Have you ever considered that you could love marketing? That it might be possible to market from a place of love, doing marketing activities that you love, all so you can serve the lovely clients you’re meant to serve?
Love is the answer.
Consider the possibility that the foundation of your marketing is based on something you truly love, something you might be inclined to do even if you didn’t get paid. A message you love sharing, in a way that you love sharing it.
Maybe this sounds familiar: you’re staring at your marketing to-do list, fully aware of how important it is to get things planned and executed, and yet getting started feels hard.
When you think about following up, does it seem fun to you, or does it seem more like something you wish you wanted to do? It’s probably not so surprising to learn that following up is something that quite a few of us don’t love doing.
Marie Kondo (author of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up is famous for encouraging you to ask if the things you surround yourself with spark joy. What if you applied this concept to your business marketing?
How successful do you feel in your business?
Success has a certain vibe about it, one you can recognize and feel in your bones. And yet, it’s easy to live out of an outdated definition without realizing you’re doing it, making you feel unsuccessful. Have you looked at how you’re defining success recently? You might be ready to reinvent what success looks and feels like; updating your definition will do wonders for both your business and your psyche.
How much do you schedule your business activities, especially marketing? Working with clients over the years, I’ve seen the impact a schedule — or lack thereof — can have. The good news is that when you find a schedule that works for you, it can make a big difference in being productive, getting your marketing done regularly, and feeling on top of things.
What’s your way to get things done? Do you feel you’re an achiever who enjoys checking off boxes? Or do you see yourself as more laid back, getting to things whenever you can? Whatever your style, the truth is, if you’re in business for yourself, you need to get things done, and chances are, no one else will jump in to save the day. Which begs the question: how do you do things most easily and in a way best suited to you?
What’s your style?
In working with clients, I see two typical categories of doers: 1) those who love making a list and working through it, some going so far as to draw their own little check boxes next to each to-do item in a notebook, or 2) those who take a looser approach, writing items on the backs of envelopes, on their hand, or random sticky notes. Both approaches have their merits.
We need to talk about your business. Not to be too crass, yet part of the formula for a successful business looks like this: Clients = Money
You need clients because you need money, because you want freedom to do things for yourself and others, both personally and professionally, which means you need to do something about that. About the getting of clients. That thing that’s easy to say, that you’re “supposed” to do, yet is easy to ignore. But. Something. Is. Always. (Seemingly) More. Urgent.
When talking with a potential client, do you find yourself being too vague when describing your business? Don’t worry! This trap is easy to fall into — and easy to get out of. When it comes to having sales conversations, specificity is king.
Taking good care of your clients means taking care of your business, and one of the simplest paths to taking care of both your clients *and* your business is by tracking the numbers.
