RISMEDIA, December 18, 2009—As a Master Business Coach, I often hear from my clients the following story: “I feel stuck in my business. I really love to help people, I am excellent in negotiations and contracts, but I really hate prospecting. I just can’t seem to bring myself to pick up the phone.”
How often have you had those feelings, or have known of someone else who does? The thought of marketing makes most people clench their teeth, tighten their stomach and engage in marketing avoidance behavior that sends their business down the drain.
My clients tell me: “If only I could learn to market myself, I would love my business. I would be making a fortune.”
If you have these feelings, you’re not alone. There are specific reasons, including the following, why people avoid marketing:
1. “I don’t want to bother people.” How many times have you said it yourself before you picked up the phone? The fear of bothering people is huge. In the same breath, most business people tell me that, “I hate it when a telemarketer calls me at home and I don’t want to do the same thing to other people.”
2. “I don’t like tooting my own horn.” So many of us have been taught, especially women, that it’s not good to promote yourself. This is especially difficult for women who have come from a background other than sales before they started their own business. Often times they were employed in a company and marketing was never a part of their job.
3. “I don’t want to be rejected.” Some people are so terrified of being rejected or disapproved of, that they will even avoid calling their former clients. I have written previously in other articles about the phenomena of having a sphere of influence, which is your “goldmine,” but being afraid to “mine it.”
Fortunately, there are solutions for creating a successful marketing plan. Here are 5 easy ways to transform “marketing” into a pleasurable and profitable experience.
1. Think of giving- Whenever you think of marketing yourself, think about the fact that you are actually “offering” a valuable service. We get back what we give out. If you think of giving out a valuable service, and you focus on what you have to give, you will radiate a powerful force of positive energy which you will attract back to yourself in terms of clients and sales. The “secret” is to focus on being “the giver.”
2. Know your unique selling points- Most of the time when I coach my entrepreneur clients, they hugely underestimate what makes them unique. When I ask them, “Why should I work with you instead of someone else?” They honestly don’t know. Here’s the “secret”: make a list of the compliments you have received from former clients. Did they tell you that you were friendly, easy to get along with, very knowledgeable, extremely dependable, or great with follow-up?
As you make the list and think about it, you will start to become aware that what you have to offer as a business person is yourself.
You are unique. There is no one else like you. The more you like yourself and approve of yourself, the more you will radiate out a positive energy of self-love, gratitude, and appreciation. These energies are the highest energies that you could send out. They are guaranteed to magnetize back to you the ideal clients that you want.
3. Clear away your self limiting beliefs. It is usually our self limiting beliefs that keep us from “tooting our own horn.” Most of us were taught to downplay ourselves, not to brag, and to “play it small.” In fact, I coached a woman recently whose survival strategy when she was growing up was to pretend to be “invisible.” This is very common when I’m coaching female entrepreneurs. I find that there is some self limiting belief that keeps them “out of the limelight.”
Here’s the “secret”: a survival strategy that may have helped you when you were growing up can now be a hindrance to your survival. In fact, when you think about it, there is nothing more risky to your business then trying to be invisible.
The truth is that people need to know who you are, and where to reach you. You need to become very visible. Practice giving yourself positive self talk such as, “it is now safe for me to be visible” and “My survival now depends on me being seen and known.”
4. Create a mindset of positive expectations. Instead of fearing that people are not going to like hearing from you, create the mindset that they are going to love to hear from you. You can back that up with being sure that you always have something to offer on every call.
For example, you could be putting on a seminar and be excited to tell your sphere of influence about it. If you’re talking to a former client, you can offer to be a referral source for them when they need a service. If you’re calling someone out of the blue, you can offer to provide them with a free service or second opinion on a competitor’s proposal.
Here’s the “secret”: always lead with what you have to offer. Send out a vibration of excitement and enthusiasm. This will ensure that people want to hear from you. If you give out help, suggestions, ideas, and services that people need, that energy will be returned to you in the form you have intended.
5. Realize that you’re marketing yourself at every moment. Remember, you’re not just marketing yourself when you pick up the phone. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you are marketing yourself. Create a sizzling answer to the question, “what do you do?” Instead of saying the usual answer, “my name is _________, and I am a real estate agent with ______, say something different.
Try this: the next time somebody says, “So what do you do?” answer by saying, “you know how nervous and stressed out people get when they are buying or selling a home?” The other person will obviously say “yes.” Then you say, “Well, I handle all the details and put my clients at ease so they can enjoy the process of buying or selling a home. I’m a real estate agent with _______________.
Here’s the “secret”: answer their question with a question, to get them involved. Once they are involved, paint the picture of how you help people. Add as many details as you like. Only mention your business at the very end. Believe me, I have coached many of my clients in doing this and all I can say is, “you better have a lot of business cards on hand,” because with that response, people are going to ask for your card.
Marketing can be enjoyable and pleasurable. Remember to present yourself as “a giver,” with unique selling points, and always something to offer. After being a psychologist for 20 years and coaching entrepreneurs for 12+ years, I can assure you that the more you learn to enjoy the marketing experience, the better you will feel about yourself and the more prosperity you will attract.
Remember the famous principle of the Law of Attraction: you get what you focus on. If you want a welcoming voice on the other end of the phone, start imagining what that would sound like, and look forward to making your calls.
Dr. Maya Bailey, author of Law of Attraction for Real Estate Professionals, integrates 20 years of experience as a psychologist and 12 years as a business coach with her expertise in the Law of Attraction. Get Bailey’s free report, 7 Simple Strategies For More Clients in 90 Days, by visiting www.90DaystoMoreClients.com.
