The blizzard of 2015 hurt my business. If you are in Boston, Long Island or most of New England the blizzard of 2015 probably hurt you too.
Here's the deal. I'm in Wilmington DE. You probably heard about how bad the storm was in the very northeast and how it was a dud in NYC. But, did you hear about what happened here? Probably not. Why? Because nothin' happend.
That's right NAH DAH.
So what hurt my business? Frost? Flurries? Cold Toes?
It started last Friday. I don't really want to lose you too much but there are computer models that predict weather patterns several days before your local news channel even starts to create mass hysteria. If you want to learn about it you can here.
This is what it looked like in the modeling... It's showing that I am going to get 24 inches of snow.
That is something to pay attention to!
It's easy to get sucked in to. There is an entire universe of nerds like me who follow real experts and arm chair experts that go on and on with weather prediction. Some have melt downs if they get one call wrong. No lie. This guy is Steve DiMartino. He is one of the best and got beat up bad. He called for over a foot in my area and we got flurries.
People get mad when there isn't a catastrophe...
It seemed that the people around here were more upset that we didn't get snow. They were upset that the forecast was wrong. They were mad that the sun came out and they didn't have to dig their cars out.
And I think I know why...
Human beings mentally prepare way way way too much! When you hear that an inevitable blizzard is coming you start to get excited then panic. Do I have everything I need? Who will watch the kids and who will work? Do we have enough MILK??? What will we do without Milk!!!!! Is there a shovel? Who will shovel? If I shovel, I will be thirsty. Do we have Milk???!!!!! and on and on and on...
And it seems that obsessing watching the news before it happens will make a difference. The question is this... Why do people go to the store? What are we preparing for?
What if you blinked and there was two feet of snow?
Would it be really that different? I mean you need a friggin shovel. Or a kid who needs $10 and has a shovel. That's it. That is all you need.
So I had a shovel and honestly I am lactose intolerant so I didn't need milk. And I am gluten free and milk is only good with cereal and cookies. So considering I had what I needed, why did I and millions of others waste that time? It is a basic lack of discipline. There is a discipline in life to be efficient. Really? Yes. We love distraction.
Phantom Snow will Chill Your Sales
Do you see where I am going? Do I need to spell it out?
This really isn't about snow at all...
It always ends up back here at Sales and Inbound Marketing... Both require discipline, efficiency, and purpose.
The obstacles we encounter in our business growth are based on habits we have in every part of our life. The snow story is just about me wasting time and energy. It really did ruin my past few days. I am tired from it all.
However what really will chill your sales is when these bad habits of lack of discipline, focus, purpose, and efficiency are inseparable from how you are growing your business?
Are you surfing the web reading up on how to improve sales because you are putting off making a call?
Are you focussing your precious time on what doesn't matter? Are you worrying about phantom events? Do you spend more time projecting business you could have, instead of efficiently pursuing the business you would have?
It's January 27th. In 4 days you will be matching up your budget vs. actual sales. Are you going to mortgage January's loss to February? Or are you going to use Q1 growth to fuel even more growth in Q2, 3, and 4....
