Why Honesty is the Most Important Intangible in Your Success


Honesty and integrity are by far the most important assets of an entrepreneur. – Zig Ziglar

Have you ever noticed that being honest to others seems like a no-brainer, but we can justify being dishonest with ourselves without hesitation?  Honest about your knowledge of a certain subject, realistic about your competency with a particular job, or transparent enough to admit your mistakes.

Being honest exposes ourselves to the reality of what is going on around us.  It’s where the phrase “calling it like it is” comes from, and those who can be real with themselves and their business on a daily basis are bound for success. 

Here are some examples of why transparency is so valuable:

Develop Accountability

First and foremost, being honest with yourself and your business will develop personal accountability.  Personal accountability is the intangible you need to build your business from the inside out: if you pull all the strings of your business, then you have all the power to make it succeed. 

Zig Ziglar said, “You must manage yourself before you can lead someone else.” 

It strikes at the heart of what transparency brings to the table for your business.  Once you develop accountability within yourself you can begin encouraging the same standard in others.  Soon enough, your team will be full of honest and hard-working employees who call it like it is. 

You Learn About Yourself

Another great attribute of transparency is that you can learn how you react in stressful situations, when the chips are down and someone needs to take accountability.  Is it going to be you?  Maybe it should be in certain situations, but it could also be someone else who needs to step forward. 

Being open and honest makes it easier for you to see where things went wrong, and furthermore, what you can do to prevent it from happening again.  It also helps you get an idea of how much actual work it takes to execute a given project.

What about when things are going well? 

Success should be greeted with the same kind of ruthless honesty at play when times are tough.  A successful sales campaign deserves plenty of a rewards, congratulations, and analysis.  Part of being transparent is acknowledging the success of others, giving them the plaudits they deserve, and learning from others. 

All too often businesses see accountability as a way to explain away their mistakes.  It should be the other way around.  A culture of accountability within your business will strengthen teamwork, and teams need to stick together in the good times and the bad.

Gives You a Chance to Improve

Nothing helps you with personal self-development as much as making mistakes.  Everyone makes them, but it’s those who can learn from them that flourish in the world of business.  When you are honest about what you did (or did not) do, you have just taught yourself how to avoid making the same mistake in the future. 

It might be hiring someone without calling all of their references, or giving someone more responsibility because you don’t have the time.  If these decisions lead to problems down the road, at least you can rectify them and strengthen your operating procedure going forward.

Psychological Growth Will Produce Business Success

A lot of people start out in the business world with some naivety.  They may think they have what it takes to make a million in the first year of their business – but does it happen?  Usually not.

A vast majority of success stories come from people that have failed over and over again before finding a niche that works for them and succeeding.  Do these success stories look back in anger on their failed business ventures?  Absolutely not. 

Ask anyone in business about the trials and tribulations they faced in the early days and they will say it was the adversity they needed to learn about themselves and develop the character required to make a business that succeeds in the long-term.

What Makes A Great Leader?

When talking about business leadership, many different characteristics come to mind.  A leader can be silent and put the focus on doing rather than showing.  A leader can also be assertive and full of excitement and gusto, relaying their energy and enthusiasm to their team to push them forward.  These are the two poles of leadership characteristics, and in most cases, business leaders display a little bit of both depending on the situation or context.

Then you have leadership styles. Wisetoast has put together a list of 12 common leadership styles among business leaders today.  These styles each take a different focus, whether it’s:

  • Autocratic
  • Democratic
  • Strategic
  • Transformational
  • Team-Oriented
  • Cross-Cultural
  • Facilitative
  • Laissez-faire
  • Transactional
  • Coaching
  • Charismatic
  • Visionary

That’s a lot of style jammed into a single list.  Do you resonate with a few of the types above?

The truth is, humans are fluid.  We do not just fit into a specific box or “type”.  Someone can be an autocratic leader one week and a democratic leader the next.  We each have distinct personality traits from our character as adults.  In order to harness great leadership then, the focus should be less on style and more on personal attributes. 

