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Getting Excited About MarketingCopyright © 2007-2009 Robert MiddletonAre you excited about marketing your business? I've learned over the years, working with thousands of Independent Professionals, that the word EXCITING is about the last one most would use to describe marketing their business. The words avoidance, ambivalence, confusion, reluctance and struggle are much more common! It doesn't have to be that way. You can get excited about marketing. You can actually be enthusiastic about it. And when you do, you'll also tend to get better marketing results. I wouldn't say there was a real step-by-step system for increasing your excitement about marketing, but there are several strategies that most definitely work. Here are the ones I've discovered: 1. Create a Marketing Vision When someone comes to me uninspired about their marketing and their business, the first thing I do is help them discover their vision, purpose and passion. I give them a simple exercise: Imagine it's five years from now and you are successful and happy in your business. In fact, as successful and as happy as you can possibly imagine. Then imagine you are being interviewed by the top magazine in your field. In your interview, tell about how you got to where you are and describe how things are now in vivid detail. Actually try it. I've seen amazing results using this. 2. Get Clear on Your Values If we are living and running our business in alignment with our values, we are naturally fulfilled and excited. But we get sidetracked and forget these values. Write down a list (ten or so) values that are important to you and then create a statement of how you intend to live by these values. Such as: One of my values is creativity. I use my business as an expression of my creativity to bring joy and contribution to all the people I work with. Do this with all your values and you'll find yourself flying high. 3. Set Specific Goals Now that you are clear on your vision and values, focus on some specific goals you want to accomplish in the next year or so. Make your goals big and challenging (but not impossible). And be very, very specific about what you want. I.e., Ten new corporate clients this year who bring in $500K of revenue. Don't be vague and not-commital by saying, "I'd like to make a lot of money this year." Yeah, that will really excite you! (NOT) 4. Learn The Game of Marketing Marketing is a game, as I've said a zillion times in this eZine. A game has a structure, rules, a language, strategies and tactics or moves. We tend to enjoy what we understand. The deeper we get into something, the more fun it is. And when we play the game well it's exciting, even exhilarating. The relatively small amount of time you take to learn the basic game of marketing, the sooner you'll understand what it takes to play it successfully and win. 5. Shift Your Marketing Mindset Your current mindset about marketing influences your marketing actions and results. A mindset is simply the collection of thoughts you have about marketing that you identify with. "I don't have time to market," "Marketing leads to rejection," "I'm not the marketing type," and "Marketing doesn't work," are not the truth, they are simply your thoughts. The first step in shifting your mindset is telling the truth about these thoughts. Can you absolutely know they are true? What is it costing you to hold onto those thoughts? How would you feel about marketing if you couldn't have those thoughts? You might actually discover some excitement buried under those thoughts. Take a close look. 6. Have A Bias for Action Ever have a good marketing idea and then immediately think of all the reasons it wouldn't work? And then you do nothing. I urge you listen to your inspirations. If an idea comes up for an article, start writing it. If you can imagine yourself giving a talk, start putting it together. When you feel the urge to tell a past client about a new service, pick up the phone. Take that energy you use to talk yourself out of doing something into actually taking a positive step towards getting it done. 7. See Failure as Feedback Not all your marketing inspirations and ideas will bear fruit. Some things will work and some won't. But that doesn't say anything about you. It's our tendency to interpret a "failure" as something bad. How can it be bad? It taught you something that didn't work, so you are one step closer to success. It's actually a gift. One of my favorite sayings is "Fail Fast!" Do a whole lot of stuff as quickly as possible and learn what works and what doesn't. And guess what? That's exciting! About The Author:
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