I used to teach kids to play guitar. Before I even taught my first lesson I asked a few music teachers I knew for tips. One trumpet teacher told me: “make sure they can go home and play something to their parents after every lesson.” The logic being that if the parents could see something was being achieved they’d keep sending little Johnny back for more (and nothing impresses a parent more than Wonderwall on the trumpet, apparently).
The problem with this approach was that rather than focusing on the fundamentals and scales (the kinds of things that would actually bring long-term success) it meant you were constantly trying to take short cuts as the lesson drew to a close, worried that if Johnny went home and showed his folks “yet another bloody scale” his dad would knock it on the head and send him to ballet instead.
The problem is, as with anything worthwhile in life, there’s rarely a ‘fast track’ route that’s sustainable or ultimately rewarding. I’d rather be honest and say “it’s going to be five weeks of scales before we even look in Wonderwall’s direction.” That way, at least you know what to expect, and when it takes five weeks to get to something sexy, it’s no surprise.
It’s a weird metaphor I know, but we have a similar stance when telling clients what to expect when they bring us onboard to boost their new business returns. If we fall over ourselves to “play you a tune you’ll like” after one month, we’re probably not actually doing a very good job with the fundamentals (in this case, not so much scales, more database management, research, collateral creation, quality of outreach, etc.).
So if we pitch to you and tell you it’ll possibly take six months to bring in the first win if we do things right, PLEASE don’t agree unless you actually agree. If, once we get started, we remind you it’ll possibly be six months before the first win is in the bank, again, please don’t nod and smile in agreement… ESPECIALLY if after three months you then wet the bed and give up because you haven’t won anything.
If you keep doing that, we’ll just teach you Wonderwall (metaphorically speaking) and you’ll end up with a really naff and unsustainable new business campaign. Oh, and one song (on guitar or trumpet - your choice).