CONTENTS THIS ISSUE:
1. The New Marketing Method
2. Rules for Marketing as a Spiritual
Practice
3. New Products for Marketing
Tasks
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“Marketing
as Spiritual Practice: Unearthing Your Potential”
Marketing as we know it is over. Done. Finito.
People the world over are bored and spammed to
the brink of tears. But there is good news: There’s
a better way to connect with precisely those you
wish to reach … and it works far better
than traditional, expensive, gimmick-driven marketing.
We call this method “Marketing as a Spiritual
Practice.” Why? Because marketing is actually
a process, just like any real spiritual quest.
It takes time. There are countless “monsters”
(or at the very least, struggles) at every juncture.
We learn our lessons through trying and failing.
And despair, it seems, is always just around the
corner. But this process teaches us invaluable
lessons:
Experiencing success
and failure shows that you are really trying.
True, you’ll have periods of denial, followed
by frustration, and anger. But these will eventually
be followed by enlightenment and elation.
Marketing really is much
more than a task to achieve financial success.
It’s about unearthing potential—in
your business, in the leaders of your company,
and in the kinds of clients you attract. And when
you learn to market as a spiritual practice, the
sense that marketing is a “chore”
will vanish. Instead, the process becomes meaningful,
so you’ll value and enjoy it.
Once you break from ho-hum marketing and learn
to put your deeper beliefs “out to the universe”
(think: “a broader level of promotion”),
a remarkable thing will happen: You
will attract those who really need and appreciate
the products or services your company provides.
It’s an incredibly simple concept. [Then
again, Buddhists say their methods are simple,
yet it takes decades for their monks to master
them.]
Rules
for Marketing as a Spiritual Practice
If the following rules for this new marketing
paradigm sound “New Age,” read between
the lines of any enormous business success story
(even Donald Trump) and you’ll find similar
guidelines (OK, so maybe #4 would be a major stretch
for The Donald!).
- Whatever
you put out to the universe, you will get back.
-
Use intuition, willingness, clarity, and truth
in your messages.
-
Let your vision, beliefs, and values guide all
decisions for the greater purpose of your work.
-
Address problems with a willingness to learn,
open-mindedness, and most important –
with compassion.
-
Continue to grow, take calculated risks, believe
your clients, have faith in yourself and your
business … and take action to gain success!
Willingness
& Risk-Taking
Willingness is the
state of mind that takes an idea from intuition
to creation. But too often, this
willingness is defeated by a belief (especially
inherent in business owners or entrepreneurs)
that “we can do it all ourselves.”
If you are open to assistance and you have good
direction, you will usually reach your goals.
Case in point: We worked with a writing firm owner
who wanted to return to her roots, doing more
journalistic projects. After years of writing
marketing materials and web content for technology-based
firms, this owner
lacked the confidence to approach
editors of consumer-focused publications and pitch
her story ideas.
After a Speed Consulting
session (just $180), our team
helped her map out a strategy for breaking through
her pain-points, and created several simple-to-execute
tactics:
• development of a story outline
• creation of an attention-grabbing &
strategic editorial pitch
• identification of a targeted media list
to contact
In just a week,
we convinced two publications to pick up one of
her articles. True, few stories
are sold this quickly. But we believe that it
was the writer’s willingness to adapt to
the editors’ exact needs that allowed her
business goals to be realized. In fact, one of
the publications has since advised her that they
would like her to write a series of articles...so
this could be the beginning of an exciting, ongoing
relationship for this very talented writer.
What is the Value
of This “Spiritual” Approach?
In Her Own Words …
”After 20 years as a writer, and writing
about everyone else’s products and services,
I found it hard to pitch my own. But Allison helped
me to remember that editors are simply another
target market seeking a product (my writing) that
will meet their editorial requirements, and will
be of interest to their readers.
What was really wonderful about my consultation
with Allison was that she
made the process so simple.
I had only to accomplish a few tasks, play to
my own strengths, and the rest took care of itself.
I could never have done this without Allison’s
immediate grasp of my needs, her very wise counsel,
and her help with the pitches.
I tell my friends: If you’re paralyzed by
a bad case of the
“buts” (I’m
really good at this, but...), and you truly have
a willingness to succeed, do yourself a HUGE
favor and call Allison! She can
get you “unstuck” and back on track
in no time, with her intelligent, caring, cost-effective,
no-BS brand of marketing.”
— Owner, Lucchesi
Communications
More
Tips for Implementing Marketing as a Spiritual
Practice
If you really care about your clients,
you owe it to yourself and to them
to stay in touch.
Think
they’ll automatically remember you? Realistically,
when they have a zillion other pressing concerns,
and you haven’t been in touch for a while,
it’s not likely. It’s absolutely imperative
to stay in touch with those you have put so much
energy into helping. So keep helping them! Establish
a communications program to let these potential
clients know you’re still around, and that
you’re still available to help them.
Use your network!
Trust those who have benefited
from your products or services in the past to
value you, to want to help you, and to want to
help their friends or colleagues by referring
you. Ask them to refer you to their associates!
Better yet, give them an incentive for referring
closed business, such as a coupon for a free massage,
dinner for two, tickets to a game, or perhaps
an industry-appropriate gift.
Take your referrals
and leads seriously. If you’re
trying to develop your business, you should talk
to every potential customer or client, at least,
to determine if they need your product or service
now or later. If they’re in the “later”
category, add them to your database and be sure
to stay in touch regularly. Make a concerted effort
to do this in the next four months, and you can
expect to see some real rewards.
Get help when you
need it. When you find yourself
working on the tenth revision of a postcard, flier,
website, brochure, letter to clients, or similar
tool, it’s time to get professional help
. . . no, not a psychotherapist, a marketing pro!
Allison Bliss Consulting is continually practicing
(although not always perfecting) what the company
preaches. We place the values of humanity, intelligence,
compassion and great work above tacky marketing
that embarrasses people. And the company donates
a portion of its revenues to the community: the
SF SPCA, Wardrobe for Opportunity, Habitat for
Humanity, and East Bay Goodwill. So, working with
Allison Bliss Consulting helps serve a greater
purpose in our world.
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