Kick Overwhelm To The Curb

Do you ever have to prompt your kids to eat something, wear something, do something or go somewhere?

They resist; you persist because you want the best for them.

You’re selling, but you’re able to do that because ultimately you believe it’s best for them because you love them. You are delivering value by showing something that’s good for them.

Your kids are like the general public at large and your business is the parent that is trying to show them something of value.

I’ve been marketing since about the mid 1980’s. But I didn’t know I was marketing. 

My favorite course in college was marketing. We reviewed businesses that excelled because they applied business fundamentals that introduced their products and services to consumers.

Then when I joined my father’s insurance agency.
My first thought was “I don’t want him to be the best kept secret.”
My other thought was “this could take a while. People need to get to know me.”
My mantra became “there’s no immediate gratification in a long term strategy.”

I networked and joined business organizations to meet other business owners. I created events to engage the community.
I grew revenue 800%. He was able to retire when I bought him out and then I sold my shares to my sister six years later.

It was all from marketing. 

This was inspired by a conversation with a few of the Board members of an IDS Chapter in CT who brought me in to do a presentation. I asked, “what do you want me to talk about?” 

I wanted to do something different from what may be expected.
I didn’t want to beat a dead horse with the obvious platitudes about marketing. 

Nor debate about which is better:
Facebook vs. Linkedin
Posting in the morning or afternoon
Writing a Blog or recording a Vlog.

You don’t need me to tell you to post on social media.
It’s been trending for the past decade or more. Being an early adopter has left the station.

They said, “We’re overwhelmed. Many of us are Solopreneurs and doing everything ourselves.”

FEELING OVERWHELMED

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with marketing? I have good news and bad news.

I believe being overwhelmed is an opportunity to learn how to grow in some capacity.
Your business could be at the precipice of growing to the next level.

Being overwhelmed, to me, is the difference between doing the things we want to do and doing the things we think we should be doing. It’s an internal conflict. It’s why we procrastinate and make excuses instead of delegating.

A side effect of being overwhelmed is complacency.

I don’t want to steal my therapist’s thunder, but most of the time, many of us, in general, have the same doubts and fears. 

People aren’t paying attention to us as much as we think they are. They’re too worried about their own stuff.

I’ve listened to hours of marketing podcasts where professionals share how they got started and invariably it begins with some fear and doubt as they stumble to figure things out.

Is there anyone here that DOESN’T want to grow to the next level?

Anything I share with you today is nothing i’ve not been through already.
I’ve worried. I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’ve doubted. And I’ve succeeded.

Marketing is not an event. It’s a process.
And when it comes to process, we don’t seek perfection, we strive for progress.

Who has a purpose they are trying to accomplish?

Marketing is about understanding our purpose and the goals we set to achieve the fulfillment of our purpose along with the good we want to put out into the world.

Sometimes it feels like marketing it’s not always practical or executable.
It’s too much, we’re too busy. We can always find an excuse. I know I do.

If we’re following our purpose, it’s practical.
If we’ve not achieved all of our goals yet, we must make it executable.

i can talk to you about tactics and techniques, but it’s boring, and you know it already.
You can google everything and anything for FREE.  You know more than you know.

It’s the motivation, inspiration and creativity that we seek sometimes.

I’ve been saying for years:
You have to start somewhere in order to celebrate progress.
It’s basic benchmarking.

Rachel Hollis said it better,
“You can’t get to great if you aren’t putting “good enough” out in the world.”

Rachel Hollis also wrote a book about the lies she told herself and how she overcame them. 

I’m going to share the lies I told myself when I started social media in 2009:

  1. I have nothing to say.
  2. No one is listening to me.
  3. I don’t have an audience.
  4. There is so much noise, no one is finding my stuff.

This is ego hijacking our brains. 

Because the truth is:

  1. I was most talkative in high school. So, Duh!
  2. I’ve been hired so people are listening.
  3. I’ve built an audience.
  4. I started with my inner circle & circle of influences to let them know what I’m doing out here in the world.

CONNECTION
Remember when we discussed purpose? There’s a reason I didn’t say passion or profit first.

Who doesn’t love financial gain? With profit, sometimes we let our money junk get in the way. Sometimes we charge too little or too much or we procrastinate because we don’t know what to charge or how to charge.

With passion, we keep ourselves mired in minutia because it’s an art or it’s too important and it has to be perfect and we don’t let go.

Purpose allows us to dig deep within ourselves to reveal and share our values. And values have impact.
Impact will tempt people to pause and perhaps notice you. And the more they notice you, the more likely they will remember you. When they remember you, they will buy from you when they need your products and/or services.

Your marketing strategy should include your story. People don’t want to feel alone. They want to connect.
We’re biologically wired to connect as humans.

Sharing your story, your struggle to make it in this business causes connection. People can relate.

No one cares what you post unless they know that you care. Thank you Theodore Roosevelt.

Let’s talk about the “Judgey Judge Judys” in the world. If anyone judges your content and proclaims it as a failure, thank them. It’s a gift. It’s called feedback. Feedback directs us on how to improve.  It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress.

Y’all still with me?

CONTENT
Content is king; consistency is key.
It doesn’t have to be all business all the time. The best marketing is when people don’t pontificate all the time with all that they know.

No matter your industry, build in visuals. I don’t want to invite you to my pity party, but I used to post about insurance.
Now, with my new business, I post about Business Credit Financing. It’s not very exciting content.

Find the emotion. You’re bringing your product or service to life.

Here are some things you can do to stockpile content for your business.

  1. Photographically document your process, parts of the process, pieces of the process.
  2. Train your clients to know you’ll be wanting their feedback along the process. Ask how they are feeling and why they are feeling that way. Bring them into the process.

Why is this beneficial?

You want to know what they are feeling at all times because this provides relatable events with what other people are feeling. This provides direction on your how your content will reach people who may need you in the future.

Document and/or develop “case studies” to capture a keyword library for you to enrich your content though your clients’ experience.

  • What is their Pain
  • What are their Problems
  • What are your Solutions
  • What is their Satisfaction

Lewis Howes, renowned podcaster of the School of Greatness said “Create what you would want to listen to if you were stuck, starting out or striving.”

People are paying you for your perspective. They have a problem. You have a solution.
Your job is to find more problems so you can help them solve it.

You are doing a disservice by not sharing your solutions and your creativity.

In my previous business, I amassed 13,000 Twitter followers. When I first started using Twitter, I politely stalked my competition & strategic alliances to see what they were posting and how their content was relevant to a similar audience I was trying to develop. 

Let’s go back to feeling and/or being overwhelmed.

Who feels that sometimes, somedays maybe they squander 30 minutes here and there?

Maybe you’re binge watching Netflix.
Maybe you’re aimlessly scrolling Facebook or Instagram.

Did you know that 30 minutes per day is 182.5 hours which is almost 23 days lost which is more than 3 weeks potentially squandered vs. being productive. 

How will you start taking that time back?

It Can Happen That Fast

We’re famous here at Aurora Consulting for the phrase, “Growth sneaks up on you!”  We’ve written a blog about it and have done a few videos where this notion comes into focus as the reason we are doing the video in the first place.

Even the best-prepared, most-organized, super-efficient Business Owner can find themselves with a new client who’s blowing up the revenue to extraordinary levels, or new orders for products and services that far exceed previous orders and expectations.

We like to say, “One Vehicle leads to 20 Vehicles.”
It can happen that fast.

We believe in your business success story.  You are putting in the effort every single day to grow your revenue and live the business life of your dreams.  That’s why we also believe that your financial services relationships today are so vital to your business growth tomorrow.

Begin with your Banker relationship.  It’s not enough that you know your Business Banker’s cell number; she has to answer it when you need her.   It’s not enough that she promises to get it done; RESULTS are the only thing worth talking about.   

Both these items are great metrics to help you understand if your Business Banker puts as much value in your relationship as you do.   If your Banker is meeting these basic standards, then you’re in good hands.  If not, then you should reconsider your banking relationships.

Along the lines of your relationships is thinking about future credit financing. We heartily recommend you invest some time at least once a year, if not more often, to sit down with your Business Banker and review your business’ financials.  You want to know if you are positioning yourself in the most favorable way possible to apply and be approved for credit financing when you need to grow from ONE vehicle to 20 vehicles.

Some Business Owners fear exposing their financials to their Banker.  Maybe the fear surrounds the Banker questioning the Bank’s commitment to your relationship.   We have found the opposite to be true for one reason.  

Your Banker’s commitment to you is driven by the motivation to maintain and grow your banking relationships with the Bank.  When we say relationships, we mean bank accounts.  Bankers are driven to grow depository relationships.  That’s their goal.  And once they have your business, they want to grow it and make sure you stay with them.

