Why getting out of your comfort zone is the best way to grow your business

Things are going great. You just had our best holiday sales season ever. Why should you change anything? You’re crushing it!

This is called a comfort zone. It’s also a bit delusional because the only constant is, in fact, change. The reality is that this happens to be the best time to make changes; that is if you want to grow your business. A comfort zone is the place where you feel most confident. It’s where you breathe easier.It’s where all the systems you have built around yourself seem to work.

It’s also the first step toward failure. Why?

Because everything about business is changing: the economy, customer demand, supply chains, employee expectations; even entire industries can be upended (think what Uber did to the Taxi industry).

Go ahead and get comfortable with what you are doing well.But don’t rest too long. Getting out of your comfort zone has these benefits:

1. It strengthens your character

2. It helps you see problems in new ways

3. It forces you to be more creative

4. It makes you more adaptable to change

So how do you get out of your comfort zone and reap the benefits of continual improvement? Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi famously started the first practice of the year by having the team step off the size of the field, identifying the end zones and holding up a ball while proclaiming:“This is a football.” Starting with the basics is a good place to start pushing yourself to a new level of performance. We’re not talking about extra work. We’re talking about smarter work. Asking why you do things a certain way forces you to look at better processes…and many will save you time and increase profits.

Let’s look at marketing for a moment.

It’s a whole lot easier to get a loyal customer to buy again than it is to attract a new customer. And when that customer trusts you, your salesperson, your sales process, your product…they become a client. So a portion of your marketing, a big portion, should be spent on maintaining relationships with current clients.Easier said than done.

Examine the process from start to finish. A customer comes in for the first time. What is her first experience? What should be the second?The third? Is crucial information about her being gathered? Is she developing a rapport with the salesperson? Is she posting jewelry options on her Instagram page and asking for feedback? Is there a clear path to purchase? What’s the next communication she gets from you and the salesperson? Will she be on the Christmas card list? The Valentine’s special promotion? Will her husband get a reminder about their anniversary? Will the happy couple be posted on yourFacebook page? We could go on…and you should. Keep brainstorming. What will convert her from a one-time customer to a 4-times-a-year client?

All of this requires a few new tools, a familiarity with the new ways customers get reinforcement from their friends, and for you to develop a few new skills.