The Art of Sales Part X: own it.

What does ownership means?

The act, state, or right of possessing something. “the ownership of land, the ownership of equity in a company, the ownership of corporate or governmental bonds, the ownership of a registered vehicle or a vessel or even a plane these days and of course the ownership of digital assets”

In our World of billions of sales transactions taking place every day I would say that the traditional explanation of ownership is changing massively.

Companies and stakeholders need to realize that ownership needs to evolve into a new state of consciousnesses that goes beyond the normal state of regulated ownership.

I would start with the most simple aspect which is being a subscriber to a service or product for a small amount of money per month or even for a few days. Let’s say you own a smartphone, a 32″ TV, an iPad and a laptop including a 77″ state-of-the-art 8K TV that has Netflix which you are paying $9.99 per month for contents worth billions of $s which you could watch whenever you want from any device that I stated above. Netflix started as a super basic service and is today worth $136 Billion. Guess why? People love to own Netflix and its contents including the all new Stranger Things Season 3 and soon Season 4 & 5 shedding out hundreds of $s in subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Rent, Gas & Electricity and of course rents or mortgages. Everybody owns everything without owning anything these days.

Now, as the above is super clear let’s see how can companies can evolve from small neighborhood SMBs to huge organizations at the speed that the markets demand which is in few quarters and not in years. The steps are super simple and need robotic like laser focused commitment from the equity partners of any company either being a start-up or a 15-20 year old company. To make it easier on you I will list the actions that need to be taken.

1.     PLAN

Draft a plan with ONE clear and realistic target.

2.     TEAM OF OFFICERS

Whatever you are selling, assemble a stellar team of Chief Officers related with Financials & Sales. Get a COO to stick everything together and start working 16-18 hours per day to make everything possible. If the company engages into technological solutions then a supreme CTO is needed in place to control everything. Forget about nights, weekends, holidays, your favorite series, sports and outings. To break into the market these days you need to work when others are sleeping or are out there taking vacations and R&Rs. An HR is needed to motivate and incentivize everyone to do what’s needed so a total of 5-6 people can set the tone. If any of these people does not comply then everything will fall apart like a house of cards.

3.     AGGRESSIVE SELLING

Be aggressive on everything from inking deals, creating teams, getting the best salespeople out there, engaging with amazing partners, crushing the competition and of course Bill, Bill, Bill like the end of World is near. Stop selling goods that you can not sell to clients that will not buy. Time is the most valuable asset that you process. Stop wasting it on tasks that are unreachable.

4.     MULTIPLY TARGETS

Move that target 2X, 5X, 10X and so on. Limits are only set by owners and people that are employed by them. Remember that in any City, Country, Continent or Planet you are on you are allowed to enjoy up to 50-60% market share.

All of the above are met and the company is doing fairly well. What can keep this momentum going? Here is where the new state of ownership kicks in. Traditional employees can come and go but “motion makers” which I call the people that set in motion situations need to “own it” and stay where they are no matter what. This does not mean that they need to own the company or equity, or profit sharing. They need to own completely what they are doing every day with complete responsibility, clear targets, clear bonuses, clean cut processes, future innovations and above all hard and smart work. Getting any person that holds a key position to “own it” is the only way forward into expansion. Any other way will see a growing brand with no real sales and a havoc left behind for people to deal with.

Own it! people and Be Great!

Evis Zenios