Reviewing your financials with your Banker can only further the Bank’s confidence in you and your business.  And it may provide you with cogent advice and knowledge that will help you prepare for that moment when you need 19 more vehicles.

At Aurora Consulting, we are Brokers. We work for you, not for the Bank.  And we know the tolerances that Lenders have for financing businesses on a growth trajectory.  

We understand the Underwriting guidelines and how your business financials fit into those “boxes” at different Banking institutions. We’re happy to review your financials too and prepare you for the eventuality you’ll need credit financing for more vehicles.

Getting Unstuck

Wall’s Ice Cream is a very popular ice cream brand in The United Kingdom.  The Wall’s logo is prominently displayed at convenience stores, groceries and restaurants and cafes all throughout England. Wall’s is apparently also famous for their “Stop me and Buy One” tricycles roaming the streets filled with ice cream treats.

I haven’t personally seen the logo there by visiting England.  No, I’ve seen the logo often when I watch my favorite British Detective mysteries.  But enough about me and my Brit-Binge.

Wall’s has been making ice cream for over 100 years, but Wall’s didn’t start out as an ice cream business.  No, Wall’s was a butcher shop!  T. Wall & Sons Ltd. was a sausage maker since 1786.  But in 1913, the owner, Thomas Wall, realized that his sausages weren’t very appealing to his customers during the warm Summer months.  He hit on the unique idea of selling ice cream during the Summer to increase sales and to save the jobs of his employees.

It didn’t hurt the bottom line, either. Now Wall’s survives over 100 years later, branded and thriving.  As an ice cream provider.

Would you make a similar choice in your business, a choice where you change your entire business model so that your employees are taken care of?

Do you have to make such a radical choice?

Maybe there is another way to demonstrate your sincere interest in the financial well-being of your employees.  In this economy of nearly full-employment, it is certainly in the best interest of businesses to hang on to valuable employees.  Time and again, successful companies have proven their success comes thanks to the people working for them, the people showing up every day eager to do their jobs and to see their employers achieve long-term success.  Surely it’s in the best interest of the employer to invest in those employees, whether that’s in small ways or in a radical way.

Like Wall’s, a company in business literally for centuries, but thriving in incredible ways for the past 100 years thanks to a small but ingenious investment on the part of its owner at the time.

Where will your business be in 100 years?

 
Visit our FINANCING FODDER YouTube Playlist for more info on how you can prepare a financing request that will knock the Lender’s socks off.

Two Most Important Documents

There are two documents that are the most important documents that you should include and have ready for immediate access whenever applying for financing.

First and foremost, your current Year-To-Date (YTD) Income Statement. At Aurora Business Consulting, we believe you should be updating your YTD Income Statement every quarter, but it couldn’t hurt to update it every month. With automated bookkeeping software, creating a quick YTD Income Statement should be easy to accomplish.

The second important document to have at the ready is a comprehensive marketing plan. We don’t mean a one or two page marketing statement.  A comprehensive marketing plan with a full assessment of your marketing action plan, including specific strategies, Situational Analysis, demographics, SWOT analysis and cost analysis and expected outcomes is the recommended document to have at the ready.

Realistically your marketing plan should already be in place as a foundational element of your business operations.  In the event you need to apply for financing, and if there are changes to your marketing plan, you need only update the plan accordingly.  Especially if the financing request involves working capital for marketing expenses, or equipment purchases for the potential increased business revenues generated by your new marketing vision.

Why a marketing plan when you’re applying for financing? You know your objectives on maintaining and growing your business; the lender wants to know your objectives also.

With these two important documents, when you present the marketing plan and the income statement promptly and efficiently, it says something about your way of conducting business. You’re sending a clear signal to the Lender about the high quality methods you use to run your business; you’re giving the Lender a sense of “comfort” about the risk assessment on your financing request.

What if your financials are weak in certain areas for the last couple of years? The Marketing Plan also could potentially overcome some objections the lender has to something that’s weak in your financials.

The marketing plan shows the way you’re going to increase revenue either by something you’re doing already or something you plan to do which is why you’re applying for working capital or equipment capital.

Lessons, Lenders, Decisions and Documents

Lessons with Lenders and Decision with Documents

When we locate the right Lender to provide a financing solution for your capital needs, the Lender requests documents as part of the application process.  We prefer to collect and review as many documents as possible early in our qualifying process.

