Shift Happens

Shifting happens around us all the time, some subtle and some not so subtle. Can it be possible that if you change the way you look at business that business around you will change? I say it is, how about you? When was the last time you really stopped and looked around you, smelled the coffee so to speak? When was the last time you really noticed significant, life changing paradigm shifts that have happened both in life and in business?

Let’s take a look at the paradigm shift of bottled water. In the early 70’s people would take plastic bottles to springs and collect water from the spring for magical and mystical health cures, other than that American’s drank water from their faucet. Who would have ever thought that water would ever be sold in a store? Who in their right mind would pay for something that is FREE? In the 90’s bottled water became a thriving $3.4 million business. Fast forward to 2008 and water sales exceeded 30 billion bottles, who would have ever thought?

How about coffee? Wow, what a paradigm shift that was! Seriously who saw that coming? Teaching consumers to pay on avg $4 for coffee and for some people, that is daily. Look at how Keurig revolutionized coffee drinking. Your typical at home coffee brewer was approximately $40 and a pound of coffee, which could last a few weeks, was approximately $15 or less. Keurig educated consumers that traditional coffee makers took too long to brew and wasn’t really a fresh cup of coffee. But by using a Keurig you would have a “coffee house cup” every time for less than a coffee house and let’s face it, it is really awesome coffee!

Technology has had a lot of paradigm shifts over the past few decades. Mainframe computers in the 60s and 70s used to take up complete buildings. When the desk top computer came in the late 70s, computers could sit on top of a desk instead of an entire building. Now we carry them in our pockets and our hands and the information stored is 1000s of times greater and it is somewhere in space called the “cloud”. How about how technology has shifted in other industries and made significant impacts on their daily business? Let’s use for example the music and the movie business. Not so long ago, music lovers would go to a music store (do they even exist anymore?), and sort through their favorite group’s records/albums/tapes/cds to find something they thought they would like. A consumer would buy an entire album, at full price for just the 1 or 2 songs they liked. Today’s consumer doesn’t need to go anywhere but to their phone, tablet or computer, and they don’t even need to guess if they will like the music because they can sample it before they download it. A raving fan doesn’t even have to buy an entire album now, they can pick and chose the songs they want for .99c each and then download them instantaneously wherever they are. The movie industry has had similar shifts. Consumers went from going to a movie theater to see their favorite stars to renting or buying a vhs/dvd, to being able to download the movie and watch it on demand. Seriously, did you see that coming? Do I even need to get into how Facebook, Linked in and Twitter have revolutionized socialization and business marketing and in just a few short years?

I am by no means a historian, the dates listed in this article are approximate but the information drives home simple truths… doing the same thing in the present and in the future as we did in the past will get us the same results as we have always gotten. Some of you may be sitting there thinking, “that’s awesome, I’m happy with my results to date.” Others may be thinking, “something has got to change, I need more business, I need more money.” Then there are some of you out there who truly seek the paradigm shifts so you can take your business and your life to the next level. I invite you to look at you business differently, look at your industry differently and ask yourself, “How can I take my business and my life to the next level? What specifically can I do to create huge shifts and make a significant impact?” TEAM Referral Network has done exactly that. Not just for TEAM as a business but also as a TEAM for all our members. You have been hearing a lot about this new website, and how it is truly going to revolutionize the referral marketing industry. That is a pretty bold statement…or is it? Based on the few examples in this article, I suspect it is a pretty accurate projection. Times are a changing, as they always do. Companies and industries that look at ways to modernize and set the tone, path and pace for industries are truly pioneers. It is this foresight that makes significant life and business changing impact. Just like when that internet thing called www. something came out, it was weird, it was different and some resisted it as long as they could while others jumped in with both feet and rode it to millions.

I share this with you because shift really does happen …and how you view it today will impact all your tomorrows to come.

By: Stacey O’Bryne Pivot Point Advantage

Stacey is passionate about helping sales professionals, small business owners and entrepreneurs learn that through effective goal setting, accountability, coaching and networking techniques they can increase productivity, accomplish tasks and goals that have seemed out of reach and fill their pipelines with qualified prospects, double their referrals and ultimately allow them to enjoy more income for less effort. – See more at: www.pivotpointadvantage.com