How a 3-Minute phone call turned into an Ironman.
As a business owner and marketer (and yes, you ARE a marketer), our goal is to invite people to take some type of action. Now, that action could take the form of calling your office, downloading a report, or even clicking a link.
But in the end, you are consistently encouraging and persuading people to DO something.
As Einstein put it, “Nothing happens until something moves.”
And that is true for your business as well. The phone don’t ring until someone actually picks up the phone and punches in the numbers.
That’s just how life works.
You see this all the time, too. It’s the invitation to do something or be someone that gets you off your butt and moving forward.
This happened to me back in 2010.
I was outside in the garden, trying to figure out what the heck I was doing, when my phone rang. It was Cody, a friend from high school that then lived in Arizona.
Somewhat out of the blue, I was curious to see what this was all about. And in true Cody fashion, he got right to the point.
“Hey, I just signed up for the Ironman. Want to do this with me?”
In truth, I had thought about doing this beastly race before. Not all that seriously, mind you…more in a ‘that would be cool’ sort of way. But it had crossed my mind.
However, this was not a casual question. This was a direct challenge. Something that required a definite answer.
My pride almost got the best of me and I very nearly blurted out, “You’re on.” But the overwhelming thought of swimming 2.4 miles in open water, biking 112 miles, and then running 26.2 miles reared its ugly head. Although naturally athletic, this was not the sort of thing where I could just show up and get by on talent.
“Give me the weekend to think about it. I’ll let you know by Monday.”
Long story short, I consulted with my wife (who was pregnant at the time with baby girl #2), and she gave her blessing.
I called Cody back the following week telling him the news. And 9 months later, I became an Ironman.
All from a 3-minute phone call and an invitation to act.
That’s the power of asking someone to take action. Think about that. From that short conversation, I committed an average of 15 hours a week (20+ at the peak) for NINE MONTHS.
Remarkable.
But nothing would have ever happened, if my friend never flat-out asked me the question.
The same holds true for your business.
You could be the greatest life coach, dentist, or personal trainer the world has ever seen. But if you are not consistently ASKING your audience to take action…then it’s all for naught.
An invitation forces someone to actually stop and think about their options, and then make a decision. And regardless of the outcome, that’s a good thing because it provides clarity. (Both for you and for the person)
Bottom line: don’t be afraid to ask your audience to take action.
Even if they decline your offer (spoiler: most of them will), it doesn’t mean that they will never become a client or customer of yours. Each invitation plants a seed and you never know when that seed will take root and sprout up. (one of the few things I learned from my gardening :))
Okay….it’s time for me to take my own advice. Schedule a Strategy Call.
What are your business goals? Are they concrete, detailed goals…or simply ‘that-would-be-nice’ goals? What systems do you have in place to reach those goals?
I thrive off collaborating with other entrepreneurs and business owners. One of my gifts is the ability to see things strategically when it comes to business opportunities, and ultimately save you time, money, and effort in reaching your goals.
On my calendar, I have reserved a few slots each week for Strategy Calls. These are 20-30 minute discussions where I dissect your business to uncover blind spots and underutilized opportunities.
To be clear: these are not high-pressure sales calls. My process is to provide you with ideas and actions that you can take to strategically grow your business. And if you would like help implementing those strategies, then I’d love to help you. But if not, then that’s just fine.
If you could use some insight, feedback or direction for growing your business, then click here to schedule your free strategy call: