Republished, with permission, from a feature we were asked to do for HeartFire Media
There is an old adage that goes, “You get what you pay for”.
It’s true. You also get what you don’t pay for. Where does this apply to
business owners both large and small? Marketing. Multi-billion (and million)
dollar companies pay beau coups of bucks for their marketing. Why? Because
these corporate titans know that successful marketing is vital to their
business. They know that in today’s information age of the
ever-fickle-attention-span-challenged consumer that staying top of mind is
crucial to making money.
You Say You Want It,
But….
I bet that you sat down toward the end of 2014, or even as
recently as a few days ago, and outlined a plan for success in 2015; to make it
“your year”. I also bet that you put marketing on the back burner – as most
folks do. I would also be willing to wager that you are saying to yourself, “When
I close that deal or when I have ‘X’ in my bank account, then I will worry
about marketing.” Am I getting warmer?
Thing is, you have it all wrong. You are living in a
scarcity mentality. You are wondering where that next client, that next dollar
is going to come from and you are lost in the personal hell of your “short
term”, instead of focusing on the bigger picture.
And that is why you will continue to struggle.
Because you don’t want it bad enough (success) – even though
you say you do.
Now, if you see where I am headed with this, and if you are
nodding your head in agreement with the last few “bets” I made with you, I would
also bet your next question will be:
“Where Do I Start?”
First off, we need to switch your mindset. What if you
created an environment that brought customers to you, based on your knowledge
and expertise? How would you feel knowing that your ability to pay your
mortgage or make your car payment didn’t hinge on that one deal you are waiting
to get, because you have so many other people in your pipeline?
I want you to think for a moment about some of the most
successful folks in your industry – whatever industry that might be. Really think
about this for a moment. What do they do that you aren’t doing? You probably
already know the answer, but in case you don’t, here it is: They are
prioritizing their marketing, they are flooding their advertising budget with
dollars and hiring industry experts – who are actually good at what they do –
to help them leverage their online presence; keeping them top of mind with our
aforementioned fickle consumers, while you are already forgotten. (Yes, I know
that hurts, but the truth usually does.)
Now, look at you. Take a good, hard look at you and your
business. Think about all the time you waste trying to do things yourself in
the marketing arena. Tally that up. Now, admit to yourself that you are wasting
time; valuable time that you could be using to interface with customers, gain
new clients and do the activities you need to do in order to grow your
business, in order to reach your 2015 goals.
It’s All About Leverage
Having worked (and having trained) many real estate agents
in the great state of Texas, I have seen more than my fair share of these
lovely folks do nothing but waste time trying to do their own marketing. Hours
upon hours wasted making flyers, sending postcards, trying to figure out
blogging, social media and trying to learn new technology. On the flip side, if
they had simply put out the money and hired a professional in the first place, they
would never worry about leads again. They would be free to focus on their
business. And they aren’t alone. Business owners around the country are guilty
of the same self-marketing sins.
You get what you pay for. You also get what you don’t pay
for.
Ouch.
Here is The Bottom
Line
Lead generation is the number one problem that most business
owners face today. Leverage is the only way to solve that problem. So what are
you going to do differently today, this quarter, this year? Are you going to
make your marketing budget a priority and hire a professional so that you can
put your time back into your business? Or will you continue to get what you
don’t pay for, get back down on your knees and pray that next deal goes through
so you can “eventually” hire a marketing pro? Which way do you want to ring in
the New Year for your business? Do you want to start on top, or end at the
bottom…again?
Think about it, and let me know.
Shauna Zamarripa is CEO and founder of Valkeryie Consulting, a firm dedicated to
helping business owners monetize their marketing and a content marketing
expert. Her book, “How
to Make Big Money Blogging in 90 Days or Less” is available for purchase
through Amazon.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter, Google+
and Instagram.
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