Luck is for Schmucks

Do you believe in luck? A lot of people do. I have to admit that I have sometimes felt that things were just “going my way.” And I’ve felt the opposite too. (Barb Wade)

The problem with luck is that by definition it’s out of our control. You’re either lucky, or your not. That’s why we come up with superstitions around lucky charms, rituals, and routines. Those things make us feel like we might be able to influence the outcome of something. 

We can, of course, have an influence the outcome of many things. But rubbing a lucky rabbit’s foot is probably not the most sure-fire way to go about it. 

When it comes to enrolling people into hiring you or buying your product, luck has nothing to do with it. 

It has been said, “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” And I truly believe that. First, you must have something to offer of value that your potential clients really want. They you must learn and practice how to hold an effective sales conversation. 

Without those 2 things, you’ve just lowered the odds of being “lucky” to almost zero. 

But what about once we are prepared? Is there a way to raise the odds that we enroll the clients we want to? 

There is. And it’s simpler than you think.

It all comes down to what they call a “numbers game.” 

Let’s say that on average, for every 10 enrollment conversations you have, you book 1 client. That’s a 1 in 10 or 10% conversion rate. (By the way, 10% for one on one conversations is pretty low, but we’re keeping the math simple.)

With that knowledge, what is the minimum number of enrollment conversations you would have to have if you want to add 10 new clients to your business? 

100. That’s right. One hundred enrollment conversations.  

But how many of us have 5 or 6 conversations and can’t understand why no one said “Yes?” (On a purely statistical level, I guess ½ of a person could have said yes.)

Can you see that there are basically 2 ways to increase the chances of adding more clients to your business.

1. Get better at sales conversations: increase your conversion rate.

2. Have more enrollment conversations: increase the odds of success by sheer volume. 

Now here’s the cool thing: assuming you are adept at the basics of an enrollment conversation, practicing #2 up levels both sides of the equation!

The more conversations you have (increasing the odds) the better you’ll get (increasing your conversion rate.)

The simple way to get more clients is to have more enrollment conversations. Simple.