Spring Reflections: Are You Addressing the Right Problem?
It’s springtime, and like many, I’m diving into the annual ritual of sprucing up my yard to restore its vibrant, spring glory. Despite my busy schedule—early mornings filled with workouts, family time, and rushing off to work—my backyard has been desperately crying for attention, which I relegated to "when I have time."
Initially, noticing the stubborn yellow patches, I assumed the lawn was thirsty. So, off to the shed I went, adjusting the sprinkler settings. Weeks passed but the yellow patches persisted. Shifting gears, I concluded there must be a need for fertilizer. Thus, a quick trip to the local home improvement store ensued. However, as I spread the fertilizer and turned on the sprinklers manually, a realization dawned on me. Observing the uneven sprinkler coverage and the water wastefully hitting the sidewalk, not to mention a conspicuous puddle surrounded by yet another yellow patch, I discovered the real issue: six of my sprinklers were buried under the grass that had overgrown during winter.
I had spent a month solving the wrong problem.
This little backyard saga mirrors a common scenario in business. How often do we diagnose our business challenges—like a lack of leads—as needing more website updates, more social media ads, or more flyers? Yet, the real solution might be as simple as picking up the phone to set up coffee meetings, thus nurturing and deepening relationships with those who already know, love, and trust us. We’re in the prime season for real estate right now.
Do you have enough leads? Is your pipeline robust enough for a successful summer? If not, how are you tackling these challenges? Have you taken a close look at where your past leads came from? Are you fully leveraging those proven systems? Before you rush to adjust your marketing strategies or throw money into new campaigns, make sure you’ve run a thorough diagnostic on the tried-and-true systems that have historically bolstered your business.
Make sure you’re actually fixing the problem you have, not the one you think you have.
