When you identify an issue with marketing, it is all too simple to look initially for external help. I think this can be a mistake. Don’t jump into the arms of others too soon. Let me explain why I say this. Firstly read this part with care because I don’t want you running off half-cocked, getting the message wrong.
On the basis that we should surround ourselves with people who are better than us at doing the things that need to be done, I am not saying we should not seek help from marketing experts.
What I am saying, though, is that it is important you get your foundations in place first. I say this because if we ask for help before we have the rudimentary knowledge in place, we put ourselves in a position where the ‘tail is wagging the dog’ rather than the ‘dog wagging the tail!’ Surely it is smarter to seek knowledge first so that you can make informed decisions and informed selections? This has to be in the best interests of your machine.
I am not saying you have to do all your marketing yourself. I am saying give yourself the space to fully understand what needs to be done and what parts you need help with. Help can be given for various legitimate reasons, but one should not be that you don’t know that part of your business. Think about it, the exact opposite is true; who knows your business better than you? The answer should be nobody. If that is not your answer, then we have some work to do, but you are in the right place.
So, take some time to understand the elements that will create improvements to the machine. Improve what you can and get others to help you in your quest to build the best machine with the best possible components, genuine parts only, please.
Trust me; this will also benefit the experts you work with. The important word here is chosen. You do have a choice, and so you need to select with care for all the right reasons. You’ve heard the phrase measure twice, cut once. The same principle should be used here too. Here are my top seven reasons for not hiring an expert, followed by my top five rules for hiring an expert:
Rule 1 – Don’t hire based on acquaintance, but based on recommendation.
Rule 2 – Don’t hire family members, but on relevant experience.
Rule 3 – Don’t hire someone who networks where you do, but on examples of gaining the right results.
Rule 4 – Don’t hire on price, but on quality and results.
Rule 5 – Don’t hire from the top of Google, but on experience and shared values.
Rule 6 – Don’t hire because you don’t know, but because you have a proven need.
Rule 7 – Don’t hire because you have been told to, but because it is part of your well-thought-out plan that demonstrates the need.
“Marketing is all about making change happen, nothing more, nothing less, change is the key, change is everything to you.”
Chris Batten Author of The 7C’s opf Why
Like the person who had too much to drink last night, many people in business are still coping with the hangover of marketing as it used to be. Back in the day, when thousands were spent on advertising. The days when advertising was seen as the solution. The days when it was okay to use blatant interruption techniques and call it marketing.
Today we know better; today, we understand that it is about making change through demonstrability, through long-tail techniques. These techniques are not at the thick, expensive end of marketing but the thinner, long tail of marketing. This is where the emphasis is on the delivery to your market of what they want to hear, when they want to hear it and where they want to hear it.
When I refer to change, I am talking about changing perceptions, changing ideas and opinions, changing attitudes and doing this using stories and anecdotes that resonate with the market and put you in the centre of their vision, in the centre of their radar. In other words, it is time for you to think like a Rainmaker and STOP!
- Stop using interruption as a strategy.
- Stop using social media as the solution, joining the ‘white noise.’
- Stop looking for shortcuts.
- Stop following everyone. Be a high quality forward-thinking, grown-up business.
It will come as no surprise to you to learn that marketing today is about understanding people, understanding what they want and then showing them that you are an expert in the areas they are interested in. But, only do this if you truly are the expert! This is why learning is so very important. Expertise is like a plant that needs constant sunlight and water. If you keep it in the dark or forget to give it water, it will wilt and die. Your knowledge is the same.
Everything is moving and changing, so you need to keep up and keep learning to maintain your position as an expert. The more you know, the more you can share that knowledge and the more you can do that, the better. It doesn’t matter what line you are in; be the expert. If you sell coffee, be a coffee expert; if you hire wedding cars, be the expert in wedding cars and logistics; if you design websites, be the expert in your chosen language.
Marketing today is about giving people, your customers, the opportunity to be better versions of themselves. Marketing interestingly follows the Rainmakers mantra of Learn, Share, Develop, not by coincidence but by design. Everything in and on your machine should be by design. Design is your lifeblood in this regard.