We review each document you submit.  We do this to determine your business’ qualifications for the different financing products available through our matrix of Lenders.  But we also review your documents to look for any issues that might arise in the financing request and to resolve those issues before we submit your request to a Lender. Not all Lenders require all these documents, and occasionally we prefer to submit certain documents only after a detailed conversation with a Lender.

The definition of a successful Loan Application is the approval you want, the approval you need, and the approval that meets your timeline.

Early on in our long experience working in the financial services industry, we learned the lessons of successful applications:

Lesson 1: The Application can make or break the deal.  The Application is the source of all information and, ultimately, the guidepost for processing and Underwriting.  The more complete and accurate an Application, the better the Underwriting RESULT.  That RESULT is not only an approval, but a timely one.  The complete Application typically anticipates the Underwriter’s thinking and answers questions before they’re asked.

Lesson 2: It’s all about the paper.  Yes, even in the 21st Century (is it time yet to say, “Beam me up, Scotty?”), you have to support your Application with documents.

Lesson 3: The front-loader.  When you submit your Application with a complete basic set of documents at the onset, your process moves much quicker along to the goal line.

Lesson 4: Give ’em what they need, not what they want. Many times a Lender and/or Underwriter will ask for more documents than are necessary.  We’ve learned time and again to push-back on certain documents requests.  Often, we’ll ask the Underwriter for a valid reason for the document request.  Piling more documents into the Application package simply because they “want it” slows down your approval timeline.  You’d be surprised with how many times a requested document isn’t actually needed for the loan approval.

Lesson 5: Garbage in, garbage out.  A single document, presented incorrectly, can torpedo your financing request.  At the very least, a document that presents a challenge to the loan approval process should be presented with an accurate explanation, whether the document provides a positive or negative aspect to the entirety of the Application.  We learned long ago the value of the phrase, “Garbage in, garbage out.”

Lesson 6: Underwriting is Subjective.  Underwriting is more a subjective than an objective process. You want your Application to move quickly through the system for one important reason: don’t give the Underwriter time to develop a dislike for your Application.  When an Underwriter can move efficiently and quickly through a Loan Application, they don’t have time to develop negative opinions about the Application. The lingering-loan-application simply provides an Underwriter with more time to excessively scrutinize details that may not really be negative, but can develop into a negative aspect in the Underwriter’s subjective way of thinking.  You know, they’re human too.

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel and check out our video on DIY your Business Loan Application.

Visit our Financing Fodder YouTube Playlist for more information on how to prepare yourself when requesting a business loan.

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Don’t Tell Me How To Make My Pizza!

We had a conversation with one of our Real Estate Broker Extraordinaire friends about all things business-related and, more specifically, about PIZZA.  She loves pizza similar to one of us here at Aurora Consulting (we’ll let you guess which one).

The chat happened while discussing an innovative pizza-restaurateur who created a wonderful and completely yummy pizza product.  This brilliant entrepreneur has come to realize his business is growing so rapidly that he suddenly finds himself in need of working capital to fund an expansion simply to keep up with the growth.

Good problem to have…except for the seeking working capital part.

The money part is where it gets challenging for this smart young pizza-entrepreneur.  He faces an important choice while facing the money challenge.

Should he search for a Lender to provide credit financing, or, surrender part of his business to an equity investor?

At Aurora Consulting, we believe this question has a simple answer.

Why surrender equity, and cede control, when you might very well find a credit solution to obtain the much needed working capital?  Yes, the answer is a question!  Or, the answer to the pizza-entrepreneur’s question can better be stated with the retort, “Don’t tell me how to make my pizza!”

Bringing in an equity investor for any growing business could (someday sooner or later) lead to your equity investor asserting control with how the business should be run.  That opinion could include, for this innovative pizza entrepreneur, suggestions on how to adjust the unique pizza recipe, you know, to make the product more cost-efficient.

Or the opinion from the new “partner” could be any number of other ideas, suggestions, opinions, plans, assertions, on growing the business, you know, to be more profitable.

That equity investor may have no idea at all about how to make pizza.

Many business owners are concerned with the idea of credit financing.  Let’s face it, credit financing can scare the heck out of many people.  Thank you to the global credit bust and subsequent recession for that anxiety-filled-ideation.  Borrowing money from a Lender, whether a traditional bank, or a non-traditional portfolio lender, is often a much more tranquil experience than you might think.

