Sixteen years ago, my very first podcast conversation was with my sales coach Matt Nettleton. So, naturally, when Matt came back to More Than A Few Words, we talked about how the fundamentals of good sales haven't changed all that much.

Matt and I agree that when you're starting a business, a qualified prospect is often anyone with a pulse, a checkbook and the ability to fog a mirror. And that's okay. You have bills to pay.

But eventually, you need to get a little pickier.

We have talked for years about customers as deer, moose and elephants. The problem is, too many salespeople spend their days chasing squirrels and rabbits while trying to hit goals that require much bigger game.

And then there's the really big elephant. What happens when you land a customer that's actually too big?

Matt shared the story of a client preparing to chase an opportunity that would increase revenue by 50% in about 60 days. Sounds fabulous, right? Except they didn't have the people, cash or capacity to deliver. They walked away, found two customers that were a much better fit and ended up growing 30%.

Sometimes saying no really is a growth strategy.

In this episode of More Than A Few Words, Matt Nettleton and I talk about knowing who belongs in your sales pipeline, giving yourself permission to let bad prospects go and why the customers who got you here may not be the customers who take you where you want to go.

And yes, after sixteen years, we're still talking about deer, moose and elephants.

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About Matt Nettleton

For Indianapolis Business Owners Tired of the Revenue Roller Coaster | I Build Sales Engines That Forecast Accurately | Sandler-Certified | My Clients Have Closed $3.2B+ in New Sales | Book a 30-Min Diagnostic Call Matt is also the host of the Default Profitable podcast, where I interview successful small business owners and share valuable insights, tips, and trends on starting and running a business. I am a certified instructor of Sandler Training, Extended DISC, PeopleBest and OMG Profile. I specialize in sales organizational assessment, sales process development, and leadership programs.

More Than a Few Words

More Than a Few Words is a bite-sized marketing podcast for people who want practical ideas they can actually use. Each episode cuts through the noise with smart conversations about what’s working, what’s changing, and every now and then, what went wrong.

Hosted by marketing strategist Lorraine Ball, the show has been serving up marketing ideas with no fluff and no jargon since 2010.

Like what you hear? Follow More Than a Few Words so you never miss a conversation.

https://morethanafewwords.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorraineball/

For years, Sunday nights had a routine. Around eight o'clock, I'd start thinking about Monday. Emails. Client requests. Deadlines. That one surprise waiting to derail my plans before I'd even had my first cup of coffee.

Like a lot of business owners, I figured the answer was simple. Work a little harder over the weekend and get ahead.

It never worked.

The more I worked, the longer my to-do list seemed to get. Instead of feeling prepared, I felt like I was starting every week one step behind.

What finally made a difference wasn't anything I did on Sunday. It was what I started doing on Friday.

Back then, Friday afternoon became protected time. No meetings after one o'clock. No "just one more call." Instead, I spent a couple of hours wrapping up the week so Monday had a much softer landing.

The first stop was my inbox. I've always been an Inbox Zero fan, not because it's trendy, but because I don't like loose ends. I answered what I could, delegated what I should, and filed the rest. When I shut my computer down, there wasn't a pile of unanswered email waiting for me on Monday.

Then I reset my workspace. There was a lot less paper than there used to be, but somehow receipts, notes, and sticky notes still multiplied during the week. A quick cleanup on Friday saved me from hunting for things on Monday morning.

Next came my task list.

I collected ideas all week long. Friday was when I decided which ones deserved my attention. Some became projects. Some were delegated. Others quietly disappeared because they really weren't that important after all.

One habit made an even bigger difference. When I had a good idea that simply wasn't right for right now, I didn't leave it sitting on my list making me feel guilty. I scheduled it to come back in three or six months. If it came back and still didn't make the cut, I knew it wasn't as important as I thought.

Finally, I planned my weekend.

Yes, I usually checked in on work at some point. That's life when you're running a business. But I decided ahead of time when I'd work and, just as important, when I wouldn't. Walks, dinner with friends, and family time all went on the calendar, too. If I didn't plan my downtime, work happily filled every available minute.

The best part was that Sunday nights lost their grip on me. I knew what was waiting on Monday, and I knew it already had a place on my calendar.

These days, I don't have the pressure of running a business anymore, but I still protect Friday afternoon. I clear my desk, close the open loops, and head into the weekend knowing Monday won't be waiting to ambush me. Some habits are worth keeping, even after the job changes.

What about you? Do you have a Friday routine that makes Monday easier? I'd love to hear about it. And if you'd like to compare notes, you can book an Office Hours conversation at morethanafewwords.com/officehours.

When you spend 17 years creating content for your business and others, you kind of have it down to a system. You write, you post, you check all the boxes. But what happens if one day you wakle up and realize, your content is boring. That happened to industry veteran, Rachel Allen.

One day she looked at her own freshly published Substack and thought, "I wouldn't read that." Ouch. I suspect we've all written that post at least once.

The really scary part wasn't that her content wasn't working. It was what she did next.

She stopped.

No backup plan. No carefully crafted pivot. She simply gave herself permission to be quiet until she had something worth saying.

If that idea makes your palms sweat, you're not alone. Mine did too.

What I loved was what happened when she came back. She stopped trying to "get attention" and started sharing the things she genuinely enjoyed. Some of it was marketing. Some of it was about writing a musical about her cat. I have to admit, as a fellow pet owner, I'd probably read that.

The funny thing is that the less she tried to sound like a marketer, the more people paid attention. More engagement. More conversations. More clients.