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Marketing Planning

“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first.”

So says my Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) mentor, Tim Hallbom.  Everyone always chuckles when he says it, but taken to heart, it can be one of the most encouraging statements you’ll ever hear.

Besides writing web copy, I also consult with independent entrepreneurs on how to make money with their online marketing strategies.  And the biggest obstacle my clients (and I’ll venture a guess, you too) face is in their own minds.

It’s a desire to have everything be perfect BEFORE you get into action.  You (and I say “you,” but I’ll admit I still fall prey to this same syndrome at times) are so worried about making a mistake in your marketing that you end up not moving forward.

You get stalled in developing your website because you want to find the “perfect” designer.  You hold off on printing business cards while you obsess over coming up with the “ideal” business name and tagline.  You embark on a never-ending search for a “foolproof” marketing approach.

Once you’ve got those in place, you tell yourself, then you can start marketing your business.

The irony is that this has the same effect –or worse- as trying something that doesn’t work well.

So, I’m going to give you permission –right here and now- to be less than perfect.  (If you look closely you can see me waving a magic wand over your head.)

The field of NLP has a set of wonderful presuppositions about the world that can guide you toward a positive outcome in any situation.  One of my favorites is right in line with what we’re talking about here.

“There’s no such thing as failure, only feedback.”

In marketing, like in life, there are very few absolutes.  There are many, many variables that can come into play (the service you’re offering, your Core Audience, the timing, societal conditions, and on and on).  

What bombs miserably in one context may reap grand rewards in another.  What sounds fabulous on paper may flop when put into practice.  What works today may stop working tomorrow.  The point is, you can’t know until you try.

Personally, this need for experimentation and flexibility is what makes marketing my business fun.  It means I get to try new things and see what happens.  And then I get to learn from the experience – take what worked and improve on it, and discard the rest.

Because it’s all perfect, and it’s all just feedback (not evidence of my incompetence).  The entrepreneur who isn’t experimenting with (and learning from) their marketing is the entrepreneur whose business is stalled.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Don’t be afraid of making a mistake.  It’s called testing.