You may not know this, but mojo is real—it is NOT just something that Austin Powers loses and has to get back in the movies. But what is mojo? It’s hard to define, but you know when it’s working and when you have lost it.
When it’s working, the phone is ringing with customers wanting estimates, you schedule appointments with ease and your projects get through the shop on time, correctly, and with lots of profit for the big kahunas. When it’s not working, you get hung up on, you’re told your prices are too high, clients call to complain that their jobs are late, and your co-workers drive you up a tree.
When your mojo has left the building, what should you do?
1. Leave the building, too. When nothing goes right, sometimes a change of scenery is just what you need to gain some fresh perspective and shake off bad times. Go get some coffee or ice cream, go visit a friendly client who will be glad to see you, or just drive around listening to your favorite station, until the bad energy passes you by.
2. Get some exercise. If you have a gym membership, hit the treadmill. If not, go to a beautiful park and take a walk in nice weather, or do some laps at the closest mall or other indoor venue if it’s cold or rainy. Getting your heart rate up will help clear out the cobwebs and make everything look fresher.
3. Go find some new customers. Hit the library and do some research, visit a nearby office park and see if there are some fresh companies to call on, or drive to an area you’ve never been before. Sometimes, the best cure for bad business is MORE business.
4. Talk to your mentor. Having someone to reflect your situation to and hearing some advice from someone you trust is a great way to discover how to deal with a particularly challenging problem. If you don’t have a mentor, get one. And while you’re at it, become one, too. (If you can’t find a mentor, I am always available!)
5. Do something creative. If you have a journal, take some time and write about what has been happening. If you don’t, consider getting one. Or, just grab a sheet of paper and start doodling. You’d be surprised how often solutions materialize when you open your mind and let go a little bit. Give yourself some quiet time to reflect, and see what happens. You might just find that you have the next great American novel in you.
You WILL get your mojo back. Rather than sit in the same place and lament about it and suffer through a really bad moment, hour or day, try to change things up, and maybe your mojo will come back even stronger and better than before.
When was the last time you lost your mojo? What did you do? How did you get it back? Please, share your stories with the rest of us! Post a Comment below.
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- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Blogger, author, consultant, coach and all around evangelist for the graphic arts industry, Kelly sold digital printing for 15 years so she understands the challenges, frustrations and pitfalls of building a successful sales practice. Her mission is to help printers of all sizes sell more stuff. Kelly's areas of focus include sales and marketing coaching, enabling clients to find engagement strategies that work for them and mentoring the next generation of sales superstars.
Kelly graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science and, among other notable accomplishments, co-founded the Windy City Rollers, a professional women's roller derby league. She is also the mother of two sets of twins under the age of ten, so she fears nothing.