“Hesitation is the enemy. It allows the moment to pass, the opportunity to be lost, the enemy to get the upper hand.”

This quote from retired Navy SEAL Joko Willink is direct, intense and true. Not only true for those in life and death situations like our Armed Forces, Police and Firefighters but true for anyone who wants to succeed.

For years I’ve appealed to business owners in Facebook groups, networking events and Chambers of Commerce that video is only going to get bigger and more necessary to BE SEEN AND HEARD and the response has ranged from crickets to, “Oh yeah, we’re thinking about video soon. We’ll get back to you.”

They never did.

I feel like Dr. Bennell at the end of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” running through the streets frantically warning that the aliens had already started taking over people’s bodies and they’re next!

My version would be, “Listen to me!  Google ANY statistics on video’s impact on business growth.  If you ignore it, your competition will overtake you and put you out of business!  Don’t you see?  You can’t wait anymore! The future is now!”

Yes, it takes time, money  and effort to create a video that will set you apart and connect you to your buyers.  Like Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nothing worth having was ever achieved without effort”  When you hesitate, when you put off taking that first step, when you say “someday” you’ll get around to promoting your business with video, the opportunity will be lost and your competitor will get the upper hand.

Instead of spouting out a bunch of statistics or filling the page with infographics, I’ll use a real life example of the consequences of hesitating.  I will not reveal the person’s name or the product due to legal reasons.

A few years ago I met with a potential client who made a useful bathroom product and was doing very well with sales because there was nothing like it on the market at the time.  He was even in negotiations for licensing sports team logos on them.  The video he had was a simple animation and he wanted to up his game.  He was set on his idea to copy a friend whose YouTube video had kids dressed up as toothpaste and a toothbrush and according to him, it had many views.

My professional judgement and my gut told me that this was not a good idea.  I was respectful and kindly advised that copying will not guarantee the same results and pitched an alternate idea of focusing on the health aspects of his product and have an authority endorse it, which would appeal to parents.

I never heard from him again.  He didn’t make a new video, never got the licensing deal and now, there’s over a dozen companies who make the same product and he had to cut his price in half to compete. I just did a Google search on his product and his is the last listing on Page Six.

Would my idea have changed this outcome?  Maybe, maybe not.  But not being flexible, hesitating, and ultimately doing nothing, definitely affected his bottom line.

Chris Brogan captured the challenge perfectly when he wrote, “Think about how hard it’s been to reach the people you know you can help. It gets harder all the time. We’re a nation of skimmers and scanners and swipers.”

Do you want to be skimmed over or swiped away?  If you keep hesitating, you can guarantee it.