I’ve been fly fishing for over 25 years. In that time I’ve gotten good at it. However, for years, I stank at nymphing. Nymphing means fishing flies underwater instead of floating them on the surface. If you want to catch a lot of trout consistently, it’s essential to be good at nymphing because trout spend 90% of their time feeding underwater.
The Two-Percent Difference
In 2014 I was living in Colorado, a fly fishing paradise, but I was missing out on some of the best opportunities because of my stinkiness at nymphing. So, I hired a guide named Matt McCannel from Ridgway to show me how.
In four hours, he did what countless books, articles, and videos failed to do. He equipped me to catch trout on a nymph consistently. I was catching more fish than ever before, trip after trip. Here’s the interesting part: he only changed about 2% of what I was doing. A few small tweaks in my approach revolutionized everything! Since then I’ve caught the biggest trout of my life on a fly, some up to twelve pounds!
How was Matt able to make such a big difference in a short amount of time? He was able to see the 2% that I couldn’t see, and that 2% made all the difference.
Tiger Woods is one of the highest paid athletes of all time, and one of the best golfers in the history of the sport. Yet he pays his golf coaches well into the six-figures. Why would a player of Tiger’s caliber pay someone to coach him when he’s already so good? In golf, as in fly fishing, it takes an outside set of eyes to see what you’re not seeing. Having that unbiased, outside perspective gives Tiger that 2% edge that makes all the difference, and that’s worth every penny he pays his coaches.
Where Coaching Becomes Invaluable
It’s the same in the flooring business. It’s easy to be so close to your work that you can’t see the 2% you’re missing, which may be right in front of you. Your problem may be needing more customers, being stuck on the cash-flow rollercoaster, low margins, working too many hours, or finding quality salespeople and installers. Whatever it is, if you’ve had the problem for a while, it’s very likely that the solution is right in front of you, but you can’t see it. That’s where coaching becomes invaluable.
I worked with a floor dealer from North Carolina who was working 50+ hours per week, including weekends. He was overwhelmed, frustrated, and feeling guilty because he was not able to spend time with his daughters.
Within a few hours, we were able to help that dealer free up an entire day per week by making a 2% adjustment in his business. The solution was right in front of him, but he just couldn’t see it. He sent me an email not long after telling me about a vacation to Disney World he was able to take with his daughters because he could now take time off without everything in his business falling apart.
I’ve seen dealers go from near bankruptcy to opening their second store, grow their revenue by 50% to 300%, find the right employees and installers, etc., just by showing them solutions they couldn’t previously see. Most of the time, these solutions meant only changing 2% of what they were doing.
Whether you’re a successful dealer with multiple stores, or a mom n’ pop shop struggling to stay afloat, coaching can help you find that 2% solution you’re missing, and take your business to the next level.
To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”
Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
See what real, live dealers are saying!