Fishing for business? No tackle required.

I enjoy fishing. It was something my father, brother and I did together. I think most people that fish (or hunt) probably learned those skills from their father.

However, many people don’t like to fish. After all, fishing is the act of trying to catch something.

While catching is the actual description for the consummation of the fishing experience.

If we were guaranteed a catch every time we went fishing we wouldn’t call it fishing anymore. We’d call it catching.

But that’s not the case in business or fishing. We are never guaranteed a catch.

One thing is certain, putting forth a strong and effective fishing effort will result in greater successes in catching.

When it comes to business, a few fishing lessons will help you generate greater success.

Use the best bait you can afford

A good fisherman will tell you that without the right bait, nothing else matters.  Your bait is what will coax your prospect to engage with you over others that have similar products and comparable features and benefits.

Occasionally, I actually talk to clients that want to go fishing without any bait.

They’ll spend money on a great design or a clever idea. They may even go through the effort of researching the best places to fish (buying a list) so that they have the highest probability of finding fish (customers) when they actually cast (mail or email) their line.

But they fail to use the right bait …or any bait at all!

They think that simply sharing their product/service with their target consumer should be enough to coax a bite. They believe that a compelling offer is unnecessary or unwarranted.

That’s almost like fishing with an empty hook. Every now and then a fish gets snagged on an empty hook. But it’s rare.

Clients forget that their offer (bait), or lack of it, will be compared to other competitive offers available at that time.

It’s sad to think that after all the prep work and all the expense, the end result will be an empty line.

Don’t go fishing without the best bait you can afford.

The more you fish, the more you’ll catch (Duh!)

It sounds simple enough, but sometimes our thinking is clouded.

I consulted with one client that had been running two promotional campaigns each year. One was run in the beginning and one in the middle of the year.

It’s the way it was always done at their company.

They shared with us that their goal was to increase the sales of their auto loan products, but they didn’t want to cannibalize the sales they already had.  They were concerned that they would lose sales if they promoted throughout the year.

So naturally, I had to share a fishing analogy with them to help them see how this thinking was limiting their true potential.

The fact is, with certain things…like auto loans, the same fish can’t be caught twice. So, by limiting their programs to twice per year, they were limiting themselves to the fish that were available at that time of the year.

Think of it like this. You are standing at the bank of a river and the water (and fish) is passing by the spot where you are. That same water, and fish are never going to be passing that way again.

If you aren’t fishing at that time, in that exact spot, with the right bait, those fish will never be caught.

And so it goes with auto loans and many other products, if you are not always fishing 24/7/365 you are losing out to someone that is…at that point in time.

What do you do with all this new fishing advice? Don’t overdo it.

I’m reminded of the comment about the sport of fishing and fisherman. “Every year the fishing industry continues to introduce new lures, baits and equipment. And the fisherman keep biting!” If it wasn’t one of Mark Twain’s it should have been.

You don’t need the latest tools to build your business effectively. But at least make sure you have the right bait and you are fishing in the right place!