I am not a fan of cutting grass by any means; in fact you could say I despise the entire two hour process. However after every weeks two hour life loss, I feel a very brief sense of accomplishment. After I have cleaned up the mess and put away all the lawn tools, I wipe my sweaty brow with my shirt sleeve and gaze at how amazing the yard looks, like a nice green carpet. It’s only seconds later that I am over the amazement of my efforts only to hit the shower and never give the well groomed turf another thought…that is until next week…when the process starts all over again…ugh.
This is a picture of my yard back in May (2010).
I must say it looks pretty nice, and it is this time of the year when Mother Nature does most of the watering and nurturing for me. Sure I installed the sod when we moved in 12 years ago, just like I network and plant seeds with business prospects. I fertilize the lawn every month like clock work and water her every couple of days, just as I stay in contact and follow up with my customers each and every month…or do I ?
Here in Michigan we have had some great weather over the past few months, it has rained regularly so I didn’t even have to fire up the sprinkler system this year and here we are in mid-July.
This is a picture of my yard today (July 13, 2010).
WOW – I can’t understand what happened, it seems like only yesterday the kids, the dog and I were running around barefoot on a plush soft beautiful lawn (2 weeks ago to be exact). As I scratched my head this morning it hit me…I NEGLECTED MY LAWN! We have had somewhat of a heat wave the past week and a half, mid 90’s and it even hit 100 a couple of days in a row. I think it only rained once in that time frame but only a minimal rain that dried up as fast as it hit the ground.
That burned neglected grass image haunted me all day, I started wondering what else have I been neglecting all while I thought everything was hunky dory - Oh #$%@ it’s my clients. Sure enough I let a couple slip through the cracks during last weeks rush of business. I got on the phone this afternoon and dialed up the few neglected customers to let them know it was not my intention to neglect their requests last week. I offered no excuses only to put there request on high priory this afternoon, two out of three understood. The third…well lets just say with lots of water and time (cards and gifts) I hope they will come back to life within the next few months.
So I hope the image of my burnt grass will stay with you in regards to never neglecting your clients, keep in touch with them, follow up with them and you will never have to work extra hard to get them back.
To Your Success!
Tim Somers
Send Out Cards – Distributor
Great analogy Tim! It is so important to nurture the relationships that we have with our existing customers. Ultimately it’s much more difficult to acquire a new customer as it is to keep one, so we should really put more effort in keeping the ones we have.
Angel
.-= Angel Taylor´s last blog ..Katie Freiling Makes Me Uncomfortable At No Excuses Summit =-.
Hey Tim,
Love this post. Your story of your grass and your business is fantastic. Made me think about how I am treating my grass… T. Harv Eker once said. How you do anything is how you do everything. That is what came to mind as I read your post.
Thanks for sharing with us all.
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed
.-= Edward´s last blog ..Share Your DREAM Friday – with Special Guest Dreamer Val Wilcox! =-.
Hi Tim,
My husband would agree with you about lawn maintenance but at least he has a riding lawn mower… I hope you do, your yard looks big.
It’s cool how Ed tied it in with T Harv Eker… that makes a lot of sense.
Gee… I wonder what I’ve been neglecting! Better get back to work.
.-= Deb Augur´s last blog ..5 Steps to Creating an Engaging Video =-.
Angel, you are so right – getting new clients is not easy…keeping current ones has it challenges but it’s much easier if you put in a little effort. Thx for stopping by!
Edward – thank you for the kind words…as Deb mentioned I love the T Harv Eker quote. thanks for taking time to visit.
Deb, no riding mower…it’s about the only exercise I get…until winter when I shovel the snow…thx for taking some time off work to read and comment.
Hi Tim,
What a fabulous analogy! Let’s see, customers, bookkeeping, filing, writing blog posts
. . .
What else could I be neglecting?
It is not hard to go from flourishing to burnt-out in a very short time, if you neglect these issues! Thanks for the clever reminder!
Mentor Mama
I love the analogy of the neglected grass. I have some weeds in my back yard that have been neglected. Communication and follow up with customers and prospects is very important. I sometimes and not very good at the follow up part. Thanks for sharing this post.
Tim,
A valuable analogy. The weeks pass so quickly and the priorities keep growing. Thank God for all of these challenges, right? Time to apply “The Slight Edge” and keep watering and mowing.
.-= Darlene Davis´s last blog ..Building Your Twitter List 101 =-.
Great Analogy Tim! I think it is very true that you have to stay on top of things. I always think it is better to be proactive rather than reactive. Thanks for this great post!
