Voices

The thin line between potty-training and marketing

IMGCAP(1)]The Kuesel household recently adopted a 13-week-old puppy named Pepper. Having never had a puppy before, we’re quickly learning the art of potty training, leash training, crate training, not chewing the furniture, etc. It’s a journey we’re happy to embark upon, but one for which we couldn’t possibly have anticipated the patience, consistency, and repetition required to teach our new puppy the basics.

It quickly reminded me of the patience, consistency and repetition required when one decides to focus on marketing for the first time. Just as our first several attempts at leash training were quite rough (and many would say unsuccessful), your first several attempts at marketing will likely feel uncomfortable and perhaps even unsuccessful. However, we would not consider giving up after a few tries, and neither should you. Because we know walking on a leash is an essential skill for the future of Pepper’s success for life in the city, we will work on it until we get it right.

Now think about other types of marketing activities you should have as staples of your career as a professional advisor—whether it be meeting with a referral source, presenting a proposal to a prospect, or even cross-selling services to an existing client. Do you get a referral at every meeting? Do you win the business every time? Does the client buy the additional value-added service you’re discussing? No. But does that mean you never do these types of activities again? Of course not.

To be successful long-term with your marketing and business development efforts, you need a consistent and repetitive approach to achieve success. Along with this comes patience. It may take several meetings with a referral source before you get a referral, several attempts at networking before you get the hang of it, and several proposals before you close a sale.

And remember that the buddy system can help to make things easier. For us, that means that both Colleen and I are working on Pepper’s skills at the same time. Together, we can observe what works, what doesn’t, and try again – with each other’s support along the way. It’s no different when marketing. Whether it is networking, presenting to a prospect, or virtually any other marketing activity, having a buddy or partner helps to make the process easier – and could help to accelerate your success.

So, the next time you think of giving up, think of Pepper never being potty-trained because the first few times we tried, it didn’t work. That thought alone should push you to try marketing again – and again – until you’re successful.

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