To Fish or not to Fish – Sales and Fishing Similarities

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Looking Back at the Lac La Belle Channel & Mount Bohemia View

Dreaming of catching that BIG one or landing that BIG customer

There are many similarities between fishing and growing a business and the more I fish, the more I learn about business. Here is some of what I’ve learned:

Species – Do you want to catch certain species like pike, bass, perch, laketrout, salmon, halibut, specled trout. Any fish or only a certain kind? Is your product or service only used by certain people? You’ll never catch a lake trout (sell to Eskimos) if you are fishing (marketing yourself) in the Portage Canal (in the desert) because Lake Trout (and Eskimos) need cold water.

Location – You need to go where the fish are. Many kinds of fish are schooling type. They like to travel and congregate in schools, where there is feed, protection and a comfortable water temperature. Likewise, your customers will be in places where they find these same necessities, although a little different food, shelter and climates.

Timing, seasonal – Your targeted fish (customers) will have very active seasons (This is when you need to go after them) and inactive times. Figure out when this active time is and work like crazy during the “BEST” season to harvest when the timing is right.

Timing, daily – There is a good time of the day to fish and a bad time of the day to fish. For king salmon, fishermen go out before the first hint of light to set their lines because when the sun comes up they stop their feeding frenzy. Likewise, you cannot expect to get good results if you call on your customers after they have gone to sleep.

Bait – Use the kind of bait that the fish like, not the kind you would like. In other words, just because you like steak, it doesn’t mean fish will like it. So find out what your best customers like about you and reel in others just like them with the same offerings.

Patience – Sometime you can fish (market your business) for a long time and not get a bite (or inquiry), but with patience you can reel in that big one.(A good client) Use the slow times to organize, repair and adjust your tackle, train yourself about new methods (take vacations) to revitalize and keep the interest in fishing (your business) going.

Repeatability – Once you find where they are and a method that works, stick with it until it no longer produces results. Why would you pull anchor (stop advertising) when the fish are biting? (Unless you reached your limit) In this case, you will be wise to repeat this marketing strategy when things cool down, providing the other factors like timing are right.

Depending on how specialized your fishing (business) is you may target all kinds of species (people) or only a certain kind of trout (I can’t get too specific here in order not offend anyone, but you get the picture) To sum it up, you will have to know what species to fish for, where and when to fish for them, what to use to attract them, wait through the slow times, and make sure to use the methods that work over and over and over again.

Do these things and your catch will be more consistent.

Captain, Brian Helminen

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About Brian Helminen

Brian is the owner and Captain of Sand Point Charters, LLC. He also owns and operates Designotype Printers, Inc. with his wife, Margaret. They have a cottage on Lac La Belle that can be rented by the week in the summertime.

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