A pain in the…

For the last couple of years, I have struggled on and off with back pain. I have found solutions in various guises, sought expert advice and some not-so expert. When you’re in pain, you will try anything in desperation. If someone suggested to me standing on my head and singing the national anthem would help, then at some point I would have given it a go I’m sure. Decision making when I am in pain isn’t carefully considered, nor is it logical. All I am interested in at that point is the fastest way out of the painful experience.

For me, this pain comes and goes. So when I am experiencing the pain I am motivated to do something about it. When it lessens, it’s put on a back burner. But there’s a cycle to it that I am ignoring too. If I resort to instant fixes like hefty painkilling meds, it does solve the problem – short term at least. But it’s not treating the cause – a tired mattress, uncomfortable shoes, weakened muscles, poor posture, poor ergonomics in my working environment, and probably a whole lot more things I am yet to explore. The cause might be any one of these, or a mix of them all. Finding my solution takes time, experimenting, reviewing and adjustment.

A pain in your …business?

There is a similar pain in your business right now. It may also be a cycle of pain that you’re experiencing and haven’t found the solution for. Despite trying various bits of advice, or seeking a ‘fix me now!’ answer, you get back to the same point. Repeating a cycle you know well. Would a change to your behaviours, actions, even thoughts – before you get to that point of unavoidable pain – help? 

Here’s an example. Your business is slow on sales – that’s the pain, and it’s felt when you try to balance the books at the end of every month. You do get some trickling through, but you’re getting far more enquiries than bookings. Something is stopping your potential leads committing to buying from you. Maybe you revise your messaging on your social and website so that you’re speaking the same language as your prospects. Perhaps they believe you offer a different service to the one you are actually offering, or the pricing is out of their reach. 

Solutions to this pain could vary – let’s look at quick fixes. Chucking a big spend on advertising to get more sales leads. Drastic reductions – or offering free – a service that you believe to be worth more. This rescue mission is going to be costly, and probably not as effective as you’d hoped. 

Now let’s look at the causes of that pain. These won’t be the quick fixes, but something that needs longer to prioritise and evaluate. If you’re not visible enough or to the right audience, you might try to boost sales with that approach first. Reaching out to past customers with a new offer. If you think the cause may be competition in the market, you might turn your attention to  building your reputation as a trusted supplier, or offer more opportunities for engagement and interaction with your prospects. If pricing is an issue, you could try payment plans or package deals.

Different solutions to the pain, offered by a strategy and the tactics you will use to achieve your goal. You may try all or just one of these at any one time. Doing so, you’re working with the cycle you have identified and aiming for an alternative outcome – being pain free. 

During those times when the pain is lessened, you can think more clearly, with logic. You can decide your next course of action, an improvement or change to your usual modus operandi. And you’ll review to see if this new way has seen improvement – just like I did with a memory foam mattress topper, sensible footwear and a higher positioned computer monitor.

How do you disrupt your cycles to avoid future pain? Use a strategy which focuses on avoiding that problem.

If you’ve done something different and seen benefits of that change, please share in the comments. Your solution could be the one to help others – sharing is caring, right?