.-= Angela´s last blog ..10 Ways to Find the Motivation to Exercise =-.
Great thoughts. Sometimes just picking up the phone and saying I messed up helps tremendously. It’s important to follow up and through to ensure that the customer ends up with a great experience. Thus won’t spread bad feelings to others, to continue your analogy, like a weed.
.-= Jeremiah M. Wean´s last blog ..Rates and APR- What Do They Tell You =-.
Hi Tim,
it’s the little things that we do consistently that have over the longterm the highest impact. However we forget about them until we are reminded when the neglect sets in. Your lawn analogy makes a lot of sense.
Thanks for the reminder
Johanna
.-= Johanna Brem´s last blog ..This Weeks Free Webinar =-.
Hi Tim,
Attending to your existing customers/distributors is very important as you said.
I’ve seen people bring in other people to a business and then neglect them. They wonder why people are dropping out faster than they are sponsoring people.
Care and attention is very important and that is what sending a personal card can do for other people.
.-= Gavin Mountford´s last blog ..Twittertastic Laundry List For Network Marketers =-.
Jeremiah, you are right – just give it to them straight, don’t tap dance around – all they are usually looking for is an answer of some sort – not “I don’t know what happened”
Lol, love how you compared your lawn to home business. Gotta show that lawn some good lovin just like you gotta show it to your customers.
Rock on Tim
.-= Matthew Neer´s last blog ..Talk Fusion Scam Is Talk Fusion Fooling You =-.
Hi Tim
Great Post. Boy..so easy to get caught up in life and neglect our existing customers when we are building relationships with new ones. Grass keeps growing doesn’t it? I wish there was something you could put on it to slow it down!
Thanks
Laura Morris
.-= Laura Morris´s last blog ..The 1 Secret To Success In MLM =-.
Nice analogy! The difference a day can make…
Wow, Tim, that applies to pretty much everything in our lives – whether we belong to a tribe, to our business, to our family, to our own mental health. We must keep on watering in order to grow! Thanks for sharing and reminding me how important it is to apply that “Slight Edge” in all areas of my life.
.-= Debbie Stevens´s last blog ..Diamond in the Rough =-.
What a great analogy. And it definitely takes less effort to maintain a relationship (with people or lawns) than it does to rebuild one.
Thanks for this great reminder. I hope your lawn and your customers are quick to forgive.
Live with passion and purpose,
Vanessa
.-= Vanessa´s last blog ..I Think My Business is Caught in a Time Warp =-.
I love a good analogy. And a good reminder – neglect or lack thereof is just a matter of awareness.
.-= Mark Hiatt´s last blog ..Networking Lessons From a Cockroach =-.
Cool analogy, I just bought a house and have never had lawn so that is something that I am dreading. Definitely going to pay someone to do it! lol
But as far as customers are concerned if we are not communicating and continuously adding value the whole out of site our of mind factor takes effect.
Thanks for the reminder!
Joe
Thanks Tim for the reminder (and great example you utilized) of the importance of staying in constant contact (in some form/fashion)with your clients & prospects. Christine
.-= Christine Casey´s last blog ..It all begins by taking small bites of the elephant… =-.
Guilty! I love the chase of the customer but hate the maintenance. I have to get someone else to do that.
Thanks for the reminder.
Tim. I enjoyed your post. In the rush of everyday life, sometimes we forget that we need to make time to nurture the relationships we already have. I am definitely guilty of spending too much time hunting for the next new relationship rather than improving the ones I already have.
Also, thanks for the reminder of why I hire a landscaper for my lawn!
.-= Scott Pollov´s last blog ..A “Small Business Plan” – What is It =-.
Hello Tim
Great analogy and the thing that hit me is how fast something can go wrong if you neglect it just for a short period of time.
Thanks for the great read.
.-= Peter Fuller MBa´s last blog ..Does your Retirement Plan include Jumping out of a Window =-.
Peter, Scott, Gary and Christine thank you for stopping by and the comments.
Tim,
You are so right. There are many parts of our lives that run dry – and it’s hard to nourish it back to health. For me it is working out. I was doing so well for a few weeks, but then I got busy with clients (not complaining) and with online blogging and setting up a new blog site, and then a two day trip out of town – and voila – no exercise for over a week. Today, it was like having a body that looked like that lawn – I had to cut the workout way down, almost like starting over, after only a little more than one week off.
Tim
This was perfect vision of truth…thanks for sharing and waking some of us up!
Debby
Tim,
Thanks for the reminder! It is easy to let “life get in the way!” I never mean to, but sometimes it just does! It’s all about priorities! We need to set them!