The question becomes one of finding the right lender.  The question never, ever, ever, becomes one of, “Hey, how about we use this ingredient in the pizza recipe instead of your original because this ingredient is cheaper and our product will be more profitable?”

Yeah, that question.  It’s not going to happen when you finance your capital cash needs with the right loan product and the right lender.

Visit our Financing Fodder YouTube Playlist for more information on how to prepare yourself when requesting a business loan.

Growth Can Be Sneaky

Growth?

Sometimes, it sneaks up on us!

And when it does, sometimes we need working capital to finance that growth.

That is, if you welcome growth and want to ride that momentum.

If change is NOT your thing, STOP reading NOW!

IF YOU ARE STILL READING, there are ways to access the capital you need to ride the growth wave very quickly.

You’ve been busy growing your business, and it’s paying off.  You’re keeping your financials current and do your best to predict future market trends, sales goals, and costs.

But growth can sneak up on you.  And when it does, you need to fund that growth, whether it’s for marketing expenses, operating capital, equipment purchases or other costs dynamic to your growing business. If you have sufficient cash assets, then you’re all set.  If you have a sufficient line of credit from your Bank, you’re good to go.

The problem is, when you set aside those cash assets in the first place, when you created that line of credit, you couldn’t perfectly predict the cash you’d need when the moment of truth arrived in the future.  Growth has a way of surprising you, a lot like flood waters after a heavy rainstorm, but in a good way.   You may find yourself scrambling to find the capital you need to fund that growth.

Traditionally, businesses caught in this capital-crunch-conundrum turn to their Banker for assistance for a new Line of Credit or an expansion on an existing Line.  Maybe a straight loan, or a loan mixed with a Line of Credit.  The business owner in this scenario can’t predict if the Banker can or will take on the appropriate risk to fund the right amount of capital needed.  The Banker may not see the optimistic opportunity presented by your sudden collision with your growth floodwaters.

Plus, the timeline to obtain the requisite capital funding from your Banker may be too lengthy to get the cash in hand quickly enough.

For the business owner confronted with the surprise of growth, the uncertainties faced with the traditional Bank financing may be too much to bear as they consider matching capital needs with growth experiences.

Pivot to the other extreme, business owners find themselves funding their capital requirements with funding that is quickly available and sufficient in dollar amounts, but the cost of that capital can be astronomical.

In the middle ground between these two financing scenarios exist alternative options.  Asset-Based Lending leaning against your Accounts Receivable or Inventory, or specialized financing against your Purchase Orders, provide timely, strategic and cost-effective solutions.

There are also hybrid solutions, financing that meets your short term needs while you work on completing the more complicated traditional financing package.

At Aurora Business Consulting we seek out those alternative financing solutions with a creative mind towards getting you the capital you need in an efficient timely basis to continue your business success story.

There’s no surprise in how we work, with diligence, enthusiasm, and experience.

Email Trevor for more info on how this may or may not work for you!

The Right Conversation

Too often, business owners have preconceived notions about financing their businesses, whether it’s for a commercial mortgage or credit financing. These ideas arise out of common perceptions about how traditional lenders make credit financing decisions.

And then they speak with their banker. We’ve already discussed the idea that your banker is very often a “gatekeeper” with the “keys to the vault.”  For a business owner, gaining access to the money in the vault can be a daunting process, and that initial conversation with the banker proves out this theory, especially with reinforcing those preconceived notions.

The truth is this: having a conversation, the right conversation, with someone who has your business’ best interests at heart can lead to a different result. That result can be financing the business owner needs to move forward and continue to build their business.

The right conversation with a broker who is working for you and not working for the lender will very quickly wipe away those preconceived notions.

Credit is one of those conversations. The concept that credit must be a very high score with impeccable payment histories is an idea that can be changed with the right conversation. Because there are lenders out there, non-traditional lenders, who have a more forgiving attitude towards credit blemishes.

Same with income tax returns and the dreaded “bottom line” income. Traditional lenders use a decidedly more rigid approach to income-qualifying. That rigid approach can lead to a denial of your loan request.

The right conversation with a broker who has the ability and who works with both traditional and non-traditional lenders will simply assist to “translate” the true income-producing potential of your business that will lead to a positive result.

Visit our Financing Fodder YouTube Playlist for more information on how to prepare yourself when requesting a business loan.

