Timing and luck in business, yes, it is a thing!
I received an email which led me to do this podcast, as it had specific questions that I’d like to answer.
Here is the email:
I have been watching you for a long time, and I’ve gone to a lot of your seminars and certainly been around many people who know you and the clients you work with. Did you know that many people look at you and a lot of other successful people as being very lucky?
And chalk up a lot of your marketing success as just fortunate timing. What do you think about timing?
Well, the lucky issue by itself is that every overnight success has a long history. Understandably people tend to focus only on what they see at the end of the process and not the process. Specifically, there’s no doubt timing’s a significant factor in business, in both a general sense and in marketing to the most significant degree possible.
Obviously, we that is my entrepreneur clients and me. We try our absolute best to exercise control over timing.
For example, I always say to my physiotherapy client. Our marketing campaign would be unstoppable if we could just get a list of everybody who had a car accident or fell off a ladder over the weekend within 5km’s from her practice. The problem is we can’t get that list.
So, imagine if you could get that list. Is it about timing in marketing, or is it the right message at the right time? Obviously, it is a combination. In most instances, you can’t control it to that extent.
But what we try and do is try at least to be in sync with what’s going on around us in our market generally; by doing that, you can be alert to timing and sensitive opportunities.
Another example is the baby boomer, also known as the Viagra generation. Growing up, I heard all about baby boomers. People in their 50 plus will spend an incredible amount of money fighting the natural aging process every step of the way. In all types of categories, vitamins or nutrition, alternative health care, cosmetic surgery, fitness devices, you name it.
These industries are on this massive curve up thanks to people my age and older. Many companies are benefiting because they know that now is the time – they just have to get the right product and message.
So when you look at this fact, you have to look at your business, whatever it may be and ask, is there a way I can position myself to be in sync with this phenomenon? It isn’t an overnight sensation. It has been going on for decades and more years to come.
Yes, my clients and I might appear to be lucky because this is one market we specialise in trying to get to, and that is a long evolving demographic process.
Another way is to look at the opportunistic stuff. How much has Zoom grown? Harvey Norman grown and the like because of COVID? What about Broome resorts in Western Australia that have stayed open continually being flooded by affluent, bored WA’s who are stuck at home because of border closures?
And so, you know, one person’s tragedy is another person’s opportunity.
But you have to jump on things like this, and you’ve got to be very opportunistic about it.
Will things ever be pre-COVID normal again? What forever changes are likely in your industry or market niche. You see businesses like Microsoft Teams getting in gear pretty quickly, whilst others are getting in gear pretty slowly if at all.
There’s always one person’s good timing, another person’s bad timing.
But the one constant that the Fast Money Entrepreneurs don’t do is accept bad timing as an excuse for doing poorly.
Most of my clients refuse to make oh me oh my excuses. When COVID hit, their first thoughts were can we do more marketing – not like many, let’s just stop the bus. As I have mentioned in a previous podcast episode, it turned out that our client acquisition was so cheap at that time because the media companies were gagging for business. When you market the way we do and believe in nurturing client databases, this period has proven it was a great move to keep spending. It will continue to prove even more lucrative over time because of the low acquisition fee we paid to get a lead. So you don’t use timing or luck as an excuse, but you do pay attention to it as an opportunity.
When you market the way we do, that is to gather people into a database, then build a “know like and trust relationship.” Then bit by bit, drip-feed people opportunities to buy things. Because we had so many leads at such a low price eight months ago, the return of investment is kicking in now due to the low acquisition fee.
You don’t use timing as an excuse, but you do pay attention to it as an opportunity.
That is maybe the most significant difference between fast money entrepreneurs and successful business people versus those who don’t.
It gets us onto a great new opportunity! As you know, I have worked with and still currently working with highly successful entrepreneurs for the last 25 years.
One of the things I have been doing throughout that time is working out the key triggers. That assists business becoming more successful and open to opportunities to make them successful. It is about how to win and avoid losses and make money fast that looks like an overnight success. I call these Fast Money Entrepreneur Triggers.
I have compiled it all together now in a book and video program, and some training. It is a specific package that focuses on The Fast Money Triggers for entrepreneurs.
Learn more about it by visiting my website Petergianoli.com/fast-money
