In a conversation with a marketing professional recently, a client of his came up that was having great difficulty in the market.
Nothing was selling. Customers we not adding new accounts. Marketing was not working. The longer this dragged on, the more the client sought an answer, and the harder the client tried to differentiate, to stand out, to make himself known.The client was doubling down on every aspect of outreach and was focused on the highest level differentiators of the product offering, hammering them as if the continued push of a square peg into a round hole would eventually work. What resulted was a ‘shoot from all angles’ barrage that left prospects, customers – and even the client’s own marketing and sales resources completely overwhelmed.The marketing professional quipped, “This guy completely forgot what got him here. He has become something else – and quite frankly something of a monster. No one wants to work with a monster, not even me. If he could simply take a step back and think about what got him into the business in the first place. What problem was he passionate about solving and how did he solve it? What mattered to him and what matters about what the product delivers.If he could go back in time far enough to remember where he came from – then he could clarify, simplify and focus his message without prejudice. He could be more deliberate and valuable to the market with less noise. Throwing darts against a big wall never works, really.”
Take some time to remember what got you into the business you are in. What thrilled you about what you do on day one? How do you make a difference? What value do you provide? This type of an internal reset is an excellent way to reinforce the value of what you do and why you do it. Renewed energy, sense of purpose, and clarity around how you work may follow.Related:
Read This Before Entering a Pitch Scenario
