Recently, I registered for a
three-day marketing event intending that I would walk away with a new and
brilliant tagline for my company. I felt that the tagline would solve several
of my marketing issues. I was straight up desperate.
I filled my notebook with tons of
next steps during that event, but the tagline eluded me. I even hunted down the
facilitator in between sessions to beg for an answer. She gave me some good
stuff but it never came together.
After the event, I hired the
facilitator to coach me. That was actually the next step I needed to take to
solve my marketing issues. We changed my niche, created a brand for it and
came up with an entire plan. It felt good and it worked.
I thought finding a tagline would
solve my issues, but it would have been just a temporary band-aid for a bigger
problem. I knew I needed to do something different. I’m glad I followed my gut
and hired her.
What about you? Are you looking
for your next step to bust through a perpetual glitch in your business?
It seems that every time one of my
clients is looking for the next step in their business growth, they have too
many ideas and don’t know which to choose or have zero ideas. Or so it seems.
When you get to a real stuck place
in your business, it’s your Inner Business Expert tapping you on the
shoulder to get your attention to move in a different direction. I don’t
mean give up on what you’re currently doing, but to seek out a solution that
will resolve the real issue at hand.
Here’s how to prime the solution
pump…
- Write down what you don’t like about the situation and why. Clarifying why will give you the key.
- Identify if the problem is your perspective, another person’s ability or a system breakdown. It may be a combination.
- Take some nice deep breaths and do your best to relax about the situation. Open your mind, stay curious and ask yourself, “If I were to make up my next step out of thin air, what would it be?” There may not be angels singing when an answer pops in your head, but that doesn’t discount its relevance.
- Trust the answer and take action.
If you’ve been toying with offering a new product or service, letting go or hiring a team member, changing your website, or hiring a coach, then you know where you need to focus. What’s the very first step in the process?