By JP Maroney
Imagine entering some sort of archery contest.
You walk out there. You have your bow. You have your arrows. You have all of your equipment.
You see a crowd of people standing up in front of you. You walk up and kind of work your way through the crowd.
You get in between them, and work your way to the front. Suddenly, you get to the front and realize this is the area where you are supposed to compete.
You look out in an open field where you see bales of hay with targets on them.. There’s one here. One there. Another here. Another there.
You speak to the person seated behind a counter and ask, “I want to compete in this, but first can you tell me which of these targets is mine?”
The person behind the counter answers, “It doesn’t really matter, you just shoot out there.”
As if they didn’t understand the first time, you repeat, “No, I need to know which one of these I need to hit to win?”
Rolling their eyes, they say, “Well, you don’t. You just kind of shoot out there.”
You’re getting nowhere in this conversation… You get frustrated!
You realize… if you just start shooting out there you will waste energy because you don’t know which of the targets you are supposed to hit in order to win.
Discouraging?
Yup!
But, guess what… business is exactly the same.
If you’re going to win – you MUST clearly identify your target. And you MUST aim for that specific target with complete and total accuracy.
Otherwise you’ll get frustrated. You’ll waste a ton of time and resources. And, you’ll never build the successful business you’d like to build.
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JP Maroney is a business growth strategist, best-selling author and award-winning speaker. Receive his FREE book, “5 Ways to Double or Triple Your Business” by visiting www.JPMaroney.com
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Hi JP,
I think I’d also be asking:
a) Is it worth entering the contest. b) How good a bow and arrow do I have. c) What’s the competition like. d) What expertise do I have. e) Can I find an expert to show me how to win. f) If I win, how can I capitalize on it.
Thinking about all ventures from a business perspective, determines the value you place on the outcome.
Very well said! Taking it a step further… we also train to aim at that target. There are so many ‘hot’ products and services out there that promise success for our businesses – but, if we aren’t focused with how we are training… and training to hit the target that is ours, we are setting ourselves up to be just like the archers that are just shooting ‘out there’. Thanks for the good read.
Ron… VERY well articulated. And, excellent expansions on the fundamental point I made in the post. Your wisdom is crystal clear.
Jenni… Also — GREAT expansion. I love the collaborative “feel” of your response (and Ron’s).
Great comments everyone. I have also found that having a focused approach ensures you will gain the interest and attention of more qualified prospects, which will increase your sales ratios. Too often I find people using the “throw out the net” approach. In other words, they throw out a net and then sort out the good fish later rather than using the correct bait in the first place to get the right fish to bite.
Hy JP, I do some archery, so I am aware that I would be most likely to talk with the other hopefuls to see who I want to compete against. I want to compete with others who can match it with me. There may even be a draw organized already.
After this, I reckon you will know where to choose your target cos you will likely choose your target with the other guys and or galls you are competing with.
Cheers Doug
Thanks for reminding me as to the importance of focus and knowing what you are going after and thereby focusing your energy and efforts in those areas.
JP thanks for sharing your experience and expertise.
Regards
Arthur
What if the whole idea of the contest was to hit each and every target? This can also be applied to online business in the means of driving traffic to your site(s). Apply a little of this method and a little of that method to pull traffic from different sources. Of course, if this where the case, then the contest would be more about Time AND Accuracy. And many of the advertising methods available right now take time to produce results and depending on the accuracy of targetting your market, determines the overall efficiency of the ads.
I love this!
Have you been to the fair and thrown pennies into glasses? There are hundreds of glasses spread out over this big table. I just tossed the pennies at the glasses and never won anything – and this kid next to me kept winning over and over so I asked him how he was doing it and he said ‘I’m aiming for the glass I want’
Aim? LOL! What an idea!
Fire, ready, aim it is not.
The hard part is deciding which target to aim for. Because nobody is going to come along and tell you which one is “right.” And even if somebody does come along, you still have to agree with his opinion.
It’s the same with goal-setting. You have to decide what you want. Except most of the time, we don’t even know what we want. I’m reading a book called The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. He explains this in-depth. A great read for those interested in marketing.
Good morning JP,
William Tell, shot his arrow right through the apple on someones head, trusting in her/himself, follow her/his inner wisdom without any doubt, believed in her/himself, held to the vision of success no matter what anyone could say.
If you do what you love, success will surely come because you are impressing the Universal medium with such beauty, if there is a law of order and harmony/cause and effect, it must surely return to the creator ( self ) the fruit.
Hey JP,
Remember, the guy at the table told everyone else the same thing.
So if you just do the opposite (pick a target), you’ll have ZERO competition – just like Earl Nightengale promised in one of his earliest audio tapes.
Thanks
This is just further confirmation of the importance of FOCUS!
Thanks for sharing this.
Hi All,
Thanks for your insight JP. The insight can be leveraged all the more effectively if there is a detailed written plan and a proven system to out manouvre your competition and which ensures that you are anticipating where the “target may move to next so that when it comes into your line of vision / strategy yo capitalise whilst others remain standing.
Good Luck All.
Rgds Bhupinder
Excellent analogy JP. Thanks for sharing.
Hello JP,
You’re right on target! Time, Money & ,of course, not connecting with the right customers could be a down-fall for a successful business.
Your message comes through loud and clear.
Thanks,
Sue Chartock
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