By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing
When you set big goals you inevitably face challenges.
In the teleclass from last week on "Marketing Change or Transformation?" I spoke about the fact that when you set a BIG GOAL that you will also face BIG CHALLENGES.
Building a ranch house will entail certain challenges, but building a skyscraper will multiply those challenges a thousandfold.
In my Mastery Program, I work with people who set big goals and subsequently face big challenges. And what happens sometimes is that they get "challenge weary." I guess it's akin to battle fatigue.
You know how it goes:
You set a goal and make a plan and set out with great hope and enthusiasm. It's all going swimmingly for awhile until you hit the proverbial bump in the road. "Oh, nobody's responding to that message that I thought was so great! What am I going to do next?"
Now you're a little warier, a little wearier. Should you stay on course, make some changes, try something completely different, or give up self-employment and get a "real job"?
Well, in this economy, real jobs are becoming scarcer and scarcer, so your options seem to be narrowing rather than expanding. You are not sure what to do as you don't want to squander your time and resources going in a direction that shows little promise.
What I've seen with so many Independent Professionals is they've all but given up on marketing. The above scenario has been repeated too many times and they're not just challenge weary, but resigned. Their marketing efforts become limited to a little networking and follow-up and of, course, doing the best job they can for existing clients, hoping for referrals.
Yeah, I know, kind of a depressing perspective.
Last week I talked about all the things an Independent Professional needs to do to market themselves successfully. But in the face of challenge weariness, this just looks like more work that won't lead anywhere. So why bother?
Today, I'm going to share several little things to combat challenge weariness. They work cumulatively. Take a few and run with them!
1. Write down one big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) and make it as real and as three-dimensional as possible. Think about it, write about it, draw pictures about it until it is startlingly REAL.
2. Write a very long list of associates and potential clients. Then call them up: one-person-at-a-time. Then say, "Hey, we haven't talked for awhile, what's up?" When I do this, amazing new opportunities open up.
3. Sit down with a friend to talk about your goals, dreams and plans about your business. You are not allowed to talk about problems or challenges - even for a minute.
4. Plan your week every single week. You have a million things to do, I know. But on your weekly list only write down the few things you are committed to completing that week. That way, when you get them done, you've won. And that's energizing.
5. If you get stuck, do The Work. Pull out a Getting Unstuck Worksheet and question your limitations. Get one here:
http://actionplan.com/apmc/Unstuck_Work.doc
6. Tell 1 or 2 people this week how much your appreciate them for the contributions they've made in your life and/or business.
7. Go away on a long weekend. Get some exercise. Dine out. Have some fun. A little vacation opens up your creativity but doesn't get you too anxious that you're away for so long.
8. Apply for the Marketing Mastery Program. Who knows, it might be the next big step for you. Go to this link, read the page and fill in the form: http://actionplan.com/apmmm.html
9. Join the Action Plan Marketing Club. It's free for the first month, but that will end after February. Check it out and jump in fully. http://actionplan.com/actionplanclub.html
10. Breathe.
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The More Clients Bottom Line: If you are challenge weary, you need to do some things off the beaten path and outside your comfort zone. You can have fun in your business, build your resilience and have breakthroughs if you take your attention off what doesn't work for awhile. Give yourself a new perspective in a number of ways and the weariness will fade.
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What do you do to overcome challenge weariness? Please share on the More Clients Blog by clicking on thr Comments link below.
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