A common belief is that marketing and sales are just about the numbers and the more opportunities you have, the more likely you are to turn a profit. I’m not here to say that this theory is altogether incorrect, just that it needs some clarification first.
Entrepreneurs and leaders often suffer from idea-itis, a condition in which the sufferer has many great ideas, but fails to follow through on any one of them. The side effects can be inaction, busyness-without-productivity, dry eyes, and frustration.
The solution – The Power of FOCUS.
Consider this – if you develop the discipline to focus on one project at a time, fully and until completion, you create an environment in which you can treat it like an experiment that will return valuable results. If you focus on that one experiment until you see success or failure, you can make a more informed decision about what to do with it. Toss it or double down. Once you have completely tested, move on to the next thing you want to include in your strategy.
F.O.C.U.S – Focus on One Commitment Until Success
To paraphrase a story told by Darren Hardy of Success magazine, a large company sought to bring in an inspiring speaker to jump-start their upcoming sales conference. After mulling over several options, they quickly decided that Sir Richard Branson, founder of The Virgin Group, would be the perfect speaker. Unfortunately for them, Branson’s people flatly denied their request. A little dejected, but still hopeful that a deal could be reached, the executives offered a 6-figure sum, along with hotel and flight accommodations. Still no.
The company execs responded with several more offers, continuously sweetening the deal, only to be politely rejected each time. Confused, the execs asked Mr. Branson’s representatives why he was so determined not to accept their offer. They were blown away when they learned that he was never even informed about their incredibly lucrative requests!
“Mr. Branson and his team of executives have identified 3 key objectives for this year and he has made it clear that if an offer comes in that does not help the company move forward towards those 3 goals, then he would not be interested.”
Can you imagine the discipline and clarity that one would have to have to maintain that level of focus. It is exactly that trait that separates the Richard Bransons from the rest of the working world. Focus.
This is not to say that you should only have one stream of revenue or be active on only one social media channel. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’m highly in favor of diversification of services and testing different revenue streams. The point is to push yourself to focus on one project at a time, see it through to completion, and then iterate a few times. Then, once you have proved or disproved that method’s effectiveness, you are ready to shift your focus to the second, and then the third, fourth, etc. The insights (and revenue) you gained from fully delving into each step, will help you increase the likelihood of the next step’s success.
Consider this when planning your social media strategy for the future. You’ll be blown away by the results.
Wow. What a social media challenge here my friend. Great post, Reade.