MARKETING CONVERSATIONS, AND CONVERSATION STOPPERSWritten by Nina Ham
Where many marketing conversations get off-track are ones you have with yourself, before you even pick up phone or initiate handshake. As independent professionals, usually at helm of solo businesses, we sometimes find ourselves facing daunting internal obstacles as we try to begin our day’s marketing activity. With no one in our office-of-one to help with a confidence booster, an important resource to have in our self-management toolbox is a means of submitting negative self-talk for an internal Second Opinion. Let’s imagine you’re about to pick up phone to follow up on a promising contact you met a few days ago. You recognize that clammy hands gripping phone are a sure sign that Fear of Rejection is in charge. You’ve convinced yourself that voice about to answer your call is just waiting for an excuse, any excuse, to hang up. What to do? Time for a Second Opinion! The Department of Second Opinions draws on that part of yourself that knows enough to question self-defeating voices by asking, “How real is this?” Buttressing its wisdom is recognition that a conversation underlies every marketing activity as sub-text, a conversation that’s usually unspoken. While we may tend to think of marketing as telling people what we do, in fact all our marketing activities implicitly ask a question: “Do my services have potential value to you?” When Fear of Rejection is in charge, door slams shut on any potential conversation. “Do my services have value?” “No!” End of conversation. But what if you stay in (unspoken) conversation and wonder, “What are they actually saying no to, and why?” They could be saying no to having conversation now, or to a perceived misfit between their needs and your services, or even to person they couldn’t say no to 10 minutes earlier!
| | Little Stocking Stuffers for You, Your Friends, or Your eZine ReadersWritten by Susan Dunn, Marketing Coach
We know you’re always looking for nice little things to tuck into your eZine for your readers. Here are some thoughtful and truly FREE little stocking stuffers for you, and for your readers. Here’s a site where you can convert those affiliate code and PayPal links which are not only long, but offensive, and a tipoff to people who reproduce your articles not to include them, to something smaller, like this: http:/ inyurl.com/yg73 by going here: www.tinyurl.com . 3. You can send really jazzy online e-invitations by going here: www.evite.com . Has a response system and management system for your “event” as well. 4. This site has children’s awards you can e-mail that might come in handy for BIG kids around you as well. Either send award, or pass on site: http://www.kidbibs.com/awards/card.html 5. Nominate your pet for Pet of Day, all animal companions included: http://www.petoftheday.com/submit/
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