How to Be a Marketing Warrior, Not a Marketing Wimp

Last summer, I attended a remarkable five-day training known as the Enlightened Warrior Training Camp at which I learned eight essential attitudes of warriors-those who will stop at nothing to achieve the cherished, fulfilling life they want for themselves.

These warrior attitudes are adaptable to almost anything: finances, relationships, depression and much more. I find them particularly useful when applied to marketing for solo-entrepreneurs, professionals in private practice and small business owners.

First take this little quiz:

T/F 1. Marketing is hard, and I don't really know what works best for me, so I tend not to do much.

T/F 2. I know what I should be doing, from a marketing perspective (I've got a list a mile long!), but I just can't find the time to do it.

T/F 3. I don't feel comfortable doing marketing tasks (it always feels a little slimy), so I put off marketing for as long as I can.

T/F 4. I tend to neglect follow-up calls, figuring that people will call back when they're ready.

T/F 5. I resist doing a blog or writing articles on the grounds that I don't have enough to say, or that I'm not a good writer. (The old "not enough" belief that keeps many of us from marketing ourselves.)

T/F 6. I'm too busy working IN my business to get around to writing a newsletter (one of the all-time best ways to market yourself), so I don't send one.

T/F 7. None of the marketing things I've tried have worked, so I wonder why I should bother.

T/F 8. I'm not very technical. Consequently, I don't have a well-functioning website that generates me regular leads; it also keeps me from creating e-products that my clients would find useful.

If you answered true to even three of the above statements, I'm sorry to say it, but you are a marketing wimp.

Don't worry...you're in there with the best of us. We can all find ways that we're being wimpy about our marketing.

So what does it take to go from marketing wimp to marketing warrior? Here is my improvisation on the eight warrior attitudes learned at Enlightened Warrior Camp (with credit given to T. Harv Eker and Peak Potentials Training, who developed them).

1. A marketing warrior acts in spite of fear. Marketing warriors are not fearless, but they don't let fear stop them. In the past, I've let "What if it doesn't work?" stop me from trying new marketing strategies. Another common fear among professionals with a private practice is: "What will others think of me when I put myself out there?" What are you afraid of when it comes to marketing? What's the worst that could happen if it were true? What action can you take in spite of those fears?

2. A marketing warrior is willing to do whatever it takes. First, you have to ask yourself what that "whatever" is. What will it take to market your business? What will it take to learn what it will take to market your business? What will it take to get a newsletter out to your constituency every month? What will it take to make follow-up calls to every single qualified lead within two weeks? When you break it down, you can tackle it in smaller pieces. And then just frickin' do it!

3. A marketing warrior does everything at 100%. How often do we get distracted by little things or meander through a morning without the 100% laser focus that's essential to hot results? I know when I'm on a tight deadline, I can go like the wind through tasks that might take four times as long any other time. I've begun giving myself mini deadlines to complete tasks (and celebrating when I complete them on time!). What percentage of "full-on" do you typically do your marketing tasks? How can you bring that number up?

4. A marketing warrior is willing to do what's "hard." The definition of "hard" differs from person to person. For one, asking for referrals is unbearable; for another, networking lunches are of the devil. Sometimes what's "hard" is easily handled by someone else (as in our newsletter and article services for therapists and coaches); other times you have to tackle the hard stuff yourself-or live with mediocre results.

5. A marketing warrior acts in spite of his/her mood. My best trick to get to my marketing when I don't feel like it is this: I repeat to myself, in a dramatic whine: "I don't want to do marketing today. I don't feel like it. Today's not the right day for this. It's too hard. I just don't feel like it." And as I repeat this whiny "mantra," I'm sitting down to my desk. I'm turning on the computer and opening the file I need. I'm gathering the numbers to call, etc. Pretty soon, I'm into the marketing project I need to be doing. It works like a charm!

6. A marketing warrior is bigger than any obstacle. What is your biggest obstacle? Is it that you don't know how to market your practice? Is it money? Time? I guarantee you that whatever the obstacle is, others have faced the same obstacle and gotten around it somehow. Usually the obstacle is mental chatter that says, "I can't" or "It's beyond me" or "I'll fail."

7. A marketing warrior succeeds in spite of anything. If you're determined to succeed in your marketing, nothing-NOTHING-can stop you.

8. A marketing warrior never gives up. It's not that deciding to be a marketing warrior means everything you touch will instantly become gold. Marketing is all about trial and error. If you stop at error, you'll never find the gold.

These warrior attitudes are good to keep nearby, like taped to your computer, for regular viewing. When put into practice on a regular basis, they begin to form a rock-solid foundation for your business.