change

I’m Here To Kick Your Butt

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lazy_dudeI 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?

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“I Can’t Do That!”

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In addition to running Agile’ I also teach and train traditional Okinawan goju-ryu karate.  We were working on board breaking a couple nights ago when I had a student tell me, “I can’t do that!”  And sure enough, she couldn’t.

Later, I heard her say to another student, “Well, I know you have to run 5 miles to become a black belt, so I’m never going to be one.”

When it comes to being a marketing consultant, my clients shouldn’t be hiring me to be their buddy.  They should have the attitude that I’m a kind of trainer, one who kicks their butts until they and their business is in fighting shape.  They want change for the better, and I’m there to make sure it happens.  Any type of change is painful – or at least, it’s not painless.  If you want a magic wand to wave and have more customers who spend gobs more cash, while letting you sleep in, then I’m sorry but I never attended Hogwarts or any other wizarding academy.  I can help you gain better clients, and let you do less work, but it’s not going to happen with a wand.

Just running a business requires effort.  To change it and make it better requires that you do something different as well.  It’s scary.  But if you don’t believe in you, why the hell should I?

I can tell you from experience that if you say, “I can’t do this,” then there’s almost nothing I or anyone else can say or do to force you to achieve whatever goal it is.  Change requires the self-discipline to carry on working through pain of some level.  The pain, once we go through it, is usually a lot less than we thought it was going to be.  But in order to accomplish the changes, you need to believe in yourself.  No one is ever going to be invested in your success the way you are.

If you believe “I can’t do this” or, “This isn’t going to work,” then you’re probably right.  I can help you work towards your potential, and I may believe in you, but until you believe in you, nothing’s going to happen.