Here are 5 attributes of great leadership that you can nurture no matter what personality type you are: 

  • Flexibility.  Being able to adjust plans and schedules without getting flustered is an important skill.  It takes composure and a realization that you can only control a small fraction of things in your vicinity – the rest is up to others, whom you have to trust.
  • Strong Communication.  Always being clear and remaining in touch with your team is important.  It can be a simple “hi, how are you?” or a detailed email about a new project.  Whatever the content, the motive remains the same, and that’s the key.
  • Courage.  Being able to overcome obstacles and remain confident is a requirement of great leadership.
  • Humility.  Appreciating the fragility of life and your place within it will help you make choices for the group, rather than for yourself.  A humble person is also able to admit mistakes. 
  • Organized and Responsible.  A leader must be on top of all responsibilities and organize people throughout all stages of a project. 

Contrary to what some people say, leadership is not something a few people are born with and the rest of us are out to lunch.  Hard work and vision are the key to becoming a great leader. 

Find a way to center your business culture around models of great leadership, and cultivate and environment that induces employees to take on more responsibility.  With responsibility comes accountability, and learning how to be accountable is step 1 on the road to great leadership. 


Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t build a business – you build people – and then people build the business.”

It all starts at the top.  As a leader within your business, it’s on your shoulders to set the tone and be a great leader for the team by focusing on these attributes and how you can educate, equip, and empower your team to build your business. 

Understanding ‘Big Data’ and How it Can Help Your Business

If you’re like me, the term ‘big data’ sounds like a catch-all phrase.

To help explain it better, I found a great piece by IBM (an industry leader in analytics) describing the four dimensions their data scientists use to interpret big data.

Volume. There is more data being produced now than ever before. One of the most fascinating stats
brought up by IBM is that “40 zettabytes of data will be created by 2020, an increase of 300 times from
2015.”

Variety. The kinds of data being retrieved is also expanding exponentially. Social content, video
content, engagement data – business operations in all industries have become more focused since
digital analytics has taken hold, and big data will make it easier to collect and synthesize more different
kinds of data.

Velocity. The analysis of streaming data is where it gets really interesting. Big data operates through a
network of nodes and sensors within a large framework, all connected to a central hub. These nodes
and sensors can be designed to track any kind of information you want. For example, cars are now
made with nearly 100 sensors that maintenance issues in the vehicle (fuel level, tire pressure, etc.).

Veracity. This refers to the uncertainty of data. A lot of business leaders are still lacking trust in the
legitimacy of the data generated by big data analytics. There is no easy solution here, and two things
need to happen: Real improvements to the functionality of big data software need to be made, and
business leaders need to put some of the data they generate to work and see how it fares.

So, let’s say you are a mid-sized business and are not sure how, or even if, big data can be of use.

As Barbara Weltman puts it, small businesses already have the data sets required to make use of big
data – they just need to know how.

Here are some ways it can help, no matter the size of your business:
1. Customer Insights. The volume of data is certainly there when it comes to customer social
media content and search history.

2. Predict Trends. Looking at the macro-level searches and trends will help your business stay one
step ahead of the pack.

3. Efficiency. There are a lot of software programs available to synthesis all internal
communications and operations (including supply chain issues).

Are numbers important?
In short, yes. Like Zig Ziglar said, “The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does
exist.” In order to fix an issue, it is helpful to know where the problem is stemming from. Measuring
your business metrics and data are very useful tools.

How to Use Solitude to Your Advantage

The world of business moves much faster than the world of farming (to give just one example).  Mergers, acquisitions, quarterly reports, conferences, meetings, and tight accounting practices are just some of the monthly responsibilities you may have on your plate if you engage in business. 

It’s exhilarating to be such a mover and shaker, and the excitement of a new development keeps us going. 

However, in such a frenetic environment it is difficult to take a moment of pause.  It’s challenging to disconnect every week and find some solitude for you and your thoughts.

But is solitude worth it?

Yes.  Much like the oft-overlooked benefits of sleep, the scientific community is in practically universal agreement on the benefits of solitude.

One study by the University of London found our IQ drops 15 points when we multitask. 

This is backed up in the research conducted by Clifford Nass, who has concluded that distractions prevent the brain from adequately filtering out irrelevant information.

So clearly there is enough evidence to back up the claim that distractions harm productivity. 

You probably already knew that, but it helps to have numbers to back it up.  The funny thing about distractions is that they can emerge just as often from internal sources (fatigue, stress) as external (social media messaging, texting while talking, etc.).  Harnessing the value of solitude is a great reliever of distraction no matter it’s source. 

