“When riches begin to come, they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years.”
— Napoleon Hill
In high school, one of the coaches for the swimming and diving team was an Olympic medalist. She would teach the divers some pretty complicated moves. I would watch them practice a new dive awkwardly for days, sometimes for weeks. Maybe with their arms flailing. Maybe sometimes falling flat. Then all of sudden it would click, and the dive would become part of their repertoire. Something they could do over and over again with grace and ease.
Some things take time to click. I’m not talking about sitting around for days waiting for things to turn around. And I’m not talking about practicing the wrong thing for weeks and then getting a different result. These divers were practicing the right thing, in the right way, being taught by a very experienced coach, and it took time.
You’ve probably heard the story of the Chinese bamboo tree. You water it faithfully for five years and nothing grows (above the ground, anyway). Then suddenly after five years it grows 20 feet in a few months. Because during those five years, it was growing an extensive root system underground.
You might say that it took a lot of faith for someone to keep watering the bamboo for five years. That may be true. It would certainly be a lot easier if the person had some experience of bamboo trees sprouting up after five years. If they had seen it and knew that this was possible.
And of course, if the bamboo tree had feelings, it might have gotten frustrated. “What’s the matter with me? I’ve been watered for years and still nothing to show for it!” But the bamboo tree also knows that something is going on underground.
This is also true in selling or in growing a business. Sometimes the inner work goes on for a while and you don’t see the outer result right away. Switching to a service approach is like growing roots. You put out a lot of effort without any visible return. Then all of sudden it takes off.
True effortless selling is comprised of mindset + service + structure. It can take some time to have the insights and acquire the service mindset. Then there are practical systems and tools that take a while to get the hang of. If you stay on the path it can have tremendous results.
But don’t take my word for it. Test it out thoroughly for yourself and see if it works for you.
Steve Johnsen is a marketing strategist, a business coach, and the Founder of Cloud Mountain Marketing. He is also the author of the Amazon #1 best-seller, 5 Easy Steps to Make Your Website Your #1 Employee.
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