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Marketing with Passion
By Robert Middleton
Imagine being surrounded with singing, dancing, beautiful, colorfully dressed,
joyous people - all while shopping in an outdoor market in India.
The the movie, "Bride and Prejudice" by Gurinder Chadha who also directed "Bend It
Like Beckham," makes you believe that it's all somehow possible.
This film may not be the "best" film you'll ever see, but it is hands down the most
entertaining, fun, and happy movie I've seen in years.
And we can learn a lot about marketing from this movie.
No, I don't mean that you should hire a cast of singing, saree-clad beauties to dance
through your local mall as a publicity stunt. That might just be a little over the top!
The lesson you can take from Bride and Prejudice is that your marketing can be
interesting, entertaining, multi-faceted and fun. It doesn't have to be boring, plodding
and one-dimensional.
So what are you doing to market your business right now? Doing a little networking,
perhaps a talk or two and sending out an eZine on a monthly basis while you
struggle to add names to your list?
Look, those activities are fine, but you need to put some passion into your
marketing. Yes, passion! (the marketing equivalent of bright costumes, singing and
dancing).
Here are some ideas to infuse passion into your marketing.
Networking Events - What most of us do is show up for events and hope we connect
with a potential client or two. After awhile it gets very rote. We talk to the same
people. We exchange cards. We don't do much follow up. No wonder we don't see
great results.
I suggest approaching every networking event as a game. Every time you go to an
event you want to have specific goals that you can achieve every time. This adds a
whole new level of energy because you're not just showing up, you're playing to win.
You might set goals for the number of conversations you have with other attendees, a
goal for the number of cards you collect, a goal for the number of times you
successfully use your Audio Logo, and a goal for the number of people you offer to
send an article to. I promise you'll have more fun and get better results.
Speaking Engagements - Are you going to do yet another presentation with fifty
Power Point slides that puts the whole room to sleep? Are you going to wrap up
with a half-hearted pitch for your services and collect a few cards (which you then
neglect to follow up on)?
In a talk, you need to get people's attention, deliver leading-edge information, give
the participants something to really think about and sow the seeds of hope and
change. And you're not going to accomplish this in another run-of-the mill
presentation.
A speaking engagement is the opportunity for some real "business evangelism."
Your aim is to convert the unbelievers to your point of view, to save their souls and
to transform their lives forever. Yes, I know this might sound a little out there, but if
you're giving a presentation, I assume you have some real value to share. Why hold
back? Why not pull out all the stops?
Web Site and eZine - I'm still a little stunned that even though web sites have been
around for about ten years and are a proven marketing vehicle, that so many
Independent Professional sites are just plain inferior. They don't attract or convert
visitors into clients. Poor graphics, dull content, confusing navigation and little free
information are all pretty common.
Why settle for mediocrity? Don't you think it's time that you had a web site that
really impressed, that got your prospect's attention and made them want to know
about your services? Isn't it time that you made a commitment to make this your
most powerful marketing tool?
And isn't it also time you stopped making excuses for not having an eZine (email
newsletter) and just make it happen? I know it's easy to find reasons why it won't
work, but wouldn't you rather have the results instead of the reasons?
Free Stuff - This simple strategy for promoting your business is time-tested and
perfect for Independent Professionals. What are you giving away? I hope it's not just
one article that you've had on your web site for the past two years. What do you have
that's new and interesting?
Of course, a web site is the perfect place to give away free stuff and you can promote
it in your eZine as well. Why not a *lot* of articles, several in-depth reports, some
kind of assessment, links to valuable resources and a do-it-yourself email course? All
of these are not that hard to produce. You just need to make the commitment to make
it happen.
I promise that if you are passionate and work at creating marketing that is
interesting, exciting, dynamic and involving that you'll start to magnetize more
clients to your business.
Heck, you might even start having fun with marketing! I can't promise that it will be
as fun as Bride and Prejudice but who knows? I'll be looking for news reports of you
dancing in the streets!
About the author: Story written by Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing.
Please visit Robert's web site at Action Plan for additional marketing articles and
resources on marketing for professional service businesses.