What Is a Good Way to Integrate Solitude into My Schedule?

It all revolves around effective time management.  You can start by taking 15 minutes at the beginning of each day to close your eyes and reflect.  This simple practice will help dispel anxieties about the upcoming day that would otherwise build up.  It might sound cheesy – but it works. 

Another great tactic is to schedule a half an hour block every day in which you do some activity on your own.  It might be a walk around the blog, a trip to a local gallery or museum … anything that will take your mind of work for a short time.  Personally, I take Jiu Jitsu classes. That time is on my calendar several times per week.

How Can Solitude Help My Business?

There are tons of ways solitude has material benefits to your business.  However, to get to the material benefits you need to first improve your own mental and physical health. 

Solitude Improves Mental Health

Tips for ensuring strong mental health are not shared enough amongst the business community.  Why is it that we cannot support each other in taking breaks and slowly down for a minute? Symptoms of weak mental health include: feeling overwhelmed, stressed, general uncertainty, lacking hunger, not sleeping very well.  The best cure is taking some time out for yourself.  You will become a happier and more productive worker if you do!

Solitude Can Make You a Stronger Leader

Taking time for solitude will make you a better leader because it will help you form a stronger understanding of your own identity.  What does that mean, exactly?  It means that you have taken the time to reflect deeply on issues affecting you and your team, and in those moments developed potential solutions.  That’s what leaders do: they tackle the big issues with originality and think through problems affecting everyone. 

Gives You Time for Brainstorming

Creativity in business is of vital importance, but it notoriously difficult to harness.  When you are overworked and stressed there is no time for finding creative solutions to your business.  Taking 30 minutes a day to let your mind wander will provide an opportunity for creative solutions to just pop into your head.

Do your best to integrate solitude into your weekly schedule, and if you’re like me, it will become self-evident that taking time away for yourself will make your business life more enjoyable and productive. 

The Rise of Influencer Marketing and how it can help your business

Does that athlete or supermodel REALLY use the product they’re promoting?
Probably not.
Most celeb-endorsements are done because of Influencer Marketing. 

Everyone understands the power of connectivity social media provides.  It’s a fantastic revolution in human communication that allows us to stay connected with people across the world, in real time. 

And, those of us who are entrepreneurial-minded, also know something about social media that most users do not: in every communication platform there is an opportunity for profit.  The source of profit comes from interpreting and leveraging this inter-connectivity to a brand’s advantage, and one of the best ways to do this is via influencer marketing.    

What is Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is basically collaborating with individuals and business leaders who are active and interested in what you offer, and daily interactions can make your brand stand out with sought-after trusted sources in your niche.

It’s basically the practice of finding key industry players that have influence in your niche and approaching them with a proposal to try your product, guest blog on your site, or cultivate some other form of professional relationship that can be seen online. 


Cross-promotions can create win-wins in the right environment.

Though it might sound simple, there is actually a very specific process involved in generating an influencer relationship… 

Step 1: Engagement

You should never approach an influencer out of the blue with a proposal to review your new product.  Without a personal bond of any sort, the influencer is almost certainly going to ignore you. 

The solution?  Engage with their social profiles.  Read their posts, comment on them in an informed way, and generally make it clear that you respect their opinion. 

Step 2: Discussion

After a bit of engagement, which can take weeks or even months, you may begin to discuss the potential of a guest blog post or a featured article.  You will want to keep it informal to gather information about how the influencer prefers to work – because they may do it for free if they find value in the relationship you’ve created – or, when they know, like, and trust you.

Step 3: Proposal

Make a proposal to the influencer once you have a strong working relationship.  The proposal can be as simple as mentioning a new product and asking what they think of it, or it could be more direct such as offering a paid placement campaign of your brand on their channels. 

Will Influencer Marketing Help My Business?

There is no question that influencer marketing will help your business.  To go back to the question of leveraging: you want to get as much positive press as possible, always, while spending as little money as possible.  You can leverage your industry connections and expand your market simply through a recommendation from an influential voice. 

Here are a few interesting stats, taken from digital media studies, to highlight the effectiveness of influencer marketing on your bottom line:

  • 74% of people believe that social media is a trusted source in guiding them to buy a product
  • 49% of people rely on influencers to make buying decisions
  • 47% of people use ad-blocking technology (and I wager this is actually higher across the board)

What Does the Rise of Influencer Marketing Illustrate About Digital Marketing?

