Even though I know what to do, I was not doing it.
I paid good money for an outreach strategy from the best in the game, I have seen all the proof, I have done the training, got all the tools, and have the support. But I was not doing it.
It was not a discipline problem. I am very disciplined. Highly motivated. And self accountable.
The simple truth I have found is this: doing something that I resist requires a lot more energy, which creates fatigue, not to mention friction in flow. And things are always better when in flow!
This is the first of my Psych Hack Experiments in strategy execution. What follows is what I tested, what came up weak, what changed that same day, and what did not change at all.
Why I never had to do outreach
Inbound had always been enough. We'd had one or two good inquiries every week plus referrals. So we never had to do outreach. No serious need.
But I did it in different ways over the years, because it seemed like the thing to do. And we were managing it for some clients as part of marketing support.
So the muscle had been worked a little bit, but never strengthened to the point where it needed to be.
What changed?
Those inbound leads dried up.
It may have been the economy, or because AI changed how people search. And AI changed the way people perceive what we do too.
In any case, outbound business development became an urgent need.
Whose job is it to generate new business?
Leading my own business, it's been my role to convert inbound. Waiting for referrals and inbound inquiry no longer cut it. And it simply doesn't work for growing a business.
So it became my role to be the king of the outbound generation of new business.
What did I do about it?
I found the master of it. Paid the premium. Questioned the shit out of him (yeah I have to know everything). In short, I got the strategy, the training, the tools, and got the support.
So I had a proven outreach strategy that I've paid good money for, that I know works, that I've seen all the proof of, and that I understand. Consciously I know it.
So why wasn't I doing the outreach?
I knew it was vital. I knew what I meant to do. And I wasn't doing it.
I was letting excuses get in the way.
"I'm not quite ready". "I'm not prepared enough (lead mags)". "I'll do this one thing first and I'll get everything in place".
Any of those sound familiar? There were more.
What was I doing instead of what I knew I needed to?
I was finding myself preoccupying myself, prioritising things that weren't that.
It's not making the calls. Or sending the DMs. It's prioritising actions other than starting the new conversations. Always seeming to find something else that's more important to do, or more urgent, prioritising other things so you run out of time. Important things. But not this one. Not making time.
We can always make time.
I was even putting blocks on the calendar for the outreach and then finding things to get in the way of that. Not intentionally of course.
I definitely wasn't leaning into it with vigour, with passion.
The resistance was real.
Why does that make no sense for someone who loves people?
I love conversations. I'm comfortable and confident having conversations online. I know my shit. One on one I have high conversion success when there is a real need.
And this is relationship building. I love relationship building. I love people. I love meeting people, talking to people.
What the f!ck was the resistance?
Why had I never looked at this outreach resistance before?
Cold calls and outreach were never my strength, and I was never forced to have a look at why.
That's the part worth sitting with. The pipeline was doing the work, so the question never got asked.
What subconscious beliefs did I actually test?
Twenty six statements went on the table. Twenty four of them tested strong.
It wasn't about being unprepared. It's definitely not a confidence thing.
Two important statements came back weak.
What came up weak?
"I am a generous initiator, and my outreach is a gift."
"I protect a sacred daily slot for outreach."
Here is why I love PSYCH-K®. At one point in the session those two tested weak. But by the end of the session they tested strong. That subtle shift eliminated my block.
Why this isn't simply a discipline problem
Doing something that you resist requires more energy, and that creates fatigue and friction in flow.
The difference isn't just simply pushing through. It's the flow thing. And resistance was messing with my flow, hard. Pushing against flow, producing uninspiring results, doesn't compound in a good way.
So you can have the right strategy, the right knowledge and training, and the right protocol. You can understand exactly why you respond the way that you do, and yet you still find yourself back in the same pattern.
What happened that afternoon after the PSYCH-K® session?
I sent something like 60 messages. I had a backlog and I just smashed through.
The difference is that I actually enjoyed it. I was feeling light from the first to the last, positive and fearless. There was simply no resistance.
I got into flow and enjoyed doing the task that I was resisting. That's the outcome of this particular experiment.
Where does it sit three months on?
Right now I can just open up, drop someone a voice note, and do it with confidence and enjoy the process. It's frictionless. Zero friction. Nothing gets in my way.
Full transparency. Our strategy has changed. My teammate is following a different process for outreach and qualification to qualify people first. And I'm focused right now on a higher priority, which is the system for the business. Working on the business, not in the business.
And of course, one day a week here. On this.
What I can tell you is that when I do the outreach that's required, there's still zero resistance in it. And I still enjoy it.
What didn't change?
While changing the belief and eliminating the resistance enabled me to do the work and enjoy it. The strategy that I had chosen wasn't as solid for our business as it ought to be, so it didn't produce the right conversations.
While it worked a little bit, I had skipped the step that I should have done prior. Now we've stepped back, and gotten the guidance needed originally, our strategy has been refined.
A failure in this experiment would have been an ongoing resistance and a guttural negative feeling while pushing through with the work. That isn't what happened.
What is this actually about?
We can know what we need to do and have all the clarity but something within us creates resistance that we may not even see because we're busy doing important shit.
Life's better when we eliminate that resistance and get the things done with passion. It's way more enjoyable and business can be more profitable.
Whether it's you or someone in your team, resistance doesn't need to be there.
Got something you're resisting?
Let's smash it. Book a discovery call and we'll talk about how.
Or follow on the journey.