Successful Marketing Requires Perseverance
My client, BJ, (not client's name or initials) had a small website design business that he had started 3 years ago and worked at part time. He also worked for a large company in their IT department. In September of 2002 he was laid off. Looking at the job market in his area he knew it would take him many months to find another job. He thought that this was the right time to focus his energy on his website design business.
Armed with a well thought out business plan BJ developed a list of 2000 businesses that were in his target market. His plan was to call all 2000 over a period of 6 months. He knew that meant calling 20 businesses every day and talking to the owner/president for the purpose of making an appointment to see the potential customer. He wrote a script and began the calling. Five days into his calling campaign he was frustrated. The work wasn't fun. The response was poor. Worst of all BJ found it difficult to motivate himself to make the calls so it took him all day to make 20 calls! He worried that if he made a sale he wouldn't have the time to do the website!!
Like most new business owners BJ wanted to do the work that he loved-web design. Somehow he thought that when customers heard about his business they would be eager to hear more so they would immediately set up an appointment. The result of his calls told him a different story.
After 5 days of cold calling BJ said he felt frustrated and disappointed. He was beginning to doubt himself and his idea. At the same time he was angry with himself for not completing what he had set out to do. His self-doubt and frustration were probably coming through on his calls.
At first he thought he might just give up the whole idea. During a coaching session I asked him what cold calling might be like if he continued calling with no expectation of a particular outcome. Could he do it perhaps as though it were a great experiment? The result would be just a data point in a notebook. What would be different?
In his book the Art of Possibility Ben Zander, author, teacher and orchestra conductor, suggests that both the teacher and student work together on a goal. When the student fails to hit the mark, both teacher and student say, 'How fascinating!' The instructor does not personally identify with the standard; nor does the student identify personally with the results of the game.'
BJ thought it would help to take away the pressure he was putting on himself and agreed to do it. If BJ continues the calls, tracking the results and making changes based on those results, he might eventually find a script or dialogue that produces more appointments. If not he will move on to something else. For now as Thomas Alva Edison said, 'Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.' If BJ sticks with this long enough he'll find out what does work!
Often it takes great persistence, stamina, and perseverance to keep at something even though the result is less than you had hoped for. Here is where a good clear vision of your business is really necessary. That vision needs to be so exciting that it keeps you moving through the rough places toward your own energizing picture of what will be.
Take Action Use a notebook to begin to track the number of clients you get (or job interviews you get) from each of your marketing efforts. What's working? What's not?
Select one of your marketing methods that isn't working well. Look at the results and decide if it is worth your effort? If it is not bringing you the opportunities you wanted make a change in the way you are marketing. After an appropriate time record the results. Check again to see if the effort is worth the work? Make a decision to continue, change or end the effort based on the result.
Write a description (Create a collage, draw a diagram) of your business (job) that captures your vision. How do you feel when your business is working exactly as you planned it too? Write this down too. Can you see yourself in the business? What are you doing every day? What visual image captures your success? Use that image as a short hand connection to your vision. A vision gives you the energy to go on when things are less than perfect.
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