Author: Garth Beyer

We forget how we had taken a hundred little steps to reach a milestone.

We forget how gratifying being selfless is with new customers after we have a few.

We forget that haste makes waste and we should take a breath and read the email once more before hitting send.

We forget to enjoy the struggle, understanding it’s a journey.

There are a lot of important lessons and perspectives we forget to hold close.

Perhaps it’s time for a “remember” list as much as it is another “to-do” list.

Stay Positive & Top Of Mind

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Downfalls don’t happen over night; it’s a slow trickle.

A corner gets cut here or you skip a day of posting there. You show up a bit later than planned or you cut things off early.

You let your website get old or you try to stretch your goods rather than ordering a fresh batch.

You leave before saying thanks and goodbye.

Drip by drip.

The same can be said for big wins and success trajectory.

A little more effort, attention, connection, care here and a little more generosity, mindfulness, passion there.

You dole out high-fives and you post content with heart behind it.

You collaborate with your neighbors and you ask for feedback from customers.

Stay Positive & Drip Drip

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There’s plenty of learning you can have prior to a launch, but there’s a threshold.

There’s also a difference in the type of learnings and the return on those learnings before and after a launch.

Do the prep work necessary to GO, but understand there’s always a point when the learning after launch is more valuable than the learning before launch.

Every teacher, ecommerce business and brand get the most learning after they start teaching, start selling and start connecting.

Stay Positive & You’re Not Waiting Are You?

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Consider the systems you rely on and value.

You likely think of a computer system, immune system, payroll system…

Each day the system happens. It shows up. It works. It’s consistent.

One of the many beauties of the world we live in is that we can make anything a system.

We can have a system of gratitude and a system of delivering on our promise to customers.

We can have a system to surprise & delight and to drive awareness of our brand by blogging every single day.

A system doesn’t require much to function. Showing up regularly is all it takes.

Stay Positive & What System Can You Start Today?

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You’re a salesperson.

You may not be selling Tupperware or a CrossFit membership or coffee, but you are selling ideas and culture.

You’re selling a way of looking at things and connecting with people.

You’re selling a worldview and an idea of what one should do after getting knocked down.

Now that you know you’re a salesperson, how can you sell better?

Stay Positive & There Are More Buyers Than You Would Believe, Too

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To a degree, we all wear our hearts on our sleeves. We can’t help but show our emotions because they’re integral to connecting us to one another–an internal drive that’s out of our control.

But there’s more than our hearts out there. As marketers, we owe it to see and listen and responsibly respond to the other items people wear on their sleeves.

Take status for example. It doesn’t take much to see who is trying to increase their status (which again, is human, not a bad thing).

They’re the folks who might put a toe over the line. There is more for them to talk about and flaunt. They leave items out for people to see rather than tucking them away or tossing them.

Or consider the desire to escape.

The people who are hooked on story or are one of the few who make plans to go out on a Monday evening. They’re the happy hour organizers and those who make others feel calm.

There are visible signs that lead to greater insights than “this person loves coffee” or “this person makes a lot of money” or “this person has a heart of gold.”

Stay Positive & Eyes Wide Open

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The most efficient way to grow a business is to make promises and then keep them.

It’s to treat every commitment like a contract that can’t be broken.

The moment you step back from a promise you’ve made (2-day shipping, having something in your colleague’s inbox by 11 a.m., “you’ll love this or we’ll find one you do”), people lose trust in you.

There are too many options out there for people to waste time on trusting you again and engaging in a new contract.

Some subconsciously know this, so they promise less. And in the process of underpromising in hopes to overdeliver, they fail to meet the promise at all.

To grow meaningfully, create more contracts.

Stay Positive & Out-Contract The Competition

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