Have you ever heard anyone say this? The most recent occurrence for me was last year when my wife and I were discussing joining CrossFit. She wanted to get in shape, but not too much. She didn’t want to wake up one morning finding herself unable to fit into her shirt on account of her huge lats.
I laughed. I get what she’s saying, but I also laughed (no, not the kind that involves pointing and humiliation, OK?). It’s just that it’s really hard to build muscle, let alone too much muscle. Just ask the tens of thousands of guys in the gym every day, giving themselves aneurysms, tearing rotator cuffs, and blowing knees out all in the desperate attempt to build muscle. And we men have the advantage of more testosterone over the ladies. So when my dear wife talks about accidentally getting too strong, I can’t help but chuckle a little bit. It’s precious.
Before you think I’m just some smug guy standing on a soapbox, just know I’m getting to a point here. What I’m saying is I do the same thing, not so much about health and fitness, but in another area.
It has to do with my vocation – insurance – which takes place in my family’s business. A few years ago I realized that our best clients – farms – were leaving California and that I had no idea how to replace them. I really had no idea how to even attract new clients at all. And since I wasn’t keeping track, I had no idea where the clients we did get came from.
All I knew is that I wished there was some way to get in front of people that I wanted to do business with. I was told this was accomplished through a “marketing plan” and I immediately started trying to figure out how to get one. But almost every brainstorm session that created an inkling of an idea of a plan left me in recoil.
Why? Because of my vivid imagination. I pictured what my day with too much potential business knocking on my door would look like. In this scenario I was slammed with phone calls, emails, and texts. My day was filled with me trying to push away unreasonable people who either have unsolvable insurance problems or are merely trying to save ten dollars. And the abundance of people that I genuinely could help who were also trying to get a hold of me; they would get sick of waiting for me to call back and go elsewhere. In the end, everyone would leave me a one star review on Yelp and Gillespie Insurance Services would be universally hated.
What I failed to realize was that – just like building muscles – getting people to call you is hard. Not just that: getting people to simply know you exist is hard. It is so hard, in fact, that you likely do not need to fear accidentally getting overwhelmed with people trying to write checks in your name.*
Creating a system where people become aware of your existence, go on to get to know, like, and trust you, and then finally approach you to do business with you requires very specific, intentional hard work. It’s hard to create a functional website that presents you well. It’s hard to be friendly and care when you’re tired. It’s hard to network and be outgoing when you don’t feel like talking (if you’re an introvert like me). It’s hard to build trust (because it takes time for people to see that you’re trustworthy). It’s hard to create processes and systems allow you to follow through and keep the promises you made when you were closing the deal. It’s hard to track results. None of it is easy; that’s all there is to it.
Contrary to what I may have previously subconsciously thought; you don’t just go to the marketing store, buy a marketing switch, take it back to the office, plug the switch in, flip it, and watch the calls come in.
So just like my dear Candace and her belief about getting too physically fit, I have to laugh at myself. It’s been about three years since that concept of a marketing plan entered my mind and while I’ve made some significant strides, I’m just getting started. And the hard work is just beginning.
*A few other things that are unlikely to happen on accident: winning too many championships, selling too many records, or having too much profit margin. It is unlikely one will ever get too many votes or donations, or be too good on the guitar either (unless you’re this guy).
Clever man! ? Love it!
Great article! And Prince is a badass!