Successful Marketing Requires Perseverance
Successful Marketing Requires Perseverance
Armed with a well thought out business plan BJ developed a list of 2000 businesses that were in his target market. His plan was to call all 2000 over a period of 6 months. He knew that meant calling 20 businesses every day and talking to the owner/president for the purpose of making an appointment to see the potential customer. He wrote a script and began the calling. Five days into his calling campaign he was frustrated. The work wasn’t fun. The response was poor. Worst of all BJ found it difficult to motivate himself to make the calls so it took him all day to make 20 calls! He worried that if he made a sale he wouldn’t have the time to do the website!!
Like most new business owners BJ wanted to do the work that he loved-web design. Somehow he thought that when customers heard about his business they would be eager to hear more so they would immediately set up an appointment. The result of his calls told him a different story.
After 5 days of cold calling BJ said he felt frustrated and disappointed. He was beginning to doubt himself and his idea. At the same time he was angry with himself for not completing what he had set out to do. His self-doubt and frustration were probably coming through on his calls.
At first he thought he might just give up the whole idea. During a coaching session I asked him what cold calling might be like if he continued calling with no expectation of a particular outcome. Could he do it perhaps as though it were a great experiment? The result would be just a data point in a notebook. What would be different?
In his book the Art of Possibility Ben Zander, author, teacher and orchestra conductor, suggests that both the teacher and student work together on a goal. When the student fails to hit the mark, both teacher and student say, “ 'How fascinating!' The instructor does not personally identify with the standard; nor does the student identify personally with the results of the game.”
BJ thought it would help to take away the pressure he was putting on himself and agreed to do it. If BJ continues the calls, tracking the results and making changes based on those results, he might eventually find a script or dialogue that produces more appointments. If not he will move on to something else. For now as Thomas Alva Edison said, “Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.” If BJ sticks with this long enough he’ll find out what does work!
Often it takes great persistence, stamina, and perseverance to keep at something even though the result is less than you had hoped for. Here is where a good clear vision of your business is really necessary. That vision needs to be so exciting that it keeps you moving through the rough places toward your own energizing picture of what will be.
Take Action
Use a notebook to begin to track the number of clients you get (or job interviews you get) from each of your marketing efforts. What’s working? What’s not?
Select one of your marketing methods that isn't working well. Look at the results and decide if it is worth your effort? If it is not bringing you the opportunities you wanted make a change in the way you are marketing. After an appropriate time record the results. Check again to see if the effort is worth the work? Make a decision to continue, change or end the effort based on the result.
Write a description (Create a collage, draw a diagram) of your business (job) that captures your vision. How do you feel when your business is working exactly as you planned it too? Write this down too. Can you see yourself in the business? What are you doing every day? What visual image captures your success? Use that image as a short hand connection to your vision. A vision gives you the energy to go on when things are less than perfect.
Read the Book The Art Of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.
Successful Marketing Requires Perseverance - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
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My client, BJ, (not client’s name or initials) had a small website design business that he had started 3 years ago and worked at part time. He also worked for a large company in their IT department. In September of 2002 he was laid off. Looking at the job market in his area he knew it would take him many months to find another job. He thought that this was the right time to focus his energy on his website design business.
Armed with a well thought out business plan BJ developed a list of 2000 businesses that were in his target market. His plan was to call all 2000 over a period of 6 months. He knew that meant calling 20 businesses every day and talking to the owner/president for the purpose of making an appointment to see the potential customer. He wrote a script and began the calling. Five days into his calling campaign he was frustrated. The work wasn’t fun. The response was poor. Worst of all BJ found it difficult to motivate himself to make the calls so it took him all day to make 20 calls! He worried that if he made a sale he wouldn’t have the time to do the website!!
Like most new business owners BJ wanted to do the work that he loved-web design. Somehow he thought that when customers heard about his business they would be eager to hear more so they would immediately set up an appointment. The result of his calls told him a different story.
After 5 days of cold calling BJ said he felt frustrated and disappointed. He was beginning to doubt himself and his idea. At the same time he was angry with himself for not completing what he had set out to do. His self-doubt and frustration were probably coming through on his calls.
At first he thought he might just give up the whole idea. During a coaching session I asked him what cold calling might be like if he continued calling with no expectation of a particular outcome. Could he do it perhaps as though it were a great experiment? The result would be just a data point in a notebook. What would be different?
In his book the Art of Possibility Ben Zander, author, teacher and orchestra conductor, suggests that both the teacher and student work together on a goal. When the student fails to hit the mark, both teacher and student say, “ 'How fascinating!' The instructor does not personally identify with the standard; nor does the student identify personally with the results of the game.”
BJ thought it would help to take away the pressure he was putting on himself and agreed to do it. If BJ continues the calls, tracking the results and making changes based on those results, he might eventually find a script or dialogue that produces more appointments. If not he will move on to something else. For now as Thomas Alva Edison said, “Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.” If BJ sticks with this long enough he’ll find out what does work!
Often it takes great persistence, stamina, and perseverance to keep at something even though the result is less than you had hoped for. Here is where a good clear vision of your business is really necessary. That vision needs to be so exciting that it keeps you moving through the rough places toward your own energizing picture of what will be.
Take Action
Use a notebook to begin to track the number of clients you get (or job interviews you get) from each of your marketing efforts. What’s working? What’s not?
Select one of your marketing methods that isn't working well. Look at the results and decide if it is worth your effort? If it is not bringing you the opportunities you wanted make a change in the way you are marketing. After an appropriate time record the results. Check again to see if the effort is worth the work? Make a decision to continue, change or end the effort based on the result.
Write a description (Create a collage, draw a diagram) of your business (job) that captures your vision. How do you feel when your business is working exactly as you planned it too? Write this down too. Can you see yourself in the business? What are you doing every day? What visual image captures your success? Use that image as a short hand connection to your vision. A vision gives you the energy to go on when things are less than perfect.
Read the Book The Art Of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.
Successful Marketing Requires Perseverance - To learn more about this author, visit Alvah Parker's Website.
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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