Our Comfort Zone is Unsafe

I’ve been skydiving, twice. Yes, it was terrifying, both times. I imagined all the worst case scenarios…and they all resulted in death. When you jump out of an airplane at 13,000 feet, there’s that first feeling of free falling. Queue Tom Petty, please.

This is not butterflies; this is sheer terror. For many split seconds, I wondered: “how did I get up here, jumping into this big blue sky that’s so high?” But I did it. I got out of my comfort zone. And I lived to tell this tale.

Doesn’t it make you nervous to get out of your comfort zone? It makes me nervous. For instance, I didn’t want to write this blog for fear of having to take my own advice.

I’ve gotten out of my comfort zone in my business, too. I had no choice. I had a deliberate plan to build my business to a certain level. The only way to get to that level was to get out of my comfort zone, jump out of the metaphorical airplane and do things that were uncomfortable but necessary.

Why would you get out of your comfort zone if  you know something works? Getting out of your comfort zone implies pain. Who wants pain?

There’s a reason we do things that scare us. When we do something scary, we put ourselves in a situation and/or surround ourselves with circumstances that we wouldn’t otherwise experience. But, the real problem with staying in our comfort zone is missing out on opportunities.

Skydiving and/or public speaking provide opportunities to learn about ourselves by getting out of our comfort zone and trying something new, and potentially scary. I survived both skydiving jumps and I managed to leverage the two experiences into successful marketing campaigns for my business. This opened up opportunities to win clients. The bonus was also being featured in a book, Make What You Say Pay, by Anne Miller, Sales and Presentation Coach.

Sometimes, doing what we know feels productive. When we want something done, we do it ourselves. Like marketing. Or fixing a leaky faucet. We’re in our comfort zone; we believe we know what to do, and we believe it’ll get done faster. But sometimes getting it done faster isn’t the most efficient use of our time. And sometimes, we actually fail. Sometimes, that leaky faucet repair we tried to fix ourselves turns out to be a disaster.

How do you move from being set in your ways to getting out of your comfort zone?

First, if you have a doubt or fear about doing something you’ve never done before, realize that could be a trigger that there’s experience and growth waiting for you. The fear of jumping out of the airplane is replaced by positive anticipation of the experience. Sheer joy is so much better than sheer terror.

How else can you execute on this trigger?

Decide how you want to grow. Is it personally or professionally? Or both?

  • Do you want to grow your business to the next level?
  • Do you want to have more adventure in your life?
  • Do you want to date more suitable companions?

Be specific in setting your goal so you can know how to proceed with the following task which is to research activities necessary to perform the fearful task. Taking on small challenges will lead to the ultimate goal if you break it down into mini deadlines.

Speaking of public speaking, if you fear public speaking, join a Toastmasters Club. This practice will hone your skills while in
front of a group. This will begin to build good habits around this activity.

As part of achieving my previous business goals, I wanted to get over my fear of public speaking. Not only did I join a Toastmasters Club, I also enrolled in an Improv Acting class. This practice of being in front of people diminished the feeling of embarrassment while performing “think on your feet” acts.

You can discuss with a friend or colleague how to bring life to your thought. Then make the bold move and announce it to the world. To assist with staying accountable to the task, calendar each progression so you know how far out of your comfort zone you’ve come.

All of these activities assist you to imagine your outcome of success. Trish Tagle is an expert in leadership training and troubleshooting organization efficiency in order to evolve businesses. Trish is famous for saying, “imagine the outcome.”

Here’s a great example of a business owner who challenged her team to get out of their comfort zone.

My friend and colleague, Kelly Piro, owner of  Agency Performance Partners invited me to judge a “Sales Showdown” for her company. Twice a year, the APP consultants undergo role-playing exercises in order to practice how they interact with prospects. The objective is to convert prospects to clients faster.

ROLE-PLAYING? Yes!

The APP team had various scenarios such as being at a trade show, being on a sales call or in an initial sales meeting. There were several of us observing while the team role-played their scenarios. By critiquing their performance, the judges and the fellow team members pushed everyone out of their comfort zones. It was easy to do in the role-playing scenarios because it was practice, it was imaginary, and no one actually jumped out of an airplane.

Outsourcing important tasks is another way to get out of your comfort zone. Like hiring a plumber to fix that faucet. Cost tends to be the primary impediment before people make the call to the plumber. It’s “comfortable” to think we can save money by doing it ourselves.

But we have other things to do with our time and we’re not actually plumbers, are we?

Interesting in marketing, email us at Curious@AuroraConsulting.biz.