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10 Ways to Get Your Marketing Unstuck
by C.J. Hayden, MCC
Author/Master Certified Coach
Get Clients Now
Have you ever found yourself knowing exactly what you need to do about
marketing your business... and then not doing it? You are not alone. Many
self-employed professionals find that the hardest part of marketing isn't
figuring out what to do. What's hard is actually doing it.
Marketing yourself can be a confronting process. Making phone calls to
strangers, writing marketing letters, and talking about yourself and your
accomplishments can bring up fear of rejection, harsh commentary from your
inner critic, feelings of incompetence, and the discomfort of performing
unfamiliar activities. If you let them, these inner saboteurs can stop you
dead in your tracks.
The good news is that you don't have to completely eliminate these internal
roadblocks in order to move forward in marketing. It is possible to feel
afraid or uncomfortable and still take useful action despite the presence of
these feelings. Here are ten ways to quickly break through internal barriers
and get your marketing unstuck.
1. Recreate your vision. When you're feeling blocked from moving forward,
remember why you wanted to go there in the first place. What was your
original vision of the business you are trying to build? Who will your work
benefit? What fulfillment or satisfaction will it provide you? Write down
your vision of a successful business, or if you've written it down before,
pull it out and re-read it. Allow your own words to re-inspire you to do the
necessary hard work.
2. Design a reward. Sometimes your vision may seem a bit too far off, and
you need some more immediate gratification. Choosing to reward yourself for
a job well done can provide you with a positive near-term benefit for effort
that might not pay off for a while. Promise yourself simple rewards for
completing difficult marketing chores like making follow-up calls or writing
web site copy.
The prospect of a special dinner, a movie with your significant other, or a
new gadget for your favorite hobby can help you to push past the blocks and
get things done. Rewards don't even have to cost money. Sometimes the
promise of a bubble bath, walk in the park, or an hour reading a good book
is all the incentive you need to take on a tough marketing challenge.
3. Tame the inner critic. Often when you're feeling stuck, what's going on
in your head is a conversation with your inner critic, who seems to have a
lot to say about sales and marketing. It's difficult to work on promoting
yourself when you are hearing a constant stream of comments like: "You're
not good enough," "They won't like you," or "Who do you think you are?"
It can help to remember that the inner critic often says things that simply
aren't true. One way to counter this negative dialogue is to respond with
the objective truth. For example: "Clients tell me I'm good at what I do,"
"Many people say they like me quite a bit," or "I'm a competent
professional, thank you very much." When you answer confidently with
statements of fact, messages from the inner critic often begin to lose their
power.
4. Face your fear. One of the most common obstacles to being successful at
marketing is fear. Marketing activities may evoke fears of rejection,
disapproval, embarrassment, and a host of other catastrophes. Instead of
pretending the fear isn't there, or attempting to ignore it, you may find it
more effective to confront the fear directly.
Try to identify exactly what you are afraid of. What do you fear will happen
if you make that call or go to that meeting? If you can identify the
specific fear that is blocking you, it may be possible to soothe it by
providing reassuring information or positive experience. For example, fear
of rejection can often be lessened by setting up practice selling sessions
where a role-playing partner responds with "yes" to every suggestion you
make.
5. Get a pep talk. When you become discouraged, don't be afraid to ask for
outside help to cheer up and start feeling positive again. Ask a friend,
colleague, networking group member, or your coach to give you some words of
encouragement. Sometimes all you need to hear is: "It was tough for me in
the beginning too... Eventually my efforts paid off... You're doing all the
right things... I know you can do it!"
6. Complain and clear. Feeling frustrated and negative can sometimes
immobilize you. One method of clearing negative thoughts is to voice what
you are experiencing to a caring person. Spend a full five minutes
complaining about everything that's going wrong with your marketing, making
sure to say exactly how it makes you feel. Then ask your listener to reflect
your feelings back to you. Knowing that someone else hears and understands
you may be all you need to let go of a negative attitude and get back to
work.
7. Read your fan mail. In the regular course of serving your clients, you've
probably received thank-you notes, grateful voice mail messages, and other
evidence that you're doing a good job. Make a habit of saving these in a
"fan mail" folder, and when you are feeling low, revisit all the nice things
people have said about you. Remembering what a good job you do when you are
working can encourage you to do the necessary marketing to get more work.
8. Quit; then start fresh. There may be days when you feel discouraged
enough to just throw in the towel. Maybe you should do it. The act of
quitting can be very cathartic. Proclaim: "I quit!" Perhaps even write
yourself a resignation letter. Then take off the rest of the day, and don't
even think about work. It's a good bet that after you have a chance to blow
off some steam, you'll be ready to come back the following day re-energized.
9. Change the scene. Marketing can feel difficult and lonely when you're
always slaving away by yourself in your home office. Try carrying out some
of your challenging marketing tasks from a different location or with some
company. Make cold calls from the patio, write a marketing letter in a busy
coffee shop, or take turns with a colleague helping each other set up a good
contact management system. Seeing a different view or enjoying companionship
while you work may help you to complete tasks you have been avoiding.
10. Act as if. Whenever you feel incompetent about some area of marketing,
you may be able to tackle those activities anyway if you simply try to act
as if you were competent. Try playing the role of someone you admire. For
example, what if you were Lauren Bacall? How would she make a follow-up
call? Or how about if you were Martin Luther King? How would he introduce
himself in front of a group? A short time pretending to be someone you think
of as confident and capable can make those qualities rub off on you.
The next time your marketing feels stuck, try one of these methods to help
you get back into action quickly. Marketing tasks are really only as hard as
you think they are, so if you can find an easy way out, why not take it?
2005 © C.J. Hayden, MCC. All rights reserved.
C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients NOW! Thousands of business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income.
Get a free copy of "Five Secrets to Finding All the Clients You'll Ever Need" at http://www.getclientsnow.com.
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