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Denis Healey
“Don’t get comfortable in the hole you have dug.. Don’t hang pictures on the walls!”
Gary Keller
“The Dip”, written by Seth Godin discusses how everyone eventually finds themselves in “dip.” Some mistakenly identify the “dip” as a “hole” and some the “hole” as a “dip.” According to Godin the objective is to first recognize that your business and/or your life are not what you want them to be at this time in your life. If you are in a “dip” as defined by Godin, it is only temporary and happens to everyone. It is a time to regroup, recalculate, redefine and then because of the “dip”, grow.
Denis Healey said, “First law on holes – when you’re in one, stop digging!” Gary Keller, co-founder of Keller Williams Realty said during a live presentation this past week, “Don’t get comfortable in the hole you have dug. Don’t hang pictures on the walls!”
Gary Keller also said the market (economy) is what the market is at this moment, neither good nor bad, it just is what it is. I like to think in terms of WWW; WII; ICOTM! What was – was! What is – is! I control only this moment! Sounds more like Yota of Star Wars fame.
There is no question that the economy is as few people have ever experienced it unless you are 80 years old or older. The problem, as I see it, is whether you consider your current situation as a hole that you keep digging or just a dip in the road and facing an uphill climb. Without the proper attitude, almost every “dip” will “feel” like a hole. Some people fail to adapt and keep digging making the hole they are in deeper and thus more difficult to climb out of; they are comfortable in their hole and are hanging pictures. Worst, they find others who they “co-miserate” with and share their thoughts on just how deep or bad their particular hole appears to be – misery loves company – so it has been said. If you are on the receiving end of the co-miserating hole-digger, it is not fun and more importantly, the misery disease can be spread by casual contact and therefore should avoided it at all costs.
Keller’s presentation had another huge Aha, at least for me, when he made the analogy or linked the metaphor of the professional musician. Musicians spend hours upon hours practicing and rehearsing what they do. The hours spent practicing and rehearsing are WORK; HARD WORK! Not what you would call fun time. The time spent on stage before an audience is PLAY! It is fun! It is rewarding!
Therefore, if you want quality “play-time”, you have to engage in quality “work-time”; that’s it! That’s the secret since everyone seems to love the word “secret” as if it contains the ultimate path to success. The problem with most of us, at least as I have seen it, is that there is a difference between HARD WORK and SMART WORK. There is a universal law that explains that only 20% of the people do 80% of the work. If you are wondering why there are so many “holes” in your neighborhood it is because 80% of the people do what 80% of the people continue to do and all expecting different results and the results they experience are just deeper holes. Even some of the best people who find themselves embedded in a hole they have dug continue to do what they have always done failing to recognize that times change. People change. Technology changes. People who fail to recognize the changing times simply continue doing what they have always done like most others in similar situations.
Even in the worst economic conditions imaginable, 20% of the people will still do 80% of the work or get 80% of the results from their work. These are the people who WORK SMART! They adapt. They have a learning-based attitude. They seek information. THEY CHANGE! They also seek out and learn from the other 20% to find out what is working for them.
Gary Keller also said, “You can only grow your business in a down market!” Why? Because the business that remains will not come to you; you must go to where the business is. Only a few people, like you, realize this and adapt their business practices to go after the business instead of waiting for it to come to them. They “work” at attracting people. They “work” at developing relationships with people they know, people they have just met, and people they have not as yet met but have a goal to meet. They “work” at developing the relationship of caring because as someone once said, “People don’t care about you until they know how much YOU care about THEM.” It is NOT about YOU! No one said it as good as Bob Burg, “People will do business with AND refer people to those people they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST!”
Jeffrey Gitomer said in his book, The Little Black Book of Connections, “All things being equal, ... And all things being NOT so equal, people STILL want to do business with their friends.”
THAT’S IT! You can’t make friends in a hole unless it is a HUGE hole. You can make friends in a “dip” in the market and should make as many new friends as possible. If the size of your market (the pie we oftentimes hear about) is no larger or maybe even smaller, you want your unfair share of the market (pie). Therefore, the solution to the hole and/or the dip is to WORK SMART by contacting the people you already know; meet new people everyday; learn more about the people you know and meet. Develop the relationships and make it about them rather than passing gobs of information about you and what you do because frankly, at this point THEY DON’T CARE about you or what you do. But the day WILL come as it does for everyone, that people who KNOW you, not to mention LIKE and TRUST you, WILL have a need for what you do. And when that day arrives, you want them to think about you or refer their friends who have a need for what you do to refer them to you.
So here you are folks, the secret! It IS that simple! If it is that simple why do not more people think and act in the very “certain way” (Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich) that is required to generate more business? Now that is a question for the ages. Why do real estate agents have round shoulders and flat foreheads? Because when you ask them a question, they shrug their shoulders and when you tell them the answer, they slap their foreheads! My guess is the noise you just heard is the result of the palm of your hand slapping your forehead.
To get out of the hole you’ve dug:
- STOP DIGGING!
- Take down the pictures from the wall!
- Work on developing a positive attitude – at all times – forever!
- Learn and MASTER the concept and difference between WORK & PLAY (PERFORM) TIMES! When you WORK, work smart; when you PLAY, play with passion!
- Contact the people you already know!
- Get them talking about them; not you talking about you!
- Meet more people and get them talking about them; not you talking about you!
- Ask, “Do you or someone you know want to buy (or sell) what I am selling (or buying)?”
- Ask, “Who do you know that I should be talking to?”
- Ask, “What can I do to make your day/life better?”
- Tell them, “Oh, by the way, whenever you or the people you talk to think of (whatever you are selling, offering or buying), think (insert your name)!”
Send HAND WRITTEN Thank You Notes as often as possible and then some! - Read “The Dip!” by Seth Godin
- Read “Endless Referrals” by Bob Burg
- Read “The Shift” by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan
- Read “The Little Black Book of Connections” by Jeffrey Gitomer
- Read “The Little Gold Book of YES!Attitude” by Jeffrey Gitomer
- Read “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles
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