Issue #8

Louis Pasteur Believed in Himself. Look Where It Took Him!

Do you believe that we become what we think about? It’s true. (Think about it!) What do you see? What do you believe to be true? What do you say to yourself? What do you think about? How do you label yourself? Are your self-limiting beliefs locking you out of opportunity? Are you in your own way?

Becoming a powerful marketer requires that you examine what’s going in your own head, not only the minds of your customers and prospects, agree? You really can’t expect to influence other minds if your own mind is playing games with you, now can you? (You may want to print this power marketing tip and read it by the pool, with a nice glass or pitcher of sangria.) My objective with you in sharing this power marketing tip is to get you to think differently, and create an out-of-body experience that allows you to examine yourself and your business from the corner of the room. But I’ll try to do so with brevity, because we all know that people won’t read long copy, right? Wrong. (There’s one belief about marketing that you need to challenge. People will read long copy if it’s relevant. I hope you’re still with me!)

In a nutshell, the vision and optimism that Louis Pasteur held in his mind enabled him to accomplish great things. So, with brevity, here is a checklist of things to think about - so that you can accomplish great things, too! Each one of them can translate into gold (and personal satisfaction) for you –if you can see it.

1. How do you label yourself, your company? It’s good to be highly focused on your core competencies, but blinders can also lock you out of opportunities that are right under your nose. Are you a “maker of widgets” or are you a problem solver in a particular niche? Are you in the railroad business, or in transportation? That subtle shift in thinking helped Andrew Carnegie, and it can benefit you, too. In psychological terms, a scotoma is a mental blind spot that prevents you from seeing things clearly. Where are your blind spots? If you can broaden your own self definition as a consultant, carpenter, lawyer, service company, etc…, you will discover new ways to serve your customers, and enable new revenue sources.

2. What do you believe about your customers, your value, your raison d’etre, as the French say? Do you believe that you need not market to your best customers because they are loyal and would never leave you? Loyalty requires work on your part. Ignore your customers and peril. Do you believe that the ‘economy’ and the competition are your reasons for the slump you’re in, or do you believe that you can market your way through this economic slowdown? Remember, the best market wins! A good product marketed well will out-perform a great product marketed marginally. (Do you suffer from the better mousetrap syndrome?)

3. What attitudes to you hold about your company’s marketing methods, successes, failures? Faulty premises can lead to faulty conclusions – and cost you dearly. I spoke recently at a CEO Forum and was told by more than one person that ‘direct marketing’ doesn't’t work in their business, based on their failures with it to date. Hmmm. Think it could be that they executed poorly? What beliefs do you hold about various marketing methods? I was also told last year by a high flying marketing executive that ‘direct marketing’ does’t work in the software industry. (He’s been let go, and the company he was at burned through $15M in venture capital and has now gone Chapter 11 – all because of a poor marketing strategy.)

4. The silent words zinging around in your head are controlling you. Take control. Our ‘self talk’ or internal dialogue as Dr. Kernan Manion calls it, plays a large part in shaping our destiny. We become that which we think about. Listen to your own self talk and pay attention to the patterns. Your self talk will manifest itself in your actions and body language. Delve into the study of visualization and picturing. For starters, go read Vic Braden’s Tennis For The Future (Chapter 1).

Here are three specific steps you can take to apply these concepts before Labor Day. (Bring a stick and a camera to the beach this weekend, so you can take photos of your drawings in the sand. Be sure to photograph any important drawings before high tide!)

Step 1. Make a list of what you offer/sell to your customers. Then focus on the customers’ linear buying process. What do they purchase just before and after your service? Can you assist them in these areas? Can you create a joint venture with another party to deliver expanded services? For example, a computer repair depot could offer software and network support services. An environmental consultant could offer training products.

Step 2: This is a tough one. Make a list of your best customers. Review the benefits of the services you have provided to them. Ask them to define you, in one short phrase, which best describes your value. This process should create new insights and identify blind spots. It is guaranteed to lead you to new business. Go deep, and get at the true benefits.

Step 3: Don’t forget the sunscreen and the sangria. This is a critical and often overlooked step in the process! As you look forward to the last four months of the year – and all of the business you need to generate – use these last few weeks of the summer to draw some ‘new pictures in the sand’ – and take a closer look at what you might currently be doing to either enhance or sabotage yourself.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Bob Martel

PS- Six books that belong on your list: Acres of Diamonds, The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason, Over the Top (Zig Zigler), Life is Not A Stress Rehearsal (Loretta LaRoche), How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Garnegie), and How To Sell Anything to Anybody (Joe Girard).

PPS- While we’re on the subject of “mind matters” check out www.worklifedesign.org. If you need recharging, you may find this site useful.

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