~Linda
.-= Linda G. Cox´s last blog ..Generation Y =-.
Dr. Erica – I know the feeling, been working out like crazy lately for my slacking the past few weeks – keep at it.
Debby – thx
Linda – priorities are often hard to keep in place with all that we are faced with daily – thanks.
I also love your analogy. Making the post personal and relating it to your business is a technique that I need to apply more in my own blog.
The thought that came to me while reading this post is that this is why creating a daily to-do list is so important. Making sure we focus on the right activities – the ones that move us and our businesses forward – are of the utmost importance.
Thanks for sharing your analogy – one that we can all relate to!
Wendy
.-= Wendy Hewlett´s last blog ..More On Our Inner Self-Limiting Beliefs =-.
Hey Tim great analogy and great reminder. When we lived in Texas that could actually happen within a few days of not watering.
Thanks again,
Michael
Wendy – I make a to do list as well – usually stay on task, but do loose track every once and a while.
Michael – been to Texas a few times, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio – the grass thing isn’t usually a problem here in Michigan…
Thanks Tim for the great post. It is sure true..neglecting our customers can take a hit when we are not really looking.
So can neglecting taking care of ourselves in the midst of taking care of all the other things in our business and our life! It is so easy to do when you are a solo business owner!
I sit here today, with the grass all dry, ( we had a month without any rain) and today it is raining. Wonder what the lawn will look like tomorrow!
Peace and light
Elissa Joy
http://www.wholisticmama.com
Great post Tim!
I love the analogy.
Why get a customer if you are not going to pay attention them!
I love the metaphor. Thanks for the inspiration.
Tim – Great analogy – something we can all relate to – especially this time of year:)
.-= Glyna humm´s last blog ..Negativity – What Is It Good For =-.
Hi Tim,
That’s quite a lawn you have there, brown or otherwise! I can fit my back garden in to that a good few times over. Have to say though, tending it isn’t what I’d call my favourite chore. I don’t have a favourite chore, what am I saying? I guess that’s why they’re chores. I digress!
A good analogy and wise words. Something we all need to think about to stop our customers and prospects taking root elsewhere…
Regards,
Andrew
.-= Andrew Sayers´s last blog ..Rolling with the punches pt 2 =-.
Awesome analogy Tim. This really makes me stop and think, and its via thought we’re able to transform the world, so THANK YOU for sharing this insight & wisdom with us. Your blog is really coming along; a lot better than last time I visited and your writing seems to be improving a great deal as well, so Tim, you haven’t neglected everything. Thanks again and God Bless!
.-= Curt Bizelli´s last blog ..Sam Rosen and Other Thought Leaders on “Digital Influence” 60 Ways to Increase Your Influence Online ! =-.
Hi Tim,
We try to make network marketing so complicated when it is so simple…just pay attention to your people. thanks for the thoughts. rebecca
.-= rebecca russell´s last blog ..WHERE TRADTION MEETS INOVATIONpart one =-.
Thanks Tim, I was just reading a book on how ideas stick. And if people can use analogies it works better. So here I pop in and you’ve done a great job. Thanks!
.-= Bill Cowan´s last blog ..Do You Have The Slight Edge =-.
Hey Bill, what book? building up my list of reads for this winter – sounds like one I’d be interested in. Thanks for the kudo’s and for stopping by.
.-= Tim Somers´s last blog ..TSA Gives My Send Out Cards Blog A Boost =-.
You are using just the right words in this post to explain your valuable lesson clearly and to the point. It’s easy to relate to your experience. However, when I leave your blog, your pictures are what I’ll remember most: “This is a picture of Tim’s yard back in May (2010).” And: “This is a picture of Tim’s yard today (July 13, 2010).” Here’s what I’ll do to keep that memory alive for me: I’ll print out your post, cut out the pictures and stick them where I can see them every day.
Yes indeed. Our clients and prospect are the lifeblood of our businesses and we need to keep in constant contact with them, providing value along the way.
.-= Eddie Espiritu´s last blog ..Start Up Capital – 11 Ideas to Join or Grow a Business =-.
Great analogy Tim! Just goes to show that if you don’t stay on top of things, it won’t take long before they are ruined!
Thanks for sharing,
Anthony
.-= Anthony McNeil´s last blog ..What’s The Message We’re Sending =-.
Thanks Anthony, you are correct it doesn’t take long at all.
.-= Tim Somers´s last blog ..Direct Mail Marketing Using Greeting Cards =-.