It shows that in addition to conventional ad channels, consumers will always place higher value on recommendations from those that they know, like, and trust.

It shows that small business owners can save tons of money in marketing spend by forming strategic relationships with key industry voices. 

It shows that consumers see through major advertising initiatives to the core of the product on offer.  If the product does not appear to have “social proof”, then it’s a much harder sell.

How to Scale Your Business Effectively

As a small business owner, you probably know by now that growth is the defining metric to watch.  Year in and year out, if the growth ticker does not nudge upwards then it’s quite possible your business is in jeopardy.  

So, what is the most important factor in determining growth?  An ability to scale up operations.  If you cannot scale up your business, you are confining yourself to limited growth, consistently.  If the revenue from expansion is less than overall cost, after a limited period of time, something must change in your business model.  

What we know for sure is that the old model of growth does not work in the digital economy.  The old growth model went something like this: a firm gains a few new clients, so they hire a few more staff, thus adding cost at the same rate as they add revenue.  

This model no longer works in the digital economy for two main reasons…  

  • Changing Nature of Hiring.  Business owners need to take a long hard look at their costs and figure out how to maximize skill while minimizing expense.  Businesses without a brick and mortar location have far less to worry about here, although a similar comparison could be made between marketing cost and revenue.  Do they match up in your favor? If not, then it’s time to hire a different marketing team.    

  • Changing Nature of Costs.  Small business owners must spend far more money on digital marketing than ever before.  But digital marketing can be done strategically in ways that save money and ensure the same results: scaling up operations.  

What Does a Growth Strategy Look Like in 2017?

The new model of growth is all about adaptation, efficiency, and long-term vision.  A growth strategy in 2017 should be defined not in terms of cost but in terms of use-value.  

Focus on Training, Not New Hires

For example, let’s say your business is ready to scale up, but projected labor costs are just too high.  From the perspective of use-value, a more effective solution would be to train and compensate existing staff to be more competent and capable (and thus more efficient).  Sure, there will be a cost involved there as well, but you will have made it possible to scale your business up and keep the accompanying rise in labor cost to a minimum.  

If you do make some new hires, make sure you have a strong leadership structure in place beforehand so that employees are held accountable and remain strong contributors week in and week out.

Refine Your System, Don’t Expand It

Another misconception about scaling up is that you will need to change your whole operation.  Not the case.  

However, you will need to refine your internal communication channels so that the entire team functions better.  Do you have a ‘system’?  It will be very hard to scale up without one.


Take advantage of the many programs available for internal business communications, and formalize a structure that has space for growth.  These systems are great because they allow for clearly defined roles and the potential for large team projects.  

Formalizing a structure will mean everyone is on the same page as you grow, so that you are not playing catch-up as growth starts to materialize.  It means you have planned for it and your team can take it all in stride – and that’s one of the most important keys to scaling up in a seamless fashion. 

The Tips You Need to Use Infusionsoft Effectively

Converting cold leads into sales takes more than a killer social media presence and an all-encompassing digital marketing ad campaign.  While these are influential tools for gathering interest, the hard work of actually converting users/views into customers has not been accomplished yet. 

All too often, business owners think that traffic and engagement should organically translate into sales.  Unfortunately, it’s simply not that easy. 

Enter email marketing, the next phase in your sales channel that provides users with valuable and actionable content about your brand. 

Email Marketing is a Key Business Strategy

Email marketing is successful because it cuts through a lot of the barriers between your business and your audience.  It’s not just a little Facebook ‘like’ here and a click to the homepage there – it’s a personalized email that keeps users up to speed with your brand. 

And it works wonders.  Consider these stats:

  • Research from VentureBeat found that every $1 spent on email campaigns generates $38 in ROI
  • According to McKinsey data, email marketing is still approximately 40% more effective than Facebook or Twitter in gaining new customers

The email marketing platform we recommend to our clients is Infusionsoft – it is an intuitive and scalable email marketing tool that provides the tools you need to make impactful email campaigns. 

However, there are some tips to consider that will help you create better newsletters and drive page open rates. 

  • Make the Most of Segmentation 

Segmentation allows you to curate email newsletters only to those people that have expressed interest in the content itself.  Not just the newsletter – the content of the newsletter itself.

So take advantage of Infusionsoft’s segmentation tool and make lists based on specific interests, otherwise your audience will ignore it. 

  • Produce More Dynamic Content

Once you have made lists of customers based on interests, it’s time to develop templates optimized for each list.   

  • A/B Testing

Infusionsoft offers exceptional A/B testing research. It’s a great way to see what is working in your approach.  Is it the image? The text? The time it is sent?  These are all important intangibles that you should be testing. 

Rounding It Up

As your business grows it will collect more data.  It can be a daunting task trying to organize it all and make use of it in your marketing endeavors.  The process is made much easier by analytical tools like Infusionsoft, as long as you know how to harness its full potential. 

Contact us at Support@EZMetrics.com to get the latest deals / discounts on Infusionsoft and other programs to make your business run even smoother so that you can generate more leads and close more sales.

When Is It Time for a Branding Overhaul?

If you are in an upper management position in a company, or if you are the sole propriety of your own business already, then you have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders.  You need to be able to make the tough decisions at the right time, otherwise you risk compromising your business and the future of those in your team.  No one is going to make the decisions for you, and nobody’s even going to initiate a major change in operations because it’s not their job.  It’s yours.

When it comes to branding there are many vexing questions that you must have answers for.  One of the most challenging questions is: when is it time for a branding overhaul?

The answer to this question would have been harder in the pre-digital era.  Luckily, today there are a number of metrics available to make the decision easier.  You can consider:

  • Changing engagement rates relative to the most recent branding overhaul
  • Changes in direct traffic and potential reasons why
  • The success or failure of your most recent press campaign

Monitoring these metrics will give you a strong indication of whether or not it’s branding that needs to change in order to boost your business. 

Changing Your Brand Means Knowing Your Audience

Making a branding change is all about knowing how your business resonates with your audience and then capitalizing on it.  Here are three general tips to keep in mind while you contemplate the big decision of revamping the company’s image:

  1. Change your logo every 5 years.  Changing your logo (even slightly) within a five year span is smart business practice for a number of reasons.  The most obvious reason is that it keeps customers interested, and what’s more important than that?
  2. Does your business strategy no longer resonate with your branding? This is the tough question that you and your marketing team need to figure out.  It often happens that business strategy changes so quickly that branding is left behind.  Operating with an image that does not represent the specific service or purpose of the company will slice through potential revenue like a hot knife through butter. 
  3. If customer loyalty is lagging, it’s time for an overhaul.  This is another tricky intangible that you need to understand thoroughly before deciding to revamp.  Gauging loyalty has nothing to do with press clippings, direct traffic to your homepage or any other fancy marketing metric.  Loyalty is measured by word-of-mouth marketing and the number of social shares you get when posting a on Facebook.  It’s your community of customers that stand behind your brand, partly because they like what you do, and partly because they like your branding (the story behind your company and the message it shares with the world).  If this loyalty begins to lose steam, it’s definitely time to refine your message with a corresponding image.    

It’s All About Timing

Measuring the impact of your branding relative to the voice of the company requires constant attention.  There is going to be a right time every 5 or so years to change your image – it’s just important to figure out when that time is.  At the end of the day, a change in the tone and aesthetic of your brand might have the kind of measurable impact on sales that you’ve been looking for. 

Lead Generation-How to Scale Up Your Business Without Breaking the Bank

Lead Generation: Going Back to Basics

Lead generation is one of those areas of business that you will always need to think about.  You’re probably asking yourself every week if the inbound strategies you are using bring in high enough conversion rates.  What’s going to happen to your business if conversion rates drop below 3%? 

While I can’t say what will change, I can say that nothing should change about your lead strategy just because of a two-month dip. 

Don’t Overthink Your Lead Strategy

Stressing about your lead strategy can be a healthy obsession.  Part of your overall inbound marketing strategy, lead generation is the crucial second step in the chain that begins with organic traffic and ends in a sale.  Figuring out the best way to turn visitors into interested customers is part of the magic of business, and definitely requires a lot of strategizing and execution. 

Recent data shows that average ecommerce conversion rates hover around 4%.  Or consider that the average lead generation conversion rate in the travel industry is 5%, while in business services it’s 3.4%.  So, it’s likely that your work fits right into your industry’s average.  Point being: it’s hard to generate leads. 

