In our Learning Community a client asked about feeling uncomfortable inviting folks to one of her offers. It was in a group she was speaking to, and she just didn’t want to start “tooting her horn.”
I get why so many hold this basic misunderstanding of marketing being about losing all humility, and becoming boastful about how great you are. There are just some terrible examples out there of ego-driven marketing. Of course you don’t want to do that, and if you don’t know what else is possible, it’s perfectly reasonable to back off of marketing all together.
Don’t back off! Let’s talk about a much more powerful alternative.
Idea to drop: You don’t need to convince people to buy.
“Convincing” means that someone doesn’t want to buy, is dead set against it, and you have to convince them to change their minds. That feels horrible to everyone involved. If someone is feeling that way, it’s okay to let them go.
Of course, if you’re addressing a crowd, you don’t know who feels that way and who doesn’t, but regardless, you don’t shape what you’re saying to try and convince the folks who don’t need what you’re doing. It’s okay to let them go.
Big breath of relief. Doesn’t that feel better? I can’t tell you how much more ease came into my body when I really got that I didn’t have to try and sell to people who weren’t interested? Let that relief flood in.
Idea to pick up: People like to feel invited.
People like to feel wanted, like they are included. A direct, open-hearted, non-pushy invitation is among the beautiful gifts we can give. Letting people know that help is available, and they are expressly invited, desired, welcome means the world to a heart that is struggling with something.
So many times over the last twenty years in business, I’ve heard from folks who wondered if they were invited, if they were welcome, if something we were offering was appropriate for them.
Belonging is such a huge wound in our culture, so many people feel as if they don’t belong. An open invitation, that people are free to accept or not, without any hard-selling tactics, feels surprisingly nourishing to folks.
The heart of it all: You’re trying to get the help to the people who really need it.
That’s really the foundation of marketing. I want you to feel wonderful about inviting people in, not because you’ve had to inflate your ego to absurd proportions, but because you can see people wrestling with the very issues you work with, and you don’t want them to have to wrestle if they don’t want to. You feel the delight in your heart at helping people in the ways that you do, and you want them to feel safe and welcome.
Take a moment and feel that delight, or whatever is in your heart around this. And imagine a group of people who chose to come to a free talk or webinar you gave, or were talking to you in conversation at some gathering, or any other context.
When you see them responding to what you are saying, they are nodding along when you speak of the struggle, of the wrestling, what are the words in your heart to invite them to consider getting help?
With love,
Mark Silver, M. Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Transform your relationship with your business, so you can finally feel great about succeeding.
I’ve noticed over the last twenty(!) years, that even when people know what to do, they can’t always follow through because it feels terrible to their heart, or they feel like they need to be someone else to do it. Having a healthy relationship with your business is such a fundamental part of success that it often gets overlooked.
The Heart of Your Business is a 9 week course, priced at pay-from-the-heart, that is intended to help you have a healthy relationship with business, and with your own business in particular. Spiritually, emotionally and also having a grasp of the nitty-gritty your business needs to succeed.
All of the audio and video materials are being updated for 2021, to make it easier to spend less time in front of the computer, and the time you do spend, will be with videos that are beautifully done and easy to take in.
Plus, if you register in May, there is a bonus class on Sovereignty I’m holding June 1, to help you step into really guiding your business, standing strong while keeping your heart open.
