Do you ever feel like your business is just stuck? Like you're doing everything you used to do such as prospecting, client meetings, follow-ups but the results just aren’t there?

If so, you might be in what author Seth Godin calls “The Dip”. It’s that frustrating phase after the excitement of starting something new wears off and before you see any big wins.
In his book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), Godin states, “Everything in Life is controlled by The Dip”.

In other words, if you are focusing on doing what you need to do to get the results that you want, but you aren’t getting the desired results, it’s what you decide to do in the midst of setbacks that make all the difference.

Let’s walk through five powerful steps to help you get out of The Dip and back into momentum!

Step #1: Acknowledge That You Are in The Dip

The first step is awareness. Too often, advisors hit a slump and assume they’re failing. Although in reality, sometimes it’s just a temporary setback and it’s time to pivot in your process. Or, they start out with high hopes only to feel discourage when they don’t get immediate results, which could just mean that it will take more time.

The Dip is the moment when momentum slows. Maybe it’s fewer leads, a lack of energy or that nagging thought that says, “Why isn’t this working anymore?” When this happens just know that The Dip isn’t a dead end, rather it’s a checkpoint.

Step #2: Ask the Right Questions

Once you’ve spotted The Dip, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this worth pushing through?

• Is there something greater on the other side?

• Am I doing this because it’s working or because I started it and feel obligated to keep going?

These questions help you separate emotional reactions from strategic decisions. The goal isn’t to have to keep doing the activity, but to understand if the activity will have a long-term effect on your success and what needs to be improved upon in order to get better results. That way you don’t just quit when things aren’t going well but you learn from your mistakes and improve upon your process.

Step #3: Double Down on What Works

Now’s the time to focus not flail. Most advisors go into a fight or flight mode when things aren’t going well. But you don’t want just freeze up. And, you don’t want to just work harder, you want to work smarter!

Stick to what drives results: prospect, follow up, book appointments, and move prospects into and through the sales pipeline. You can do all of this by working smarter simply by: sharpening your scripts, mastering objections, and modeling what’s already working for other advisors. Don’t try and reinvent the wheel but understand what works and why…then do it!

When my clients take action, they start to feel in control again and momentum returns.

Step #4: Quit What’s Not Working

Yes, it’s okay to quit sometimes. In fact, quitting is an option, but only for specific things that aren’t contributing positively, like overcommitting, procrastinating, not delegating, micromanaging or having weak business boundaries.

Every moment you spend on something that doesn’t help your business grow is time stolen from something that could. That’s why it is so important to take an honest look at what needs to go. Sometimes you need to quit the way you are doing something, not the thing itself.

Step #5: Reframe The Dip as an Advantage

Many people quit while in The Dip. That’s why you should see that as a competitive edge. If you keep going strategically while others easily give up, you can rise to a new level of success. One example of this is a client that shifted from an Advisor-Centered Referral Monologue to a Client-Centered Referral Dialogue and got 27 referrals in a month!

Use The Dip as a training ground to refine your process and sharpen your skill sets. The Dip isn’t the end but rather it’s just the middle and how you handle that middle stage determines how strong your ending will be.

Why The Dip Can Work

 The reason why The Dip works is because it’s a stepwise approach for identifying what’s not working, what course of action you could take and then taking it. In The Advisor Solutions Podcast Episode #140 The Difference is in The Dip, you will find a much more detailed account of advisors that have applied each step and how they found continued success! 

So, the next time you feel stuck, pause and ask yourself: Am I quitting what’s hurting me or what’s helping me? It’s important to remember that the difference between being average and being extraordinary is in how you handle The Dip.