Outside the Marketing Comfort Zone

Last week I stated that "there are no marketing breakthroughs inside the comfort zone."

When you are stuck in the marketing comfort zone, by definition, you will avoid doing *anything* that is uncomfortable. And so the *only* way to get outside of the comfort zone is by taking actions that make you uncomfortable.

I know that's bad news.

What you probably wanted to hear was that you could get outside the comfort zone by doing something that was different, but still comfortable. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

One of the dictionary definitions of discomfort is, "a state of mental unease; worry or embarrassment." Yes, that's pretty much how you'll feel when you step outside your comfort zone.

Mostly, the unease, worry or embarrassment is that you'll make a fool of yourself, get rejected or fail. And since nobody wants to feel that way, the best alternative is to simply avoid the discomfort at all costs.

Yet people do step outside of the comfort zone all the time. They take risks, do things that might not work, face rejection and embarrassment and somehow live to tell the tale.

How do they do that?

Very simple. They realize that the cost of staying comfortable, the cost of inaction is much, much higher than the cost of taking action and being momentarily uncomfortable.

Let me contrast a marketing activity to make my point.

Comfortable: Not making follow-up calls.

Uncomfortable: Making follow-up calls.

Cost of not making follow-up calls: Failure to make a business connection, failure to turn a prospect into a client, failure to grow your business, failure to make a difference.

Cost of making follow-up calls: Feel uncomfortable with the thought of possible rejection.

Doesn't that put things into better perspective?

Blinded by our momentary fear, we don't take action, despite the fact that the long-term consequences are astronomically higher than the short-term discomfort.

However, when you look at the real cost of action or inaction, things look very different. The price of inaction then seems extraordinarily high compared to the price of taking a risk.

And this is what creates breakthroughs, these shifts in perspective.

Here's a simple exercise that can literally create such a shift, resulting in a marketing breakthrough.

1. List all the marketing activities that you are now avoiding. The test is that just thinking about doing these things makes you feel uncomfortable, uneasy or worried.

2. Now create three columns, one titled "Imaginary Cost," the second titled, "Real Cost," the third titled "Potential Payoff." Do this exercise with just one marketing activity at a time such as giving a presentation, writing an eZine, or making follow-up calls.

3. In column one, "Imaginary Costs," you'd write all the things that might happen if you took a risk: "People might laugh at me, I wouldn't do a very good job, the response would be poor."

These are imaginary costs, as you really have no proof any of these would happen, you just fear that they might happen.

4. In column two, "Real Costs," you'd write all the things that will definitely happen if you don't take action: "People won't hear about my services, I won't make any impression, people won't be talking about my services, people won't have the chance to respond."

These are real costs, because it's easy to see that if you don't take some action, nothing will happen.

5. In column three, "Potential Payoff," you now write all the positive things that could possibly happen if you took action: "People might respond and make inquiries about my services, they might talk to others, they might set up appointments with me, they might even become clients."

It's easy to see that these potential payoffs are much more real than the imaginary costs.

If you do this exercise honestly, you'll have a shift in perspective; you'll start to see that avoidance is actually more uncomfortable and more costly in the long run than taking action.

And you'll see that the discomfort of taking action is so much safer, so much easier than the "comfort" of avoiding action.

And when that happens, I promise you'll start having marketing breakthroughs that were once impossible.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The comfort zone is relative. When looked at though our fears and aversions, it seems crazy for us to take actions that would make us uncomfortable. But when we look at the real cost of inaction, we see that those consequences are infinitely more uncomfortable and costly. In that light, it will be relatively easy to take action on things you may have been avoiding for years.

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What's the real cost of avoiding uncomfortable marketing activities? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Comments

[Fred]

Hi Robert,

Was in a dump for a while, just did the exercise, and I feel my passion again! Man, what a powerful exercise, and so simple!

Thanks so much for this one!

All the best!

[Sr. Patricia]

A book that has really helped me on this is an older classic..."Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway." I just discovered it this year.. but it is so good!

Here's the link with more info from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Feel-Fear-Do-Anyway/dp/0345487427/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207665816&sr=8-1

[Louise BJ]

Hi Robert - great exercise to shift perspective! I suspect that, for some people, the 'real cost' may have to be associated with something rather more painful for them to be forced out of their comfort zone. (eg. loss of income leading to not having a business - a bit drastic but definitely uncomfortable!)