But why is it so FREAKING hard to find these people on a regular basis????
You get all dressed up for a networking event. Pass out a ton of business cards. Schedule follow up via phone and email. Spend hours on social media posting, liking, and following. (Well, maybe it was only 20 min. ‘Fess up. I was there too laughing at jokes on #BlackTwitter! lol)
You’ve even tried paid ads and special incentives. The online marketing gurus constantly talk how this stuff works and suggest ads.
But…nothing. Crickets. Silence. You’d have an easier time finding an empty register at a Back to School penny sale.
So, here is an idea to ponder.
Maybe, marketing feels too much like “work” to you. And people can sense that.
You’d rather be doing your thing than communicating why you. You don’t want to spend time focusing on the stats of why people buy or opt not to buy. It’s too much like work educating yourself on the sales process. And it’s darn scary to test marketing techniques that may…or may not work.
However, people “sense” this about you. They see the burst of energy when you start talking to them every day. And then stop for months. Or when you hardly reach out at all and they have to guess what services you offer.
And it makes them wary to buy from you. You have to work to gain their trust.
So consider this – don’t look at marketing like WORK. Figure out how to embrace it. Where can you find JOY in this activity?
I hit upon an insight recently surrounding this idea. I was in the airport when I heard the news every traveler dreads:
Five hour delay
NOooooooooooo. I had just delivered two days of back to back all day workshops. High energy. Transformative. Guest speakers. Positive reviews from the attendees.
And I just wanted to go home and chill.
But an on-time flight wasn’t on my side. So I pulled out my phone, told my family the news, and started diving into my favorite social media sites.
And then I noticed….
Everyone around me did the same thing. They spent 10 minutes informing their loved ones. But settled in for a few hours of mindless activities on their phone.
- The business road warriors didn’t start goal setting or organizing receipts. (Me included!)
- No one whipped out a new book or language app that they saved for “when I have time”. And yes, the airport bookstore had plenty of good options.
- The college soccer team didn’t pull out any class work and start tackling it.
Why?
The human brain is not wired to want to learn all the time. But it loves to be
- Entertained
- Engaged
- Social
So here is the mindset shift I want you to make about finding your prospects and building your community
Stop thinking about building community like an item on your things to do list. Find a way to make it FUN. Entertaining. And dare I say: joyful.
Once you associate a level of joy from this activity, it will get exponentially easier. People will be interested in following you, tagging, liking, and tracking your next steps.
Because they feel GOOD after engaging and connecting with you. It doesn’t feel like they are being sold to.
This concept will work if you are:
- Uncomfortable about promoting what you are offering
- Get stuck about what to say
- Overly promotional
Seriously, there are a gazillion ways to do this. Start telling stories and sharing parts of your daily experience. Give people photos and quotes that spark inspiration. I often come across ideas after reading my Word. Or if you are known for your gift of laughter, tell a funny story. The day to day mishaps of life provide plenty of ideas.
Yes, this is the opposite of what your teachers asked you do when you were knuckling down in school to get good grades. The opposite of what you did during your first days at a new job when you wanted to impress your manager and new colleagues. And the opposite of what your well meaning family told you about the facts of life.
Hard work is key. But in today’s environment, it’s not enough. You need a bit more magic and pixie dust to stand out.
So shift from looking at marketing like WORK. Find your joy. Your entertainment. Your fun doing this activity.
And you’ll start to see your people naturally connect with you!
