Are you itching for a change through better networking?

Last weekend I was giving my golden retriever Max a bath, and it hit me: I am going to save over $11,000 washing this dog!  If you’re an engineer, you know that epiphanies that involve numbers can come to you at strange times.  Amazingly this one came to me as I was reaching for some doggie shampoo, and saw an old bottle.  This was the special shampoo (that means expensive) that we used for over 14 years, with Moka, our old chocolate lab.  Moka had “skin allergies” which means if we didn’t wash her weekly with this creosote scented shampoo (you even had to wear gloves to apply it), the poor dog’s skin would soon be red, itchy, and become infected.  Nothing that a $200 visit to the vet for antibiotics couldn’t fix.  So we decided to do the weekly baths rather than visit the vet, and problem solved for 14 years (by the way for those of you counting, that adds up to about 700 baths).  Moka had a pretty coat, and no itchy hot spots!  But oh the time spent!

Sadly Moka passed away after 14 years, and after a few years of mourning, a new puppy came into our lives – Max the golden retriever.  But guess what? He also had “skin allergies”, and even more severe than Moka’s.   As my kids would say, “OMG”!   I considered 14 years of weekly baths and decided – I’m going to finally seek some professional help – but first let’s try the veterinarian.  My goal was to have a dog that didn’t have to suffer with skin allergies, and that I wouldn’t have to bath in shampoo au creosote weekly!   This is where the $11,000 savings comes in.  This is how much I knew I could save, in my own labor, by not washing this dog weekly and that doesn’t include the cost of a certain shampoo that has a smell reminiscent of rail road ties.  I was truly inspired to find a new solution!

The vet suggested we try changing Max’s food, because it is common for golden retrievers to have food allergies that lead to skin troubles.  Simply changing his diet sounded like a solution too good to be true, but what did I have to lose?  Could it possibly work?  To cut to the chase, we found out that Max’s ideal doggy fuel is natural lamb & rice, and a perfect coat and skin ensued!  I was elated!  Incredible news!  Max even smiled (well maybe that was my imagination)!

But as I reached for that shampoo last weekend, it hit me.  What are the odds that Moka had a food allergy too?  They both had exactly the same symptoms.  But at that time, I had found a solution that worked, and even though it cost me all of that time and money, I kept doing the same thing, because it was better than visiting the vet monthly and our dog suffering.

How about you?  Is there something that you are doing in your life or business that works, but is a less effective solution?   In future blogs of Networking Advantage, I plan to share with you a journey of being more effective, through better networking.   Have you ever thought about how cold calls can be just like using a hand saw to pound nails (or washing a dog 700 times to stop itching)?  It works, but is there a more effective, less time consuming way to achieve those sales and bring new relationships into our lives?  Looking forward to creating a dialogue with you, where we will explore ways we can save time by throwing out the doggie bath water (e.g. cold calling), but keeping the dog (developing our business by referral)!

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