Fear in Marketing - Part II

Here is part 2 of Robert Middleton's series on Fear in Marketing. When you read this, take some time to think through specifically how you can apply these steps to your Noah's Ark Workshop business - and specifically to areas were you are paralyzed to inaction because of what you fear. This is huge!

And please comment below on what you think.

Here's his post for today:

In last week's More Clients, I was rather blunt about how people
are afraid of people and how that impacts their marketing.

In general, the fear of being judged, fear of ridicule and fear of
rejection are at the top of the "Fear Hit Parade." Just think, if you
didn't have those fears, what would you do to market your
business that you're not doing now?

But even if you knew exactly what to do, when it comes time to
take action, the fear strikes again and every fiber of your being
starts to argue why taking this action isn't such a good idea - at
least not right now - maybe later.

So, fear is a given.

But clearly, it doesn't stop everyone all of the time. Many of us
find a way over, around or through our fears and ultimately take
the actions necessary to move our businesses forward.

But can you speed up the process?

My experience is definitely yes. Some fears can hold you back for
a lifetime. But if you follow this seven-step process you can get
beyond your fears relatively quickly and produce results as a
much higher level, with a lot less struggle.

1. Set a marketing goal that's important to you
Without a goal, no fear, no resistance. Many people play life and
even business this way, but we'll assume you want more than
that. However, as soon as you've charted your direction, fear can
get triggered rather quickly.

2. Recognize your fears and the power they have over you
If you're in denial, you can't work with them. However, if you can
honestly admit you're afraid of networking, speaking, writing or
asking for the business, you can then take the next step.

3. Realize the cost of the fears (reality check)
Fears leads to inaction, to stagnation, to doubt and to more fear.
But you need to see the specific cost to you: "By not making
those follow-up calls I'm probably missing out on gaining some
new clients. And the longer I delay, the harder it will be."

4. Imagine taking the action without the fear
If you can actually see yourself making those calls, giving that
talk or writing an article, you are on the way to a breakthrough. If
you couldn't have the fear, who would you be? How would you act
differently? Picture and feel this as vividly as possible.

5. Learn some basic marketing how-tos
Now that you can imagine taking effective action without fear, you
need some information about what actually works and what
doesn't work. There's not a lot of sense in fearlessly taking actions
that won't get you where you want to go!

6. Make a simple plan and take one step at a time
Leverage your inspiration and clarity by taking quick and decisive
action. But do something that is doable, where you can experience
an immediate win. Don't sabotage yourself by setting impossible
goals. Write a short article before you tackle that book.

7. Get support, coaching and consulting
Over the years, I've coached hundreds of people though this
process. They came to me stuck, confused and afraid about how
to make their marketing work. With direction, encouragement
and support they found that attracting clients was a game they
could win.

Success Will Follow Naturally

Once you've gone through this process several times, your
confidence grows, fear subsides and success follows naturally,
with minimum struggle. This basic approach to getting past
marketing fears is very effective if you apply all the steps.

However, I've noticed that most people focus primarily on steps 5
and 6. They get some information (often not enough) and then
take some actions (without a lot of planning).

But if things don't go too well (and isn't this usually the case
when you try something new?), you start to experience the fears
and doubts again and end up quitting before you're half way
there. Of course, you always have a good reason!

How often do you take the time to look at and work with your
fears? Wouldn't it make sense to come back to steps 2, 3 and 4
throughout the process? And wouldn't it make even more sense
to get support to guide you until you were confident in your
ability to consistently produce marketing results?

*

The More Clients Bottom Line: Any marketing action plan that
doesn't take into account the fears you have is going to be rough
going. Fears are a given, but you can work with them. And it's
just as important to get some experienced guidance on the path.

© 2007 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. You are free
to use material from the More Clients eZine in whole or in part,
as long as you include complete attribution, including live web
site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear.
The attribution should read:

"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit
Robert's web site at www.actionplan.com for additional
marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses."