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Stirring the Pot When You're the Pot

Lauron Sonnier — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Sometimes the most difficult target audience or "pot" I have to deal with is the client himself.

He will say that he wants to make things happen in his business, but when it really comes down to it, he doesn't want to stir things up. He's nervous, uncomfortable, uncertain, overwhelmed, paralyzed, stuck in the past, and afflicted with many other ailments that hold him back, along with his marketing and business success. Oh, he'll have good reasons to derail a marketing effort, but they won't be the right ones. Remember, as humans, our tendency is to make decisions based on emotions and then use facts to justify them. So, in the end, I'll hear about budgets or time schedules or changes in the marketplace or something else that makes him sound smart. But I'll know. Because I've seen it a hundred times. Because I'm a business owner myself with the same worries and concerns and uncertainties. But I know that nothing ventured is nothing gained. I know that I can't attract customers with something sitting on my desk.

So, let's stir the pot--starting with you! If today you find yourself in a similar situation (and you don't have to admit it out loud to anybody but yourself), then work through the 5 Stir Points to market the concept of marketing to yourself!

1. Stir Awareness
Remind yourself that marketing can help you be successful. Put it on paper. "Marketing can help me be wildly successful faster." Write it every day, several times a day. Develop any other affirmations you need to help you work through your marketing barriers.
"Marketing will help me achieve my business and life goals."
"I am a smart, confident marketer."

2. Stir Emotion
Take a few minutes to feel how great it will be when you achieve your marketing goals. Envision the spreadsheet with your monthly sales. See the number you want to see on the bottom line. Think about how great it will be to celebrate the success, money, comfort, confidence, and overall excitement of your business doing even better. On the flip side, think about the concerns, sacrifices, and worries that come from not marketing your business. Which emotion do you want?

3. Stir Mindfulness
"Marketing must be constant in thought and constant in action." Do whatever it takes to keep marketing at the top of your mind. Post marketing reminders and motivations around your workspace and workplace. (See my Marketing Motivations pack.) Follow my 12 steps to Maintaining a Marketing Mindset Throughout Your Company so marketing is always a hot topic. Start every day asking, "What do I need to do to stir the pot in my business today?" Finish every day with "What did I do today and what do I need to do tomorrow?"

4. Stir Conviction
Just as you must constantly tell your customers "what's in it for them" and "what you've done for them lately," you may need a little reminding yourself. Make a list of the reasons why marketing serves you (earn new customers, grow sales with current customers, realize a dream, keep your job, have opportunity for bonuses, grow and do new things, etc.). Talk regularly about what marketing has done for you lately. Acknowledge all successes large and small--a compliment from a customer, a great new account, a special project or alliance, media attention, record sales, survival through rough times, everything. Keep reminding yourself why you must hold firm in your faith and purpose in keeping marketing in motion.

5. Stir Word-of-Mouth
As with customers, when you've passed through the previous four stages, you've built up excitement and conviction of marketing as a key player in your success. The more excited and committed you are, the more others will share in your enthusiasm be they employees, co-workers, vendors, peers, associates, or anyone else. People will want to help you. They will make referrals for you. They will introduce you to people you need to know. The viral effect will take off. Success will come faster and more easily, and you'll reap the benefits of all that hard work along the way.

The cycle of smart marketing works for all targets--even yourself. Do whatever it takes to stir the pot in your business, even if that means starting with you first.

Check out Lauron describing her Stir the Pot method on Life, Business, and Money with Steven Kay (Houston 650AM) or click here to read the Steven Kay Newsletter featuring Lauron.

10-Nov-08 10:00 AM

The Good, Bad, and Indifferent Index

Lauron Sonnier — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Lauron explains how to reveal missed marketing opportunities in your business by asking the question, "Does this make a good, bad, or indifferent impression?"

Click here to listen!

10-Nov-08 10:00 AM

The 4 Questions You Must Answer Before Every Customer Communication

Lauron Sonnier — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

What do you need to share with the customer in every interaction you have?

Lauron tells you the 4 key questions you must answer to get you thinking like a marketer in every communication. Click here to listen!

10-Nov-08 9:00 AM

Sales Versus Marketing

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:00:00 GMT

Unfortunately, many companies do not embrace the idea of marketing as they do the theory of "selling."

"Sales makes money. Marketing spends money." That's on old perception...one that is dangerous for today's competitive marketplace. Companies that sell on the merits of their salespeople alone are in for rough times and will never realize the sales strength and potential of the company that understands that marketing is crucial to its success.

Marketing sells the company as a whole. "Sales" sells the salesperson. How many companies fight to keep key clients when salespeople leave? That's because they've sold the salesperson, not the company and its products and services. Marketing builds a relationship built on the credentials and performance of the company. It builds a a relationship that is not threatened by the loss of a salesperson.

To market your company effectively, you must be willing to commit time and patience. Because marketing does not consistently produce instant gratification, it is sometimes viewed ineffective and a waste of resources after only a short time. But when we consider the cost of a marketing campaign that can reach 5,000 or 100,000 prospects in a matter of days or an instant and compare that to the cost and time it would take for a salesperson to personally visit the same people, it's easy to see the benefits of marketing. Sales is an expense, too, like anything else. In fact, some studies report that the average sales call costs the company over $200 each visit!

Successful companies incorporate both marketing and traditional sales in their overall campaign to promote the products and services of the company. Fortunate are the salespeople who have a campaign working in concert with their efforts so when a new prospect is approached he/she is familiar with the company. Fortunate is the marketing director who has salespeople enforcing their marketing message.

So the first step in devising your annual business plan is to re-think your ideas--your paradigms--about marketing and consider how they can impact your sales goals for the year.

Consider these questions in particular: Why do customers buy our products/services? How and how often do our customers hear from us? Are we getting as much new business as we would like? Could we sell more to existing customers?

Click below to listen to Lauron's podcast on Sales versus Marketing:

Part One

Part Two

If you would like to see improvement in any of these areas, give us a call. We can help you coordinate an entire plan or just a project.

26-Nov-07 10:00 AM