Go Back to Basics

The only way to put your mind at ease about your lead generation strategy is to bring it all back to basics. 

It might be that you are over-extended in your lead generation attempts.  Or perhaps the actual content of your outreach efforts is not resonating with enough people.  In both of these examples, making small changes to your approach will not make the difference you are looking for.  To greatly improve your sales numbers, you may need to change the entirety of your lead generation strategy. 

Where is Your Call-to-Action Button?

It might be time to change the location and design of your CTAs.  Is it being ignored on your blog no matter how many views the blog gets?  Then try putting together a direct messenger campaign on Facebook that targets people who have reacted to your posts recently.  Or simplify your web design to make your CTA stand out more. 

Landing Page Optimization Shift

This might be a concern for the web design team, but without your input it will undoubtedly suffer.  A landing page needs to have a few components to be successful: a catchy headline, a short batch of text that is easy to read, and a call to action button that stands out from the rest of the content.  Without these basic features shining through it’s very possible your landing page is the weakest link. 

The Offer Needs to Have Impact

Here is where you can be creative and unique.  The whole point of a lead is to collect the personal information from potential customers.  In order to receive this information, you need to make an appealing offer, and perhaps your offer just is not appealing enough.  Get brainstorming and figure out what incentive you can provide your customers.  Offering a spreadsheet or free consultation in exchange for signing up to a mailing list might be the change you were looking for to keep things rolling!

Conclusion

So, don’t get discouraged by your lead generation conversion rate.  It’s a hard bargain to generate interested customers no matter what business you operate in.  When things get overwhelming, the key to success is returning to the basics, because it will remind you what it is that makes your company unique. 

5 Common SEO Mistakes You Need To Avoid

Question: What is the most valuable intangible in business?

Answer: Time.

No matter what area of business you apply the microscope, time management is the most valuable intangible.  It can either make you the most efficient person you could ever be, or lead you down a path of confusion and misunderstanding as you put tons of work into your business but keep on seeing diminishing returns.

Working on your business is all about making the most of your time in every single task you take on.  So what’s a good example of poor time management in business?  Operating on old principles that have become irrelevant in the fast-paced world of innovation and adaptation. 

A great example of operating on outdated principles can be found in search engine optimization.  Search engine optimization (or SEO) is an area of digital marketing that changes rapidly in relation to consumer behavior and Google measurement metrics. 

In the interest of saving time, many small business owners might think they can do their own basic SEO and get away with it.  They can, but only if they stay up-to-date with best practices.  Much like any area of business, managing your own SEO strategy it’s very easy to fall by the wayside and use methods that you think are effective, but in Google’s eyes are meaningless (or even harmful).

Here are 3 things I’ve noticed about SEO measurement that you should avoid if you want to make the most out of your time and effort:

  1. Conversions

The thing about conversion rates is that they are very alluring.  Of course it would be great to take a quick look at your Analytics, notice that conversion rates are going up across the board, and then pat yourself on the back for a job well done.  That would be a mistake.  Why? Because unless you are purely an e-commerce site, conversion rates tell only part of the story.  The common conversion metrics people look at are things like landing on your homepage, signing up for a newsletter, or the percentage of returning visitors.  That might look like a good percentage on your Analytics report, but if it does not have a meaningful impact on your bottom line then you need to change things up. 

2) Traffic

Overall traffic is another appealing stat that can misinform you.  Let’s say you incorporate some generic keywords into your site and see a 15% increase in site traffic over 6 months.  Generating increased traffic really only matters if it leads to increased sales – otherwise the value of the effort is worthless.  Focus purely on generating traffic that actually leads to sales, and to do that means cutting down your impressive overall traffic numbers and getting more specific.   

3) Poor Keyword Descriptions

The best way to target meaningful searchers is to isolate long tail keywords in your niche.  The big hitting keywords draw far too many site managers in because of the high volume of traffic they draw – until six months later they realize that all their work has led to no increase in sales. 

Stick To Value-Added Issues Only

Remember that comment about time the beginning of this blog post?  It applies to even the most acute levels of search engine optimization.  To avoid aimless hours trying to improve your overall traffic, stick to value-added issues that bring in the money.  At the end of the day, nothing else matters as much closing the sale.