Dean and I have been married for 26 years and he has been a hunter the entire time. I’ve always enjoyed hunting season; the food preparation for the guys, the excitement of learning that my husband bagged his prize and the quiet time alone! This year, I decided to give the testosterone filled adventure a go and realized that there are many correlations between hunting and business! Here are my hunter inspired revelations!
PREPARATION Before you can experience a successful hunt, you’ve got to be prepared. Knowing the rules, having the right gear and being physically ready for the hunt increase your chances of success. Business is the same way isn’t it? Knowing the rules of your industry, having the right team and ongoing training increase your chances for business success.
PATIENCE They say that patience is a virtue and most people who know me, would agree that I do not have a large amount of patience! While hunting, it was easy to see how a lack of patience could quickly land me in hot water. I was looking through my scope and saw what looked like a legal deer and I was ready to shoot. My husband quickly said, "you better wait" and sure enough- it was just a little too small to be legal (3 points or better where we were hunting). Business is like that too! We spend lots of time training our team, or working with a prospect and if we are not patient, we can rush to judgment on the long term fit of a team member or lose the opportunity to close a sale.
PERSISTENCE It is rare when you are met with success right out of the gate in business or with hunting. Our first day was LONG. I can’t prove it, but it seemed like my husband selected the steepest, deer free terrain to hunt that first day and I have to be honest and tell you that I was SO TEMPTED to skip day two! Hunting is harder than I thought. (Ever felt that way about your business- I know I have!) But just like any good business owner, I suited up and persisted. We just can’t give up when the goin’ gets tough or the sales are harder to come by than we like- we must persist in order to reach the desired end result in business and in hunting.
THE PAYOFF I can tell you with conviction, that hunting will remain a ‘guy thing’ in our family! It was however, an experience that I will always treasure and YES- I did get my first deer, on my first hunting trip with my first shot! I also gained a new appreciation for the hard work that goes into the hunt and believe that the similarities between hunting and business are ones that we can all relate to:
- Be sure you are PREPARED so you can give yourself the best opportunity for success.
- Be sure to employ PATIENCE so you do not get stopped short of your goals.
- Be sure to PERSIST because the victory often appears after all of the hard work.
When you apply Preparation, Patience and Persistence you are sure to get your PAYOFF(on the hunt or in business)! I may never go hunting again but I will never forget the experience and I will treasure the time and the lessons learned hunting with Dean!!
