Success in Marketing

One of the most difficult areas to cultivate as a business person, particularly when we are starting out in business, is to market ourselves, our products and our services effectively. To find the right words, at the right time, for the person that I am talking to in any given situation is an art and a discipline.

So, how do we market ourselves?

The tension between 'big-noting' or 'puffing ourselves up' and 'hiding our light under a bushel' creates a balancing act that has within it the potential to make us feel uncomfortable and awkward. However, getting the balance just right often spells the difference between success and failure.

In essence, successful marketers tell stories that people believe.

We all love stories that move us in some way. The best stories, of course, motivate us, inspire us and make us act. We love the stories that engage us and light us up. These are the stories that enthuse and inspire action.

The telling of our own story in a believable way begins with our being very clear about who we are as a person. This is the story that we are living and writing everyday into the paragraphs and chapters of our own lives. The way in which our story is told shapes the result.

How well we live, breathe and move within our own business story will be the measure of how well we enthuse and inspire others to want to have business dealings with us.

In my view, the integration of our inner lives with its outer expression is critical. Others must be able to see that what we say we do is in keeping with what we actually do. In the first instance, we ourselves must be believable to ourselves, before we can be experienced as believable by others.

That what we have to offer is of immense benefit to a customer, either in solving a problem or satisfying a need that they might have, has to have first been discovered and written into our own business practices.

Over many years, I have found that constant reflection on the story that I tell myself, about myself, regarding my vocation and my mission in life and business, is a vital ingredient in successful marketing and selling.

Invest in Yourself

The greatest investment that you can make as a business person and business owner is in yourself and in your own ongoing growth and development.

We must look after this God-given asset and manage it judiciously and effectively.

Being responsible stewards in building our capacity emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually is paramount in developing our own business interests and the people around us.

We must pay attention to ourselves as a whole person. By so doing, we model the standard of excellence that we are striving for, both in our own lives and in the life of our business, and create the envisioned future we have for our business in ourselves in the present.

We must nurture our spirits by reflecting on higher principles and precepts and applying them to our lives on a daily basis.

We must watch our diets, get the right amount of sleep and make sure we are getting the physical exercise that we need to keep reasonably fit.

We must read good books and fill our minds with literature that expands our knowledge, stimulates our thinking and raises our spirits.

We must get in touch with our emotions and discipline ourselves to manage them well.

We must pay due care to nurturing positive relationships with people who will enable us to reach the next level of high performance.

There is so much garbage out there in the world, and the only way to protect our wonderful personal asset is to fill our minds, hearts and lives with uplifting and noble pursuits.

What can you do today to begin investing in yourself?

Maintaining Control

The only element in our business that we can fully manage is ourselves, and that can sometimes be a tall order.

In line with our Vision for our business, we must engage in those behaviors which will keep us centered, calm and in control.

I find that when I am out of control it is generally because my emotions have welled up and erupted in some way that lets both me and the people around me down.

How do we maintain our poise in the cut and thrust of conducting our business affairs?

There are no easy answers to this question. Success in this area comes only on the heels of hard work.

High performance requires a commitment to discipline and practicing the behaviors that we want to have, as well as deciding to get rid of the ones that we do not want.

Using the Vision we have of the quality world that we are creating for our business and ourselves, we need to write down those positive behaviors that we expect of ourselves. In addition, we must identify those behaviors that are unacceptable to us and get rid of them.

The positive behaviors we exhibit must evolve into habits in our business so that we are consistent in our relationships with our colleagues and our customers.

Revolutionary Management

I am reading a great book at the moment entitled Revolutionary Management by Alan Axelrod. This book provides insights into the leadership style and thought of John Adams.

John Adams was one of the Founding Fathers and a key architect of American independence. His was a time of momentous change.

His management style was grounded in service. He worked behind the scenes to ensure that the agenda of American independence became a reality. He was always asking the crucial leading question, “Then what?”

Top managers are people who get the right things done in the right way and in the right order to achieve the desired result. Adams epitomized this approach.

The book provides lessons in management extracted from Adams’ diaries, dissertations, instructions, discourses and papers.

I highly recommend the book to stimulate your reflection and thought about management in times of change, from first principles, through rational decision making, to successful execution.

The book is available here.

Handling Setbacks in Business

All successful business people experience failure at some time in their life and work.

How does the successful business person overcome the dark times of disappointment, frustration and failure in business?

The first thing to do is to remind yourself continually of your reason for being in business, for whom and to what end. This takes the form of rejuvenating and renewing our faith, commitment and dedication to our sense of Mission as a person and as a company.

