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Friday, April 27, 2012

Purposeful blog neglect

When I signed up to be a Beachbody Coach, one of the main questions in my head was how I might differentiate myself from other coaches. What service could I provide that others could not? How could I attract people to my website instead of just going to Beachbody.com?

One of the things I came up with was this blog. I have always liked to write, and a blog could serve as both a creative outlet and service to my customers who needed advice about fitness, nutrition, etc. 

In the early months I blogged on a hyper-consistent basis with no problems coming up with topics or time to write. I made it a priority, because in my mind it was "my service."

At the beginning of this year I sat down and made some serious goals for myself and this business, with my main objective being the creation of an entity lucrative enough to allow me to work from home even after my kids are in school.

Like good goals should be, I included several that were designed to push me out of my comfort zone just a bit.

For example, number nine on my 10-goal list is to "Call, visit, or interact one-on-one with at least two customers or coaches each week." I made that a goal because I found that I was increasingly spending time at the keyboard instead of actually talking to people. It had become a habit to simply send a message out via the Internet instead of connecting one on one.

Were my messages even connecting with the people who need them most? Who knows? And that's the problem. Because Beachbody Coaching is a one on one business. You've got to connect with people. You've got to listen. You've got to care.

Instead of doing all those things, I was hiding behind my blog because I luxuriate in the ability to think about word choice. It's just so much more poetic to get the words e-x-a-c-t-l-y right than to call someone on the phone and possibly say something dumb or embarrassing.

But perfect prose doesn't give assurance to someone who is super sore after their first time doing Chest & Back. Perfect prose doesn't invite someone to come work out with you early in the morning. Sometimes people don't have time to read your perfect (or heck, sometimes your imperfect) prose.

When I stepped away from the keyboard and picked up the phone, good things started happening in my business. When I met goal number nine, then number five -- my financial goal -- started being met, too. And my number one goal, which was to be a "Diamond" coach by June 21, came true a few months early on April 26.

There is a saying that says "don't make perfect the enemy of the good." I'm not a perfect "people person," but if I waited until I was perfect before I started getting out there to make personal contact, then I would never even approach "good."

This business has taught me so much about myself, about goals, and about people in general. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year will bring.

So while I'm far from abandoning my blog, posting may not be as consistent as it has been in the past. Because I have some calls to make.

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Workout of the Day
P90X2 Base and Back  


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