Sometimes you will feel like this UNC football player being swarmed by LSU. Your competition seems to have the upper hand and no matter what you do nothing seems to be working.
No matter which play you run you feel that have it in for you. Your competition is taking you down day after day.
You then try to take them out in some way and they seem to be just beyond your reach and you just cannot catch them at all.
Why the sports analogy?
How many teams this year will have a losing season? How many of these teams pack it up and get out of the game?
You need to acknowledge first that you will lose occasionally. The Super Bowl Champions this year were the Seattle Seahawks. They lost 3 games last year and were the best team in the league. Very seldom does the Super Bowl Champions have a perfect record. If they do the year before or after they have losses.
You need to be realistic about how often you are losing a client. It happens for a variety of reasons. Most of the reasons you lose a client are often out of your control. You played your best possible game and the other team had some advantage that day.
Do you have cheerleaders?
One of the best things I have going for me is my family that cheers me on everyday. I even have some clients that sell me to their friends and that helps me get new clients.
Sometimes it is just one person that helps keep you going, but that is what you need. Be sure you have people around you that are your cheerleaders.
Do you have a coach?
Also, you need a coach. This is someone who is watching what you are doing and talks to you about your strategy. You can have people cheering you on that just want you to succeed and without the coach to give you a reality check you will soon be cut from the industry.
Take the time to do like every football team and go and review the tapes of the games. Analyze your actions and see if there is something you can do to improve your game.
Another thing that all sports teams do before playing a team is to analyze their game footage. Remember those who are beating you all the time know your game. They beat you because they can see your weakness and exploit that with the client.
Did you see the NFL draft?
Last night the NFL teams picked new talent and traded talent off their teams. They have analyzed their weaknesses and are making changes for next season.
This summer they will have workouts and refine their team even more than today.
What are you doing today that you need to stop? What are you not offering your clients that you need to add to your skills?
If you have been through a losing season then this is the time to rebuild. Maybe you need to go to a workshop like the NPPA Multimedia Immersion Workshop where you learn how to tell stories using audio, video and stills.
Call me and take a one day personal workshop on lighting or business practices. This is a capital investment. Just like the teams that pay a lot to get the first round pick you need to invest into your business or you may have another losing season.