In my web-based business, for instance, my Mission states, "The Essential Business Coach exists to help you gain insight and clarity about your business and delivers a coherent, holistic approach in developing yourself and your organization."

By reflecting on this statement almost daily, and living it all the time, I experience a strong desire that rekindles my enthusiasm for what I do and for who I am.

The second critical element that I have found essential in handling setbacks is to refocus and get very clear about the big picture Vision that I hold for my business activities and enterprises.

For me, this is about my ongoing transformation as a business person and the development of the organizations that I am involved with. Getting in touch with my Vision enables me to see beyond the setbacks of the present to a quality world future.

The third element requires thinking strategically and cascading this into the detail of the business, so that actual progress is made toward the Vision that we hold in a planned manner. This requires honest, hard work.

By getting things done, one step at a time, we find ourselves moving forward again. By holding fast to our Vision, in keeping with the Values that we embody, we move through these low times in our work and come out the other side more resilient, determined and focused.

Keeping a Journal

Writing our observations down is a key skill to develop as a business person. This is because much of our work occurs within highly verbal environments.

I have noticed that, in a very busy schedule, a great deal of a manager’s time is taken up with lots of small conversations that last about five minutes.

It is critical then, for the high performing manager, to take the time to note the salient points that are being made during the course of a day. A journal also provides a way of recording our own observations about what is going on around us.

By writing down our thoughts, we assist in our memory of them. At a later date, these notes serve as a wonderful stimulus for new business ideas and changes in our own ways of doing business.

I encourage you to have a journal. It will assist you no end in examining your own behavior. If you practice using a journal, you will find that you improve your own performance, on a daily basis, on the road to excellence.

Values – A Code to Live By

The reason for having a clear set of values is that it enables us to make effective decisions and keep a clear mind, even in the most turbulent circumstances.

Values give us focus, and they are a means for measuring both our own behavior and the behavior of the people that we work with and encounter in our business.

Each day, I reflect on at least one of the core values that I hold and practice it throughout the day.

For instance, I value silence. I find that by focusing on this value during meetings I am able to control my emotions and maintain self-control. I will often make notes in my journal and reflect on them over the course of the meeting to ensure that I keep myself in check and only speak when appropriate.

By practicing and living up to my set of values, I find I achieve great results in my relationships with other people, as well as with the financial rewards that ensue.

Benjamin Franklin, whose writing I find both enjoyable and instructive, has a wonderful section in his autobiography around thirteen virtues that he practiced to temper the conduct of his business.

I encourage you to avail yourself of his wise counsel. You can access his writing on the subject of virtues at www.school-for-champions.com.

When you focus on your core values and live by them, you will be pleasantly surprised by the positive impact this has on your personal and professional development.

Leaders

Leaders are people who take responsibility for their own actions. They see a gap between what is, either in the form of a problem or an opportunity, and they do something about it.

I think that often true leaders in business, or in any sphere of life for that matter, are not even aware that they are doing anything out of the ordinary. From their perspective, they are simply doing what needs to be done.

Leaders are people who, being constantly dissatisfied with the status quo, strive for never-ending improvement in every aspect of their lives. They take a critical view of their own behavior and performance and are not seduced by the kudos that come their way.

Nor are they disheartened, for too long, by their own failings and failures or lack of external recognition. Being human means we are always falling short of our ideals, but leaders have the capacity to keep a positive focus and learn from every negative experience as they pursue their goals.

They are able to grow and expand personally as long as they remain true to their own values and ethical principles.

Another interesting thing that I have observed is that true leaders do not give themselves that title. It is bestowed on them by others who are influenced by them.

Leadership development occurs as a result of our taking responsibility for our own actions and choosing to do the thing that we see needs doing.

Transition Management

In his insightful book Transitions, William Bridges tells us that the crucial role we must play in any change management process is to manage ourselves and the people around us through the change.

When we are reinventing ourselves and/or our business, managing these transitions is critical for our success.

When we are moving through the change, whatever the scale, he reminds us that we need to prepare people and support them through three major phases.

Each phase has within it a level of risk, as well as opportunity that must be closely monitored.

Phase One involves helping people say goodbye to the old identity. We do this by acknowledging the feelings of loss that everyone in our business experiences, as we move from the old identity toward the envisioned one.

