Happy Wednesday!
Can you believe its already April? The year sure is flying by. This month, we are pleased to provide details for a new search for the Executive Director for Home of the Sparrow, a shelter for homeless women and their children in Crystal Lake, Illinois. We have included a list of this and other ongoing searches with links to their position profiles below. As always, we encourage you to recommend any exceptional candidates who would be a fit.
Please take a moment and enjoy this month's article by our guest writer, Robert Middleton. Robert talks to us about the timeless issue of the fear of marketing.
We hope you have a wonderful month and that you are able to take a time out of your busy schedule to enjoy some beautiful spring weather!
Rebecca Worters
President, Capability Company
________________________________________________
Current Searches
Home of the Sparrow
Durham's Partnership for Children
Oblates Missionary Society
Brevard Music Center
Best Friends Animal Society
North Carolina State University, College of Physical
and Mathematical Sciences (PAMS)
Custom Development Solutions
________________________________________________
Word Count: 854
Approximate Reading Time: 10 Minutes
Conquering Marketing Fears
If someone gave me a magic wand that I could use to solve any marketing issue my subscribers and customers faced, what would that issue be?
Only one comes to mind. I suspect it was the same issue fifty years ago and would be the same issue fifty years from now.
That issue is "Fear of People."
Nothing holds people back from growing their business more than that. I see this issue reflected in every problem or concern people face when marketing their services.
Here are four of the most common instances:
Writing
People are afraid what others will think of their writing. They are afraid it won't be good enough, and that they'll be ridiculed if it doesn't meet the standards for the Pulitzer Prize.
Speaking
It's almost a cliche that the biggest fear people have is speaking in front of groups. You'd think, from the hesitation, that speaking was as dangerous as facing a firing squad.
Networking
Meeting new people can sometimes be fun, but often it doesn't feel very safe to us. Meeting strangers and sharing ourselves often feels scary and risky and therefore easy to avoid.
Calling
Picking up the phone to follow-up with someone you've met, or God-forbid, someone you've never met, triggers feelings of cowardice in the bravest of people.
Notice that these fears are all connected to communicating with other people. They are all about putting your message in front of others. There is only one conclusion: We are afraid of people.
Until we face this truth and deal with it, marketing is never going to be a lot of fun, or very productive, for that matter. Marketing is going to be an ordeal when we imagine judgment, rejection and ridicule at every turn.
Notice that I said "imagine."
For the most part, these horrors of being judged, rejected and ridiculed are just that - imagination. If they are not real, why do they *feel* so real to us?
Short answer: Something happened when you were a kid.
When you were very young, life was full of magic and possibilities. You could imagine anything and do everything. You were the master of your little universe and things were very good.
But then that thing happened. Some big kid beat you up; you tried selling something to the neighbors and they weren't interested; you weren't allowed to join a club; somebody called you a name.
Way back then, the judgment, rejection, and ridicule were very real. You tried, expected success, and failed. And it felt bad. So you told yourself something to protect yourself:
"I don't want to play anyway."
"I'll never ask anybody to do anything."
"I'll always play it safe and not get hurt."
What we tell ourselves in a moment of intense emotion tends to stick - not for just a few days, but often for a lifetime. We find ourselves arranging our lives to avoid any kind of judgment, rejection or ridicule.
Bad news if your livelihood depends on communicating to others about what you can offer them!
The funny thing is, we blame the bad feelings on marketing and selling, as if they were out to get us! "Marketing is hard, bad, manipulative, slimy and unethical. And besides, there's no time to do it and it really doesn't work anyway!!"
With a firmly entrenched mindset that is structured to avoid marketing and selling at all costs, it's easy to see why we don't do well with it. Many barely get by in their businesses. Others fail completely, unable to effectively "put themselves out there."
"OK, Robert, I get it! But what can I do about it? How can I stop being run by my fears of people?"
I plan to expand on this in next week's issue, but I'll share a few things now for you to consider:
One, if you are afraid of people, how do you think most people feel about you? They are afraid of you. Little ol' you. Deathly afraid that you'll judge, reject and ridicule them. If you really see the truth of that, something may shift for you.
Two, the you that is afraid of being judged, rejected and ridiculed isn't you. It's you as a five, six or seven year old. Would you accept this advice from a child: "Be afraid of everyone so you don't get hurt." Of course not.
Three, ask yourself: "If I could no longer be afraid of marketing myself, who would I be instead?" Would you be courageous, inspiring, and someone who makes a difference? If you knew you had that choice (and you do), what would you choose?
*
The More Clients Bottom Line: Fear of people is a big factor that holds us back from effective marketing. It keeps us small, it prevents us from making the difference we could. The thing to get is that the fear is no longer real. It's doesn't have to have a grip on you any longer. It's time to move on to bigger things.
*
How has fear held you back from effectively marketing your business? How did you get past it?
This article is by Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Robert's web site is a comprehensive resource on marketing for Independent Professionals. For free marketing resources and valuable marketing tools, click here.
Need help with a search for a client? We work in tandem with consultants to help their clients find the best people for top management team positions in nonprofit organizations. To find out more, call us at (866)832-1136, email us at rebecca@capabilitycompany.com, or visit our website at www.capabilitycompany.com.
