I had someone contact me recently who wanted some help. He wanted to figure out how get get from where his company was at to "the next level, dollar-wise."
"Okay. I need to know what your current dollar volume is by year and by month, your current marketing and sales goals, and where you want your sales to be on a yearly level."
"That information is proprietary. I don't know if I can give that to you."
I get it. We've been conditioned that money is what we're all after, but to talk about it is a dirty thing, like sex or food. Or maybe. . .
"You don't know, do you? I mean, what your company's income is. So you don't know where you want it to be. You just know you want it higher."
"I'm sure I've got the figures some where. How 'bout I call you back when I find them?" You don't have to guess – he hasn't called me back.
If someone called you and asked for directions, what would you want to know? First question – where are you now? Second question – where do you want to go?