The Pump Metaphor

A long time ago I spent some time in Real Estate. I got some sales training back then, where a metaphor of a manual garden water pump was used to describe the process of establishing yourself in the market.

I was thinking about that metaphor recently, and think it's a good one not only for salespeople, but for just about any human endeavor. It is certainly true in business. Unfortunately, anybody under 40 years old or has never spent time in the country might not know much about the pumps I'm talking about. Thus the picture.

When I jumped into opening my own business over 2 years ago, after getting my office set up and attending some training, I enthusiastically grabbed the pump handle and started pumping as hard as I could.

But nothing came out at first. "What am I doing wrong?", I wondered. I was working the pump so hard my shoulder was starting to hurt. I was told there is plenty of water in this well, so why can't I seem to get any?

I was out talking to people and business everywhere, using whatever marketing strategies I thought I could afford, joined networking groups, and spread around business cards. But it seemed that none of it was paying off. Everybody was nice, they seemed to appreciate my product and service offerings, but when it came time to decide whether to write the check and move forward, it usually came down to a polite "Not now".

Just as I was beginning to wonder if this endeavor was ever going to get off the ground, I began to get a trickle of water. I was considering giving up, and had actually begun to rest a bit, begin thinking about doing something that wasn't so difficult, and began to reduce my pumping intensity. But right about that time, suddenly a trickle appeared.

Some people began to trust me with small projects. The trickle wasn't getting me what I needed, but it gave me enough encouragement to renew my pumping efforts. After awhile the trickle increased to a stream, then almost before I realized it, a full flow of water. This was exciting and a big relief, because my reservoir was getting very low.

Pretty soon the water filled my containers to capacity. So I had to stop pumping for awhile to carry the water everywhere it needed to go. I worked hard and got the water I had pumped distributed and got high praise from those I served with the fresh water. It was a great feeling.

But then I finished. The water was all distributed and the pump was idle. I had to start over.

So I began pumping again. This time I found I was better at pumping, but it still took awhile before the water began flowing again. And because I was too busy taking care of the immediate needs from last time, I hadn't refilled my reservoir.

This continued through my second year in business. The cycle repeated itself: Pumping vigorously to get a good flow, filling my water capacity, leaving the pump to carry the water, then starting over at the pump. Each time I got better and the dry spells became shorter, but I realized this was a problem.

So here I am today with the dilemma probably most entrepreneurs face at some point. How can I keep the pump going and still get the water carried? The obvious answer is, I need help. I either need someone who's good at pumping to man the pump while I carry the water. Or I need someone who's a good reliable water carrier to carry the water while I keep the pump flowing.

The question is Who? How? When? What? Most importantly, Whether?

Got work to do. The water's overflowing.