Bright spots
I’ve got a confession to make. I am a self-improvement junky. I am constantly looking at myself, my community, the world and seeing countless ways that things could be better. Sure, I do value my passion and my desire to make things better. But wow, it can be exhausting. That’s why I really enjoyed reading the book Switch by researchers (and brothers) Chip and Dan Heath. Switch is all about how people can create change when change is difficult. And let’s be real, it usually is, isn’t it?
The key take-away I got from the book is what Chip and Dan call “bright spots”. When change is happening, bright spots are the things you can identify that are going on in your life that are going right. It’s a novel way of looking at improving your circumstances. Instead of looking at the bad and ruminating endlessly on how to close that gap, it encourages us to acknowledge the problem, and then look around for solutions that are already working.
So how might this help you grow your own business? To make new sales, you might look outward to marketers and sales experts. They might tell you to start broadcasting on Clubhouse or try the latest sales technique. Those ideas could work. But if you’ve been in business for a while, there are probably things that are already working for you that you could be doing more of. The best thing about these tactics, you know they are successful!
For me right now that means nurturing my relationships. I am lucky to have an incredible network of amazing human beings who have been steadily referring new clients to me for over a decade. I’ve always expressed gratitude for those referrals, but I’ve never taken it upon myself to do more than send a heartfelt email. I’m embarking on a campaign to more thoughtfully appreciate the powerhouses of connection in my life.
I’ve also had great success recruiting new clients through speaking opportunities in the past. I’m planning on creating a webinar and free downloadable worksheets for potential nonprofit clients for my business Copilot, and doing a marketing campaign around those materials. I know from experience that producing value for people in the sales process through content marketing is one of the best ways of showing them that you are trustworthy and produce good results.
In these ways, I hope to grow the bright spots that are already helping me achieve my goals. After evaluating how those tactics work, I’m going to consider new strategies.
So, what’s going well for you in your life and business?
Are there ways that you can be more thoughtful about those efforts, while also looking for new ways to conduct and market your business more effectively?
You can watch Dan Heath explain the concept of Bright Spots from the 2010 book Switch in the video below, or buy the book from your favorite independent bookstore.
