What You Need To Believe

Believe that you can win. That you can still win. That you are playing the long game.

Believe in your product, your service, and your solution. Believe it is the right choice for your clients and that it will benefit them. Believe that your clients will be made better.

Believe in yourself. Believe you create unique value. Believe that you are the unique value proposition, that you are the difference that makes the difference.

Believe your competitors are trying to take your business. Believe that they are dangerous, that they also create value, and that they deserve your respect.

Believe your dream clients need your help. Believe that they have challenges and opportunities to find improvement. Believe that you can help them discover the gap and the way forward.

Believe your clients will pay more for greater value. Believe that price is only an expression of value. Believe that you have the power to move the conversation from price to cost, and by doing so, help your clients make the proper investments.

Believe that fear is what you should fear most and that inaction is more dangerous than taking action. Believe that your greatest fear should be avoiding what is necessary because it makes you uncomfortable.

Believe that winning will be more difficult than you imagine. Believe that you are going to have to give it all of your effort and energy. Believe that you are going to have to persevere, and that you are going to have to be resourceful enough to find new ideas.

Believe more people, many you don’t yet know, will be involved in the decision to buy from you. Believe that you need consensus, but believe that your client needs that consensus as much or more than you do. Believe that it is your obligation to find or build that consensus.

Believe real trust takes time to develop. Believe that relationships matter, that they require an investment of your time and energy. Believe that caring is the killer app.

Believe it will take longer to create an opportunity within your dream client accounts. Believe that you need to be known and trusted before you are given an opportunity to serve your clients.

Believe that the next big disruption is right around the corner and that you have an urgent need to get better faster. Believe you have already fallen behind and you need to work feverishly to improve yourself. Believe that you are the only asset you have for producing all of the results you want in life, and that you have to build that asset.

Believe that the best and fastest way to capture value is to first create it. Believe that fast is slow and slow is fast. Believe that difficult is easy and easy is difficult.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.