A few years ago a friend of mine put me onto a book titled The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olsen. It's a brilliant book, and if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you grab yourself a copy.
My biggest takeaway after reading The Slight Edge was if you're prepared to create a daily habit of doing more than everyone else in your competitive market, you will triumph over them day-in-day-out. There's no question about it.
But What Does Doing More Really Mean?
Doing more doesn't mean you have to work twice as many hours as your competitors, sacrifice time with your family, or give up your social life and popular television programs, it simply means you only need to do slightly more than everyone else.
And to be perfectly honest, some of our competitors have set the bar pretty low, so doing more is not too difficult; however, this lack of competition can sometimes be a detriment to your motivational behaviour.
You Need Competiton
Having competition is good for you and your business because it pushes to you further than you would usually push yourself, however, if you live in an area with little or no competition, it can be challenging to keep yourself motivated, especially if you're already killing it and dominating the market.
There's a big difference between knowing what you need to do and doing it. Having a Mentor or Coach can be very helpful because they will help motivate you and make you accountable for your actions, which is what you need if you want to take your business to the next level.
So What Are Slight Edge Activities?
Think of Slight Edge activities as things you probably already do, but could do better, more efficiently, or more often. Slight Edge activities are things you know you 'should do' but don't.
For example:
- Picking up the telephone and scheduling an appointment to see more professional referrers. When was the last time you did this? For some Podiatrists, seeing one professional referrer would be a 100% improvement.
- Dropping in and introducing yourself to local businesses in the area. One visit four years ago is not quite often enough. Footwear, clothing and other retail outlets are perfect because you can quickly see if they are busy. You never want to interrupt.
- Do additional re-activation campaigns with your existing patients. Or maybe, start your first re-activation campaign if you've never done one before.
- Follow up patients that were going to ''check with their partner' about their finances, before committing to further treatment (orthotics). Sometimes patients lie, but it may also be the truth, and they do need to check their finances, however, having a Team Member following them up with a phone call is not a difficult task.
- Add regular content on Social Media and your website. Web-Based Marketing is something you need to understand and enjoy. You also need to have an online strategy.
- Attend continuing education events that will make you a better business person. Yes, I am biased; my EVENTS are fantastic.
The list of examples above is quite short, but this is how you've got to start thinking if you want to create a Slight Edge advantage over your competitors, and all it takes is for you to think about what you're already doing, and begin building upon it on a regular, consistent basis, using A Slight Edge approach.
If you have any questions about this blog or want to know more about my one-on-one coaching and mentoring services, please send me an email at
WORKSHOP - Biomechanics & Business: Profit From A Better Understanding. Gold Coast 7-8 June BOOK NOW
Every successful podiatrist has an excellent foundation in biomechanics, it's that simple, and this two-day workshop is going to be jam-packed with useful biomechanical information you can apply immediately in your business and with your patients.
In addition to having excellent biomechanical skills, it's equally important to know how to market these skills. You can have the most advanced biomechanical equipment and have acquired biomechanical skills far beyond any of your competitors, but without a well thought out marketing strategy, it will, unfortunately, go unnoticed.
This is why we're bringing Biomechanics and Business together in one 2-Day Workshop.
