Getting a Grip in the Age of Hyperbole
By Karri • Jan 1st, 2008 • Category: small businessBeing in business for yourself is both grueling and rewarding. Choosing a marketing strategy—and a consultant you trust to execute it—can drive even the most level headed entrepreneur downright mad. And if you do business on the web, a tactical labyrinth awaits you. How does one choose an optimal course of action when every one appears to promise great returns? Seems the Internet and its accompanying army of multimedia minions has heralded the Age of Hyperbole when all we need most days is a good dose of common sense.
I’ve always felt that the New Year is not so much a time for resolutions as it is an opportunity to clear the clutter and refocus on the fundamentals. No need to wring your weary brain senseless trying to concoct the next big thing. Instead, sit back and reflect on the wisdom of those who’ve come before you. Think about how you might incorporate the tried and true instead of how you might get happy on the crack marketing you bought from the latest “guru.”
So I’ve come up with a handy list for those I-could-really-use-some-perspective-so-I-don’t-throddle-my-consultant Monday mornings. You know, those Mondays when the coffee goes cold too fast and the sales aren’t exactly ringing in like jingle bells (sorry, couldn’t resist). Let’s get to the truth of the matter then:
- You are more likely to get struck by lightning than you are to get rich in a week, a month or even a year. Deal with this reality immediately. Then get on with the business of filling the pipeline with prospects.
- Know where you are going even if you don’t know exactly how to get there. A business plan is not a substitute for vision. Nor should the authoring of a plan ever stall progress.
- Find better and better ways to spoon feed your audience the answers and information they find irresistible. In Internet marketing, this is really all you should ever spend money on.
- No one cares about your taste in web design or why you think your offerings are “premier.” In the same vein, be suspect of any consultant or developer who is too eager to stroke your ego.
- Business should be personal, but don’t take things personally. Recognize constructive criticism for what it is: an opportunity to be more relevant.
- You pay a consultant or web developer for future returns, not time and labor. A good consultant will make sure you get more than you paid for. A cheap one will make sure you get less.
- If you are not willing to define your target market, no amount of marketing brilliance can make up for the losses you will incur as a result of diluted customer value.
- Be willing to make mistakes. It’s the only way to learn what works and what doesn’t. So plan for trial and error because it will bring you closer faster to the sweet spot.
- If you can’t explain why people should give you money, don’t expect anyone else to figure it out for you. They can’t and they won’t.
- Boredom is not good enough reason to change course. Intuition is gleaned from experience and observation, both of which require time and patience.
- There are millions of people just like you trying to make a buck online. If you don’t like competition, maybe this gig isn’t for you.
Hype only works when there is something real and good and interesting behind it. Take some time this New Year to just sit with your priorities. Shake them around in your head and see where they fall. You might be surprised to find that this Internet marketing thing isn’t as big a deal as you thought.
