How Many Lines Do You Have In The Water?
Russ Henneberry | Jan 27, 2010 | Comments 3
I like to fish.
More than anything, I like the kind of fishing that is fairly relaxed. I like to rig up three fishing poles, get them out in the water and then keep an eye on them.
I used to do this type of fishing with one fishing pole and I would catch roughly 1/3 of the fish that I would with three fishing poles. This stands to reason. The more poles you have in the water, the more fish you will catch. Right?
You would think so.
One season I decided to ramp it up. I started putting six poles in the water. I should double my production right?
Wrong.
I found that doubling to six fishing poles was counter-productive. My fishing lines were crossing each other and getting tangled up. This caused me to spend lots of time fixing my fishing lines. I wasn’t able to keep a good eye on all of my fishing lines — therefore I was missing chances to catch fish.
The point?
It turns out that (at least at my fishing skill level) three is the optimal number of fishing poles to have in the water.
How does this little story apply to the marketing of a tiny business? What is the optimal number of “fishing poles” for your business? I would love to hear your comments!
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Filed Under: Marketing Articles
I too know that one must have multiple poles in the water….or better yet, multiple streams of income. The well thought out business will use one pole to generate the catch of the next pole…often called “upsell”. A great example I share here is the Healthy Eating and Weight Loss Client who signed up for the 6 week program of group classes. A second “pole” was the 6 weeks of specialized personal training that was available at an additional price. and to settle the mix as a third “pole, I would offer individual, in home, family meal planning sessions for a fee. So you see 3 poles allowed me to generate income from 3 sources …all within the same business.
what about you? anyone else got a great example to learn from?
Thanks Russ…the post makes me aware of the power of a focused business approach!
Jennifer
Wow! Great examples Jennifer — I would absolutely love to hear of any other examples that other folks have.
No matter what your A game is, it is important to have a b and c game to fall back on. Shit happens and the best way to roll with the punches is to have a another plan to implement. Organization is key to multiple busineses. take a look at http://www.greenfuelsave.com to preview my plan.
Br Mike Grimes 877-212-1400