Marketing For Introverts
“Let’s face it: selling isn’t for everyone. Some people, including executives and entrepreneurs, panic at the thought of “putting themselves out there,” especially when that means asking colleagues for referrals or reaching out to past clients to drum up new business. In the past few weeks, I’ve been approached by several company leaders clamoring for help. They know they need to bring clients in the door, but don’t want to look desperate or needy or smarmy. Isn’t there a path to growth that doesn’t involve wearing a snakeskin suit?”
“I usually start by pushing back: being a leader means being a rainmaker — period. No one is more convincing than you when it comes to explaining your company’s vision, approach, and the “secret sauce” that hopefully will compel clients to choose your firm rather than a competitor’s. It’s easy to imagine, as some of these executives and business owners do, that you can just “hire a marketing person” to take care of it. Unfortunately, winning clients is actually the most important part of your business, so it can sometimes be self-indulgent to fob it off entirely on an underling (you do the fun parts, and they can figure out, or not, how to make it viable). Anyone who’s read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited has gotten an earful about the perils of a “business as hobby” mentality.”
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Photo by DerrickT
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