By Robert Middleton
Imagine being surrounded with singing, dancing, beautiful, colorfully dressed,
joyous people - all while shopping in an outdoor market in India.
The the movie, "Bride and Prejudice" by Gurinder Chadha who also directed "Bend It
Like Beckham," makes you believe that it's all somehow possible.
This film may not be the "best" film you'll ever see, but it is hands down the most
entertaining, fun, and happy movie I've seen in years.
And we can learn a lot about marketing from this movie.
No, I don't mean that you should hire a cast of singing, saree-clad beauties to dance
through your local mall as a publicity stunt. That might just be a little over the top!
The lesson you can take from Bride and Prejudice is that your marketing can be
interesting, entertaining, multi-faceted and fun. It doesn't have to be boring, plodding
and one-dimensional.
So what are you doing to market your business right now? Doing a little networking,
perhaps a talk or two and sending out an eZine on a monthly basis while you
struggle to add names to your list?
Look, those activities are fine, but you need to put some passion into your
marketing. Yes, passion! (the marketing equivalent of bright costumes, singing and
dancing).
Here are some ideas to infuse passion into your marketing.
Networking Events - What most of us do is show up for events and hope we connect
with a potential client or two. After awhile it gets very rote. We talk to the same
people. We exchange cards. We don't do much follow up. No wonder we don't see
great results.
I suggest approaching every networking event as a game. Every time you go to an
event you want to have specific goals that you can achieve every time. This adds a
whole new level of energy because you're not just showing up, you're playing to win.
You might set goals for the number of conversations you have with other attendees, a
goal for the number of cards you collect, a goal for the number of times you
successfully use your Audio Logo, and a goal for the number of people you offer to
send an article to. I promise you'll have more fun and get better results.
Speaking Engagements - Are you going to do yet another presentation with fifty
Power Point slides that puts the whole room to sleep? Are you going to wrap up
with a half-hearted pitch for your services and collect a few cards (which you then
neglect to follow up on)?
In a talk, you need to get people's attention, deliver leading-edge information, give
the participants something to really think about and sow the seeds of hope and
change. And you're not going to accomplish this in another run-of-the mill
presentation.
A speaking engagement is the opportunity for some real "business evangelism."
Your aim is to convert the unbelievers to your point of view, to save their souls and
to transform their lives forever. Yes, I know this might sound a little out there, but if
you're giving a presentation, I assume you have some real value to share. Why hold
back? Why not pull out all the stops?
Web Site and eZine - I'm still a little stunned that even though web sites have been
around for about ten years and are a proven marketing vehicle, that so many
Independent Professional sites are just plain inferior. They don't attract or convert
visitors into clients. Poor graphics, dull content, confusing navigation and little free
information are all pretty common.
Why settle for mediocrity? Don't you think it's time that you had a web site that
really impressed, that got your prospect's attention and made them want to know
about your services? Isn't it time that you made a commitment to make this your
most powerful marketing tool?
And isn't it also time you stopped making excuses for not having an eZine (email
newsletter) and just make it happen? I know it's easy to find reasons why it won't
work, but wouldn't you rather have the results instead of the reasons?
Free Stuff - This simple strategy for promoting your business is time-tested and
perfect for Independent Professionals. What are you giving away? I hope it's not just
one article that you've had on your web site for the past two years. What do you have
that's new and interesting?
Of course, a web site is the perfect place to give away free stuff and you can promote
it in your eZine as well. Why not a *lot* of articles, several in-depth reports, some
kind of assessment, links to valuable resources and a do-it-yourself email course? All
of these are not that hard to produce. You just need to make the commitment to make
it happen.
I promise that if you are passionate and work at creating marketing that is
interesting, exciting, dynamic and involving that you'll start to magnetize more
clients to your business.
Heck, you might even start having fun with marketing! I can't promise that it will be
as fun as Bride and Prejudice but who knows? I'll be looking for news reports of you
dancing in the streets!
About the author: Story written by Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing.
Please visit Robert's web site at Action Plan for additional marketing articles and
resources on marketing for professional service businesses.
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