Albert Einstein said: Insanity is doing the
same thing over and over and expecting different results.
My dad was an entrepreneur… He owned a Snapper lawn mower sales and service business. The shop was located behind the house and as such, our yard was always mowed!
I was responsible for mowing most of the time. The yard around the house was small and I used a push mower. Although, honestly, it was a self-propelled push mower so I didn’t have to exert myself too much!
The yard behind the shop was much bigger and when I was old enough, I got to mow it as well – on the riding mower! I’d start at the outside edge and go round and round. Through my adulthood, I continued mowing, going round and round, starting at the outside edge.
When I started bush-hogging here in Georgia, I did it the same way. After all, it’s just like mowing the yard only on a bigger piece of equipment and bigger piece of land. However, there is one major difference between the terrain in Georgia and the terrain in Indiana: think sloped and hilly versus flat.
The pastures and fields in Georgia have terraces. The definition of terrace is to make or form (sloping land) into a number of level flat areas resembling a series of steps. The terraces were created to decrease erosion and surface runoff. (The terraces here don’t exactly look like steps – they are much more gradual — like humps in the pasture.)
However, when it comes to bush-hogging, going up and over these terraces as you’re going round and round make for an uncomfortable ride – and it’s also probably not so good for the equipment!
After a couple of times, my husband suggested that I bush-hog with the line of the terraces. Hm. Hadn’t thought of that – I always started from the outside and worked my way to the middle. That’s how I’ve always done it!
Let’s say there are four terraces running through the pasture. That means I divide the pasture into fours and my “outside” line becomes the terrace so that I’m riding along the top of the terrace instead of up and over.
I have to tell you… the first few times I bush-hogged this way was very strange to me. I remember how anxious I felt not doing the whole thing at one time!
Now, after many years, it’s natural to bush-hog along the terraces.
Our businesses are the same way. Just because we’ve always done something a certain way doesn’t mean we should keep doing it that way. When you change from what you’ve always done, you may feel uncomfortable or cause anxiousness but after you do it that way awhile, it becomes natural.
Perhaps when it comes to scheduling calls, you’ve always emailed back and forth to figure out a convenient date. What if you started using an online scheduler? This enables you to send somebody a link to your calendar so they can easily see what’s available and schedule a call. There are many options out there including ScheduleOnce, TimeTrade, Acuity, and Calendly.
When it comes to email marketing, do you send one email after someone opts in to your list? Or do you send a series of emails? What if you also added an offer in those emails – a product or service that you sell?
If you do already send a series of emails to your new list subscribers, what if you added a little excitement by creating a ‘choose your own adventure’ funnel? This type of funnel directs subscribers into different paths based on the actions they take – such as clicking links in emails or filling out interest surveys. It’s a great way to personalize each subscriber’s experience while also increasing their engagement with your business!
Social media is a moving target. What worked a couple of years ago is different than what works now. If you’ve always posted three times a day to your Facebook page, what if you started sharing content or networking with other people, as well?
Here’s something I recently changed in my own business… I’ve never required a double opt-in but after months of getting spam submissions using legitimate email addresses, I made the change. I now require someone to confirm their email before they receive their Leads Into Buyers Blueprint.
There are always things we can change, but just like the idea of bush-hogging in sections, we can’t always see it because we’ve always done it the same way. Click here if you’d like to schedule a free call for an independent third party (me!) to see what you could change in your business!
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