Spam und Fun » o talk intelligently about the challenge

A Kinder Noah Fant Jersey , Gentler Definition of Marketing Marketing Articles | February 5, 2008
Conquer your marketing fears and learn how to attract new clients by enhancing your ability to communicate clearly and build relationships.


Recently my friend and colleague Kristen and I led a couple of introductory calls for Your Heart-Based Marketing, designed for coaches and other service professionals. We started out by asking a simple question: ?how do you react when you think about marketing??


Here are a few of the reactions we got:

?I get a tight sensation in my chest and a pit in my stomach.? ?I feel small and powerless.? ?I find something, anything else to do.? ?I feel like I?m going to throw up.? ?I feel a lack of integrity, like I?m pushing something on people that they don?t want or need.?

Any of these sound familiar?


That last person went on to say that she had mentors who were highly successful in their careers, that people flocked to them, and they seemed to get where they were effortlessly and with no marketing.


I assured her that they are marketing Phillip Lindsay Jersey , but because their marketing was invisible, they weren?t doing it in conventional ways. They may not have even thought of it as marketing but just, simply, being themselves.


Then a small miracle occurred on that call: a simple definition for marketing was born.


Communicating Clearly and Building Strong Relationships.


That?s it. No magic, no perfect elevator speech, no networking talent, no luck. No website required; especially no trying to get clients.


When I first started my life coaching business Joe Flacco Jersey , a colleague and I would go to networking events and we?d challenge each other to come away with five clients each. We never got one, because we were focused on getting clients, not on building relationships and communicating clearly.


Imagine a scenario where a man and a woman show up to a networking event with 100 others. One is a great salesperson ? he?s smooth and charming, says all the right things, and even believes deeply in what he?s peddling. He?s really going after getting new clients.


The other focuses only on establishing relationships with new people, deepening existing relationships, and communicating her message clearly with everyone.


In terms of attracting the attention and interest of potential clients Von Miller Jersey , I?ll put my money on the latter every time.


Not only is this a more effective approach, it?s easier, because it only requires you to be yourself and be with people in a way that?s aligned with who you really are.


The bottom line here is an emphasis on attracting clients, rather than going out and getting them. Building relationships and clear communication attract people naturally. Pitching, selling, getting, working John Elway Jersey , and generally trying to get people to do what you want repulses them. By the way, this is true in every context, not just building your business.


Of course, building relationships and clear communication aren?t all that simple; there are some things you can do to enhance your abilities. Here are a few tips to consider for each:


Clear Communication


I say ?clear,? because most of the time, marketing messages confuse or bore people. Here are some things to think about that will help you lead your marketing conversations in a way that will clarify and excite your prospects.


1. Know who your ideal clients are. This may seem obvious, but if I asked you right now Denver Broncos Jersey , ?what are all the demographics (age, gender, career range, economic status) of your target market?? could you rattle them off?


Harder still, could you come up with the psychographics? If you?re a financial planner, how important is risk-aversion in your clients? If you?re a life coach, do you want your clients to have an affinity for creativity & open-mindedness? These are the internal qualities that define the clients you want to work with.


If you?re clear with people on this Akiem Hicks Jersey , it makes it easy for them to self-select, saying to themselves, ?yes, that?s me,? or ?that?s not me,? andor, ?I know someone like that.?


2. Be able to talk intelligently about the challenges of your target market; nothing builds trust and credibility faster. If they know you understand what?s difficult about their situation Trey Burton Jersey , they?ll also see you as the person who can help them.


3. Know the value you provide. Again, this one may be obvious, but too many service providers are clear about what they do (their processes and procedures), but not about the benefits their clients receive from working with them.


Why is this important? Because prospects don?t care about your process. They care about what you can do for them. If you can?t tell them what outcome they can expect working with you in about the first minute, you?ll lose their attention and interest. Point to the outcome they want, and you retain them.