In last week's More Clients, I was rather blunt about how people are afraid of people and how that impacts their marketing.
In general, the fear of being judged, fear of ridicule and fear of rejection are at the top of the "Fear Hit Parade." Just think, if you didn't have those fears, what would you do to market your business that you're not doing now?
But even if you knew exactly what to do, when it comes time to take action, the fear strikes again and every fiber of your being starts to argue why taking this action isn't such a good idea - at least not right now - maybe later.
So, fear is a given.
But clearly, it doesn't stop everyone all of the time. Many of us find a way over, around or through our fears and ultimately take the actions necessary to move our businesses forward.
But can you speed up the process?
My experience is definitely yes. Some fears can hold you back for a lifetime. But if you follow this seven-step process you can get beyond your fears relatively quickly and produce results as a much higher level, with a lot less struggle.
1. Set a marketing goal that's important to you
Without a goal, no fear, no resistance. Many people play life and even business this way, but we'll assume you want more than that. However, as soon as you've charted your direction, fear can get triggered rather quickly.
2. Recognize your fears and the power they have over you
If you're in denial, you can't work with them. However, if you can honestly admit you're afraid of networking, speaking, writing or asking for the business, you can then take the next step.
3. Realize the cost of the fears (reality check)
Fears leads to inaction, to stagnation, to doubt and to more fear. But you need to see the specific cost to you: "By not making those follow-up calls I'm probably missing out on gaining some new clients. And the longer I delay, the harder it will be."
4. Imagine taking the action without the fear
If you can actually see yourself making those calls, giving that talk or writing an article, you are on the way to a breakthrough. If you couldn't have the fear, who would you be? How would you act differently? Picture and feel this as vividly as possible.
5. Learn some basic marketing how-tos
Now that you can imagine taking effective action without fear, you need some information about what actually works and what doesn't work. There's not a lot of sense in fearlessly taking actions that won't get you where you want to go!
6. Make a simple plan and take one step at a time
Leverage your inspiration and clarity by taking quick and decisive action. But do something that is doable, where you can experience an immediate win. Don't sabotage yourself by setting impossible goals. Write a short article before you tackle that book.
7. Get support, coaching and consulting
Over the years, I've coached hundreds of people though this process. They came to me stuck, confused and afraid about how to make their marketing work. With direction, encouragement and support they found that attracting clients was a game they could win.
Success Will Follow Naturally
Once you've gone through this process several times, your confidence grows, fear subsides and success follows naturally, with minimum struggle. This basic approach to getting past marketing fears is very effective if you apply all the steps.
However, I've noticed that most people focus primarily on steps 5 and 6. They get some information (often not enough) and then take some actions (without a lot of planning).
But if things don't go too well (and isn't this usually the case when you try something new?), you start to experience the fears and doubts again and end up quitting before you're half way there. Of course, you always have a good reason!
How often do you take the time to look at and work with your fears? Wouldn't it make sense to come back to steps 2, 3 and 4 throughout the process? And wouldn't it make even more sense to get support to guide you until you were confident in your ability to consistently produce marketing results?
The More Clients Bottom Line: Any marketing action plan that doesn't take into account the fears you have is going to be rough going. Fears are a given, but you can work with them. And it's just as important to get some experienced guidance on the path.
What are your steps for speeding up the process of producing results? Please share on the More Clients Blog.
Robert
I preach the same message. Develop a written plan that will deliver your goal and set a timetable for it. As a successful consultant, I always recommend investing in a professional guide to help you develop the plan and put it into action. The investment pays great returns and helps not only train you but also establishes the habit for the future.
But write the plan!
Thanks
John
www.mavermanagement.com
Posted by: John Maver | February 19, 2008 at 02:26 PM
Robert ~ your comments are so on target. I knew our firm could benefit significantly from a newsletter, but I kept resisting. The task would fall to me, and I wasn't a good enough writer. Every time I tried to write, the next day I would look it over, delete, and start over. I needed help. Now, after a few tries, I've found the right editor for me. He understands the brand, and the newsletters use my voice, not his, so that communication is consistent.
Best of all, now every time I issue a newsletter, I get to spend a few days basking in the compliments of our readers. Talk about turning a liability into an asset. It's wonderful. It's also driving referrals for our firm, generating fresh content for our site and marketing materials, enhancing our repuation for expertise and reinforcing the brand.
We've had a big payback because we realized what our fear was costing us and got help. And provided we continue to put out quality content, the return will continue to grow.
Posted by: Lorre | February 19, 2008 at 11:03 AM
I have been reading your posts for some time and love the way you break everything down into segments to help someone understand the steps. I am an Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner. Having said that, I have found EFT to be one of most self empowering tools I know of. It clears blocks to success, eliminating old belief systems and negative programming that have held you back and allows you to continue sabatoging your successes. If you would like to know more about this please email me so that you might experience it for yourself. I am sending this to you because it is so fast and is not a long drawn out therapy. You really do not have to suffer because of old limiting belief systems.
Posted by: Lynne Fredericks | February 19, 2008 at 06:58 AM
I appreciate this series and have been sharing the insights with my team. The steps are simple but powerful and I agree with Louise above - picking one or two and stepping out on those will help increase your confidence to keep going - but the key, as you state, is going through all the steps every time (particularly 2 and 3).
Thanks for a great post!
Posted by: Annette | February 19, 2008 at 04:40 AM
This is interesting because not only will the fear stop people marketing their business, it has probably already stopped them from doing lots of other things in their lives too. The cycle has to be broken.
Something that has helped my clients to overcome their fears is when I ask them to pick just 1 or 2 marketing activities they are prepared to do, from a mixed list of passive and active (guess what, they usually pick the passive!). Once they have got quite good at these 1 or 2 activities (and it doesn't take long with coaching), it builds their confidence to tackle another and then another, and so on.
Of course it isn't always that straightforward, and I have condensed it somewhat, but at least doing some marketing well is better than doing none at all!
Posted by: Louise Barnes-Johnston | February 19, 2008 at 03:07 AM