Did "Marketing" Kill your fire for your business? (also known as death by marketing)

Have you had this experience… did you start doing something in your business with passion, with fire? You tried to do it justice by learning all the business and marketing stuff about how to make it work, make it better, reach more people, make a living…etc. (Whatever the sales page of the training program tried to convince you…) A few months later, you find yourself in a rut, chasing your tail in the hamster wheel, but you don’t know why the hell you are anymore. doing.

Most of us are dedicated to what we do because of our passion for the “art”, regardless of the results it delivers, who it serves and how it does it. We start a business so that we can do what we do best and do it in the way we see fit without others telling us what to do and how to do it.

We don’t start our businesses (along with stress, “uncertainty” and giving up health insurance) just so we can market our businesses.

We start our businesses because we are passionate about what we do (eg, a specific training process, subject matter of expertise, the tools and knowledge… the “geeky” stuff). We start our businesses because we want to express ourselves and share our gifts through something over which we can (theoretically, at least!) have complete control so that we don’t have to compromise our message, our integrity, our truth.

We want to make our lives something we stand for… We want our lives to be more than ticking the clock.

However, after a while, probably after some training and programs, taken with the intention of promoting our business so that we can spread our message and help more people, we slowly but surely realize how our expression, interaction and decisions have become more and more. driven by what we were “told” to be “marketing best practices” than by our individual vision and experience (as in our super power, secret sauce, and unique process that actually help our clients achieve results).

We force ourselves to go through some canned processes that require us to cut off our limbs so we can fit into a “tried and true” box. We suffocate with “models”, and if we do not get the “advertised results”, we conclude that there is something wrong with us, or that we are simply not good enough. (So ​​we buy more of these workouts, further stifling our originality, luring ourselves into the comparison trap, and somehow making us feel even more inadequate!)

We were told, workout after workout and program after program, to SHUT UP the WHOLE process and only talk about the “results”, the “benefits”. We were told that nobody cares about our “process”, our “tools”, essentially, our passion for our “crafts”, our superpower, our secret sauce. In fact, this is said over and over so often that it is accepted as “true.” Hey, when was the last time you questioned and challenged yourself?

Have we ever thought that being told over and over again to shut up about our process, tools, and “how we create results” because “people will just gawk” is sending a message to our subconscious that our passion for our “art” is not important? That nobody cares? That we should leave it at the door so we can create canned marketing messages that “people get” – because you’re aiming for the lowest common denominator?

How is this different from being told to leave your dream at the office door and settle in the cubicle? (At least you get health insurance, appear to be “gainly employed,” and don’t have to fumble explaining what you’re doing at the cocktail party!)

What if we can MAKE OUR PROCESS OUR MESSAGE?

Please me, just ask… What if?

What if we can take an interest in what we do, how we do it, AND make it attractive to our ideal clients? What if we can have our cake and eat it too?

Here’s what I know: It’s much easier to find your passion and then wrap it up in marketing content, than it is to find something hopefully marketable and then become passionate about it. You are not a used car salesman. Choosing a “niche” because others tell you it will work, it won’t work in the long run.

What if you can lead with your “art,” then package and position your passions and superpowers in their full glory into profitable, marketable offerings without leaving any part of YOU behind?

What if you don’t have to cut off an arm and a leg to get into the “marketing box”?

Imagine his passion for his “art” – the process, the tools, the knowledge – is a beach ball. By nature, a fully inflated and happily filled beach ball floats. Many marketing trainings tell you to push the beach ball down and keep it under water because “most things sink”! Hmm, let’s make the beach ball “sink” so it can “snap”. If it’s happily inflated, you’ll have to keep pushing it and keep pushing it to get it to stay down. The moment you stop struggling, it appears and you feel like you have failed the task. Eventually, you get tired of pushing it down 24/7, so you DEFLATE the beach ball by letting go of your passion. The sadly deflated beach ball sinks and fits.

Have you lost fire by denying certain aspects of your passion? To get out of the rut, he looks for more programs and training, getting sucked into quick fixes with big promises. You keep hitting your head and think that somehow you can find that spark outside of you. Someone’s going to give it to you on a silver platter for $297.

Yet those workouts keep telling you to shut up about your passion for your “art”… and slowly but surely, you drink the kool-aid and instead of questioning what’s going on and what’s true for you, follow the directions, do homework, and soften your voice.

I know of an amazing spiritual mentor who was once told by a “marketing guru” to “put down her anger and rage” because she “wouldn’t sell.” She struggled for a long time with some watered down messages. Fortunately, she found another mentor who encouraged her to put it all out there. She launched a show called “Rage To Riches” (yes, she’s SELLING the raging, angry part of her) and now makes five figures a month.

Instead of stifling our unique combination of process, tools, knowledge and experience, what if we could MAKE OUR PROCESS OUR MESSAGE and use “marketing” to make it work for our business?

Yes, we may still be “opening the door” with some “results and benefits”, but what about the next layer? Are people really going to pay you a lot of money if you sound like your competition? What makes you special? What makes your potential customers choose you over someone who makes the same promise to “lose 10 pounds and feel energized”?

They all have a variation of the same “elevator pitch”: the same “talk about the benefits, the frustration, and don’t forget the fears!” What makes you different is not replacing some words and ending the day.

What sets you apart is your process, what you actually do to create results for your clients, YOUR way. Their unique process is not an “x month schedule” handed to you by your coaching school or other training programs.

You can’t buy some schematics and brochures off the shelf and jump into the box because you think you’re not good enough or don’t know enough to create your own process. (Those materials have a place to help you get up and running faster and easier, but the foundation of your business should not be built on the mindless regurgitation of these materials.)

Your process is a gem that is a crystallization of all your passions, knowledge, tools, life experience, courage, gifts, and superpowers. It’s YOU as the whole package.

I’ve read enough sales pages to tell you I don’t give a damn about “benefits” anymore because they pretty much say the same thing…”x customers in 30 days!” “6 figure business in x months!”… I buy because of the person behind the copy. I want to know what you stand for, what tools you have at your disposal, how you approach the subject, how you deliver your materials, because the process is where the results and the magic happen. I want to know that this person I’m working with isn’t regurgitating something I’ve heard before, some cookie cutter systems, others are regurgitating as well.

When I get to the sales page for a workout/training program, I sometimes know within 10 seconds that I have to join that program without finishing reading the first paragraph. Because? I can feel the energy of the author and instantly know if it’s something original, something with GUTS, something that fits well with me.

Your potential customers can feel your energy, passion, and enthusiasm through your communication, even if it’s just written words. If you don’t write about something you’re completely passionate about, if you dish out something canned and watered down, how can you expect your readers to “feel” you, to be inspired enough to work with you?

Blanket promises about just results and benefits don’t communicate veracity or establish the trust you need to make meaningful connections.

Here is the irony. I have seen quite a few “certification programs” that train trainers to deliver business and marketing training. Guess what they are selling – yes, the PROCESS! They’re selling the process (what some later turned into a signature system) that turns around and tells us, hey, stop talking about your process! Nobody cares about the process… but apparently there are plenty of people who care enough to shell out thousands of dollars to get certified. Hmmm… let’s think about that for a moment, shall we?

Many business coaches also advocate creating a signature system. So it’s all about the process, right? In my opinion, the signature system is a great marketing communication tool because, when done correctly, it tells people succinctly what you do and how you do it, linking the process to the desired benefits/results. HOW DO YOU DO IT. Yes, the process.

Don’t get me wrong, I love marketing and approach it as an art form, a form of self-expression. Not the canned version that plays “Simon Says.” Marketing communication is all about understanding who you want to serve and how you do it and then communicating that so your ideal customers understand the value you offer (simple right?)

Who is to say that your process, which is a crystallization of all your passions, knowledge, tools, life experiences, values, gifts, and superpowers, is not an important part of your message? I would like to know these things before I decide to pay a lot of money and hire someone!

If you can’t fully accept yourself and show all your uniqueness; If you hide behind watered-down, canned “results” that you *think* people want to hear, how can you expect others to fully accept your genius?