Is there one thing that you keep putting off that you know if you tackled it you would get great results? Is this your biggest marketing challenge?
It isn’t uncommon to have this “huge” obstacle or challenge in place. What it actually is will be different for each of us. There are many diverse activities involved in marketing and often you have to swap caps at an alarming rate. Do you need to be creative? Analytical? Maybe stern? Sympathetic? Whatever you need, some of these skills don’t come naturally to us all.
For example, some people love networking, getting out in front of prospects etc whereas for others this is their worst nightmare. Some really enjoy writing, be that articles, blog posts or direct mail while others would rather pull out their fingernails. Same with the telephone – if the thought of cold-calling 50 potential customers fills you with dread, remember there are others who really dislike some of the aspects of your job that you love.
The key to success here is to break down that one challenge that is causing you so much stress into smaller chunks. So if you have to call 50 prospects, maybe consider 10 a day over the course of a week – allocate an hour a day. Or you may prefer to make all the calls in one go. If you have to develop an e-marketing campaign, think about hte elements involved and start to write an action or to-do list. When are you going to do them? Commit to dates/times and diarise as you would an appointment. Just make sure you stick to the plan!
Often getting started is the hardest part. I think we have all experienced procrastination at some time and the sense of relief you feel when you have finally tackled the job successfully – and found it wasn’t as bad as you had been anticipating! This is normal behaviour so don’t beat yourself up over it, just do something positive every day to move yourself to the other side of the challenge.
If you would like to discuss your own marketing in more depth please get in touch.