Phase Two requires us to support people through what he calls the 'neutral zone'. This is the vulnerable time when we are traversing the 'in between time'. This is the time when the new identity has not yet been properly formed. During this time in our business, it is important to reinforce the vision we hold out for the new. During this phase, we have the opportunity to introduce many of the other changes we would like our business to have, as well as address any threats to our business.

Phase Three is when we have arrived at the change that was envisaged.

When we handle transitions in our business well, we create the kind of business culture and mindset that thrives on the new. At the same time, we build lasting value, by recognizing the contributions others have made in getting us to where we are today. As a business, we are more likely to develop high trust business environments when we do this process well.

I encourage you to buy his book. It is a must read if you are involved in any sort of change process, either at the personal level or in your business.

You can visit William Bridges at www.wmbridges.com

Being Yourself

I have been reading two wonderful books by Bill George, True North and Authentic Leadership. As I have reflected on them, I have found each of the books to be both inspiring and confronting.

They point out that being successful in life and in business means being ourselves.

The people around us rely on us to be who we are. Our behavior must be in keeping with our lived mission, vision and values ALL the time. The core of our leadership strength lies in this ability.

Martin Luther King said that one thing we can never escape from is ourselves.

I find this notion incredibly powerful and demanding. Being honest with myself focuses me on the journey of never-ending personal improvement and the pursuit of excellence.

Everyday, I have the opportunity to be my personal best. Invariably, there are times when I let myself, and therefore others, down.

Finding our nature and living authentically in line with it builds lives, companies and communities of immense value.

The two books mentioned above are available at Bill George's website.

Keeping Cool in a Crisis

Business owners can, at times, put themselves and the people around them under extreme and undue pressure. This often occurs as the result of a “knee-jerk” reaction to things in his/her business not going to plan.

Such reactions can also lead to bad decisions and short-term/short-lived responses, which only serve to make things worse.

Therefore, when problems do arise, we would all do well to spend some time fully understanding the nature of these problems and finding their true causes.

When we initially encounter a problem, it is often more complex than we may think. There are too many unknowns in and around any given situation. What first appears to be an obvious answer to us may be completely off point.

Addressing a business problem relies on our gathering the relevant information, listening to the key people involved, making a best-balanced choice given what we know, implementing a plan and evaluating the outcomes.

Remember, no solution, no matter how effective it may seem, is ever the end of the story.

Tweaking our thinking and action is an ongoing, never-ending process. In order to do this efficiently and move quickly on our feet to changing circumstances, we must first learn to be effective problem-solvers. This entails being grounded in the principles of effective problem solving and using the right tools. When we are able to do this, we have a far greater capacity to remain clear-headed in the heat of the moment.

High Expectations Deliver Positive Results

Expectations affect outcomes.

In his book Maximum Achievement, Brian Tracy refers to what he calls the "Law of Expectations." He recounts the story of an experiment by Dr. Robert Rosenthal who demonstrated that when we have high expectations of ourselves and others, which are then supported socially and structurally, a 'Pygmalion Effect' occurs in which these expectations become self-fulfilling and self-perpetuating.

This 'law' applies at the personal development level in our own lives, as well as at the organizational level in our business lives.

When we are encouraged to raise our expectations of what can be achieved, we take control of our destiny to a greater degree, and that invariably leads to high performance. This has been demonstrated to be the case even amongst people who have average intelligence and/or capacity.

Telling people clearly about the positive expectations we have for ourselves and others delivers on the bottom line in our business. It also creates a positive work culture in which we have fun and where excellence becomes the norm.

If you would like to read more about this phenomenon, visit Brian Tracy.

Character Counts in Business

Lately, it seems that the more I observe people, the more I notice bad behavior and a lack of etiquette and good manners.

As a good friend of mine says, "People seldom fail to disappoint."

Sadly, more often than not, he is right. I am convinced, however, that truly successful people are people of great character. They are people who exhibit good behavior and strive to deliver their personal best everyday.

These are people who have fine reputations, live by good values and a set of principles that they hold dear. By doing so, they establish wonderful reputations amongst their peers in their particular field of endeavor.

The people we admire most are people who exercise self-control and discipline, even in the most emotionally-charged situations. People who remain poised, even when 'under fire,' who remain cool, calm and collected, act impeccably at all times and treat others with dignity and respect are a wonder to behold.

These characteristics enhance their ability to avoid errors in judgment and, in fact, increase the likelihood of their making the right decision in any given situation.

Self-discipline and self-control are the hallmarks of successful people.

In business, it is critical to our success that we consistently hold ourselves to a high standard of excellence in the way we behave and the way we treat those around us.