Thanks for checking out "The Outbound Engine"! You've come to the right place for insights on outbound business development in the property management space. Every week I'll be sharing strategies, tips, stories, and tools to help entrepreneurs and sales professionals level up their game. I'm excited you're here, let's get into it.

Someone forward you this link?If you're not subscribed already you can do that here.

The Lead - A Few Quiet Days

Well I expected to be writing this week's edition from a hotel room in Nashville, reflecting on all my takeaways from day one of Elevate SKO. As you likely know by now, the weather had other plans. When we started planning this in April of 2025, I can promise you that possibility never crossed my mind.

Nevertheless, we move forward.

The silver lining to Elevate being bumped is that I have 3 days of a mostly clear calendar. The last several weeks have been absolutely packed with the demands of my day to day work, with SKO jammed on top. It's been stressful to say the least.

So I've had a little bit of time to think about 2026 finally, and where BrightReach is headed. A handful of things have bubbled to the top, that certainly don't just apply to me but anyone who owns a business and/or is in a sales seat.

The first is the importance of going deep vs. wide. I wonder if this resonates at all. While the new year brings an opportunity to craft a bold and new vision, that's not necessarily wise.

Sales people tend to get shiny object syndrome more than most. We're all chasing that new silver bullet idea that will solve all our problems. I don't know why that is, and maybe fewer of you deal with that than I think.

Nevertheless, I'm resisting the temptation to chase it. As I look ahead, I'm realizing that it's more likely the answers are right in front of me than in left field. 2025 was a success. I know there's a great deal of room for more, but where is that most likely to come from? The areas I'm already seeing success? Or a completely different place?

I'm also considering the places where I'm prone to waste time and energy. The obvious things are "I spend too much time on social media" or "I get distracted by emails". We all have those things, they aren't hard to identify.

I think the more challenging question to unwrap is where my mental energy gets spent. It's less about an activity and more about finding myself down rabbit holes. For me this could be chasing new ideas, but it could also be getting frustrated by someone else or my own opinion of my performance.

Our minds are able to lead us down paths than can ultimately keep us from doing the next right thing. Being given harsh feedback for example, could easily kill a day which otherwise would've been productive. We check out, or doubt ourselves enough to put off the things we ought to do.

Developing the discipline to push through these distractions comes with time, and knowing yourself well enough to spot them. You know what these things are, and only you can address them.

Finally, I'm challenging myself to think more boldly. This applies in several ways. As I approach one year of being in business, I'm considering how I help my clients and the places where I tend to shy away from conflict or words that need to be said. How can I serve them better? Is my conflict avoidance protecting my ego at their expense?

Even more so, in what ways does my doubting inner monologue hold me back from greater success? I know so much more than I did a year ago, and that's worth having confidence in despite the fact that in 2027 I'll know even more.

The imposter syndrome we carry is real, and it often hides the real confidence we ought to have about what we do. It also keeps us from taking big swings. The cost of doing nothing is expensive, and it's hard to see.

Planning Elevate SKO has been a real lesson in this for me. It's been a tremendous amount of work, and the gratification has been as slow as a snail. And guess what? It's been delayed further!

Oddly enough, as our original date approached and we ultimately made the decision to postpone, I did get a weird sense of gratification. It came in the form of messages from attendees, sponsors, friends and clients reaching out to offer encouragement. Recognizing the frustration they knew I was feeling, but affirming the time effort and energy to undertake this thing was a worthwhile endeavor.

So while our efforts don't always produce the results we want, when we want them, we can't shy away. We step forward, however small the step may be. The greatest enemy to action, is often ourselves.