I grew up in a small town in Virginia where there wasn’t much to do. I remember when a Wal-Mart opened and the whole town went berserk! We didn’t have much to do, but the one thing we had plenty of was nature. One of my favorite childhood memories is going fishing with my dad. At the time, I didn’t appreciate the lessons that I learned from my dad about how to fish.
- I had to learn patience when I had none.
- I had to learn about different types of fish, and where they lived.
- I had to learn about lures and the right type of bait for each fish.
- I had to learn where to fish, and what time to fish based the fish I was looking for.
- I had to learn different fishing strategies, like how to set up fishing equipment to catch fish while completely unmanned.
So what does fishing have to do with marketing online? Everything!
Here are the 6 lessons I learned from fishing that have shaped the way I help gym owners attract more customers:
- You can’t catch fish if you don’t have a line in the water. Aside from those crazy carp you see on YouTube, fish don’t just jump in the boat. You want to operate your boat with all lines in the water. Businesses that use a “build it and they will come” strategy won’t reach their potential. After you cast your line into the water, the next important step is where to place it.
- The more lines in the water, the more fish you’re likely to catch. Don’t just do more. Do more of the right stuff, and integrate your approach.
- If you fish with the wrong bait, you catch zilch. You can’t land Moby Dick with a worm. If you want to catch the big fish, do what’s necessary to attract and land them.
- You can chum the water and fish will gather. “Chumming” is scattering pieces of bait in the water. You’ll attract more fish with chumming, but not necessarily the ones you want to catch. Instead of chumming, target your ideal customer and put your business in the best position to attract them.
- You can use sonar, the latest technology, and the most expensive gear to be successful, or you can use a hook tied to kite string with a kernel of corn on the end. The simple approach might be less sophisticated, but it’s not necessarily less effective. Understand what works for you, and do it.
- Standing with the pole in your hand doesn’t change how many fish you’ll catch. There are two types of fishermen:
- One casts their line and stands idly by until the line gets a bite, then they start to reel it in.
- The other sets up a system where their line attracts the right kind of fish and starts to reel the fish in – entirely on its own.
I personally believe that how you do one thing is how you do everything. What helps us grow personally also helps us grow professionally. So now you get to choose.
Do you want to be the person holding the reel at the end of the dock? Or do you want to be the person managing the system that holds the reel for you?
P.S. If you’re an online or aspiring online Fit Pro, learn how to add at least 5-10 new clients every month without guesswork or wasting time.
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