Skip the Cardio

A few years ago, I worked with a life coach. We met once a month and talked about various business and life issues.

At the beginning of one meeting, the coach asked me if I was still going to the gym and working out. It’s never good when someone has to ask that question.

I told her I had stopped going a few months ago. She asked why I stopped going, because she thought I enjoyed going to the gym.

I explained that I did like going to the gym to lift weights, but I didn’t enjoy my self-imposed cardio time on the treadmill.

What she said next was great advice. She said, “Why don’t you go to the gym and skip the cardio?”

I’ve been going to the gym ever since, loving my time on the weight machines and still not missing that dang treadmill.

Similarly, are you still doing the business development work you need to do to grow?

If your answer is “no,” then let me encourage you to identify what parts of the business development process you don’t enjoy. Most of us in business thrive when it comes to a sales meeting with prospects. It’s some of the other steps that tend to feel more like a chore, including:

• Identifying qualified prospects
• Fixing your social media to make a great impression if prospects research you
• Calling or emailing to schedule a first appointment
• Sending follow-up information after the first appointment
• Writing up your notes from the appointment
• Creating a follow-up task

Perhaps you have stopped or slowed doing the business development work you need to do because you don’t like some of the steps above. Of course you can’t just skip those steps, but you can delegate or outsource them.

I’m still going to the gym and loving it because I’m skipping the cardio, and you can still be engaged in critical business development work and love it if you delegate the steps you don't enjoy.