photo by wili hybrid 

There are times when we make things harder than they have to be.

It can be really hard to grow your business – when you’re still in the first couple of years, not only are you doing all the work but you’re still going through a major learning curve.  When you’re more established you’re even busier doing the work and it’s likely that you’ve picked up some bad habits or you’re just exhausted from stress and working long hours.

Either way there are a lot of challenges, but at least a few of those challenges end up being self imposed.

Let me give you an example that came up during this morning’s peer group advisory board meeting.  The group is in the process of doing planning for 2009 and today one of my clients was presenting his marketing plan to the group.

Overall he did a great job pulling the plan together and he got a lot of good feedback and few ideas that he hadn’t previously considered but the most interesting part of the conversation was on 2 points in the plan that he was clearly conflicted on.

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Photo by Daexus 

I haven’t been able to play golf in a while (kids and a relatively new business tends to squeeze out your free time).  But I’ve played enough to recognize the one secret that all of the pros have that allows them to be great.  Without this trait, all the talent, brilliance, training or money in the world won’t allow them to compete at the highest level.

Oddly enough, that same trait is a major key for success when it comes to marketing your business as well.

In golf you might be on the 1st tee and hit a 300 yard drive right down the middle, but if you chunk your approach shot (chunk is my technical term for total a total mis-hit that results in a 10 yard dribble up the fairway), it’s pretty unlikely that you are going to make par.

A consistent swing that gives you expected repeatable results is the only way to score really low.

In marketing, you might go to a networking event and make 5 great contacts that could really help your business, but if you wait 2 weeks before calling them back, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to set up very many meetings or convert them to new clients.

A consistent approach in marketing that gives you expected repeatable results is the best way to have a winning business.

Obviously the key in both of these examples is consistency.  How can a consistent approach (or the lack of consistency) impact your business?  Read on.

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