I've definitely had the attitude of when it comes to marketing that it was some form dark art, a power wielded by only a select few.
That a marketing plan was a whole heap of deluded fantasies that just happened to be written down. Who cares what the PLAN says anyway. What I need is LEADS in my business, not fictional numbers on a spreadsheet.
I knew logically that the plan said we need 10 people in an event, therefore we needed to speak to 100 people about it, generate 1000 leads, so on and so forth…. but I had no idea how to do that.
I thought those results were impossible.... and they WERE.... for me.
Years ago, my mentor said to me, look, how much time did you spend getting really good at writing software….
“6 years at uni, plus years working in the industry"
How much time and money did you spend learning how to make world class experiential learning games?
“about 120 days immersive, real world, facilitation training over the last two years and $50k”
“Right", he said, “so what you’re really saying is that you have a track record of dedication to learning, and when you do, you tend to get REALLY good…."
“I guess so", I replied, "… yeah that’s pretty accurate”
So what if you spent 3 years really focussing on your sales and marketing process. I bet you could get really good at that too….
… because it’s just a skill like anything else.
I had a goal in 2014 to generate 200 phone numbers for my business….. IN. A. WHOLE. YEAR. That was a huge, UNREALISTIC goal for me back then… and with guidance, hard work, money spent on mentoring and campaigns and asking a lot of questions, I got there….
All of a sudden, marketing numbers that were previously IMPOSSIBLE started becoming possible. People started valuing my advice and guidance on their campaigns…. they started getting CRAZY results.
… real businesses.
Not just coach, speaker, author, mentor, consultant clients.
We’re not talking about 1c LIKES here. We’re not talking about BRAND AWARENESS, or ENGAGEMENT. We’re talking about people giving us their details. Reaching out for help.
So, if you’re reading my stuff and you’re thinking that it's FINE for you, Ben, but my business is different.
I agree. I used to be you. I used to think that way. I am trained as an ENGINEER. I thought marketing was some fluffy magical thing where people take your money and don’t do a whole lot with it.
However, I learned that marketing is far more SCIENCE, STATISTICS and MATHS than it is ART. Once I really started to get that, that’s when I started to get far better at it. When I looked at it as a skill rather than something mysterious.
Turns out, lots of people don’t like maths and science. They don’t want to look at their ad stats. They don’t want to logically look at what is, and isn’t working.
… and that’s how I learned to win.
… and you can to.
The answers are all in your data. If you don't run ads yet, run some. Give yourself permission to stuff it up. Look at your data. Learn. If you don't have time for that, hire someone who can.
