Some years ago I was reading up on how human emotions influence our personality, state and every facet of our lives - business included. It fascinated me to no end because before that, my perception of passion was the facial expressions you would see displayed in those popular telemundo soaps of the day. At the time, I did not fully grasp the inherent power that lies around a passionate state of being and how that in turn can be brought to bear on a brand and by extension be used to pull one's unique customer base to themselves. Then an incident happened that made me see it all in a very practical and ordinary, every day light :
I was just about to step out the office for lunch when she walked in with her friend. A potential client seeking business consultancy advice. I LOVE talking to customers. In business, the customer is the boss, the HR manager, Payroll manager, mother and father. Their position aside, I love understanding the psyche of the customer. It is the best marketing source you can tap into. So back to the story...
This lady, as it stood, had an impressive art distribution business in a trendy neighborhood. Her challenge was simple really - she had all the chess pieces in place: the business plan, the marketing schedule, the prime location, she even had a franchise in the works so a lot of the heavy work like pricing and branding was being taken care off. The thing is, the guy next door who was running a similar business was out selling her and she could not understand why! I mean, she had a superior product, the prices were relative but another very strong factor was that to she had been in business for a much longer time! But so fast was this other guy's business growing that she was 'that close' to giving up on her business all together as a result. It all didn't make sense.
Seeing her frustration I looked her in the eye and asked her to do a demo pitch for me, to convince me (an assumed customer) to buy her products in about 5 minutes or less.
Now, here is where the theme of today's post comes into focus: Her delivery was lackluster and devoid of enthusiasm. I asked her where her energy was and she told me that THAT is how she actually talks, that it is her personality and she is not much of a ‘people person’. Those were her actual words, true story! So then I changed the subject albeit gradually and we started talking about other things of interest like her children and BOOM! she instantly lit up LIKE 1,000 WATTS with excitement!
A change in FOCUS had created an INSTANT change in STATE. Just by talking.
Well, you probably guessed that this is the point at which I told her that THAT is the excitement her customers want infused in her product. Her real self. That is the excitement the customers want to feel when they walk into her store and interact with her sales staff or when they hear her on the other side of the phone or even read her social media posts. THAT. She halfheartedly accepted that her competitor next door was definitely much more enthusiastic about his product and that played a part, in the prevalent migration of her customer base.
People buy People. Your vibe attracts your tribe. You determine the mood in a room.
It is unfortunate that we do not have an exact metric, a quantifiable mathematical calculation, some technology to match the direct relation between the proportion of passion to revenue ( if there is, kindly share it with me, please!) but I assure you the effects, as my client realised, are real enough!
Passion. Fire. Enthusiasm. If you love your product you will be passionate about it and the sheer energy of your authentic ambition will lure paying clients to you like an invisible magnet.
''Most people know what to do, but they don't do what they know - because they haven't found their inner drive. Their passion.''
Tony Robbins
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6 THINGS you can start doing today to FIRE UP your inner PASSION to make PROFIT
1. Start the journey
Embark on a personal SELF AWARENESS journey and try and list down 10 things you are really passionate about.
Understand this: Our passion is what we want to do naturally or what we gravitate towards, not what necessarily sounds good or what others want us to do. Passion is the fuel that drives us to get out of bed in the morning; it moves us toward our goals.
2. Research (yes, you read that right)
Research (Google, ok?) on ways you can actually monetize on these things you are passionate about and drill down to the TOP 3 in the list
3. Step out...today, right now...immediately after reading this blog post
Step out of your comfort zone and create social media posts about your no. 1 passion from the list covered in step 2.
4. Read Anthony Robbins’ amazing book: Awaken the Giant Within
5. Be patient in the process
Be patient as you apply these tips and strategies. Self doubt and fear are constant companions and learning how to manage them these contra emotions does not happen overnight.
6. Have some fun
Have FUN while you are at it. Remember, you are doing what you love and getting into the flow of it. Money will definitely follow over time.
This article is an adaptation from page 11 of my FREE E-Book : The Start-Up Survival Kit . Need more information on how you can tap into your passion to drive your business growth? Download the book FOR FREE by clicking on the below image.
SUCCESS!