Generosity is the most effective and important attitude for a successful marketing relationship.
Give value, give value, give value.
It cannot be said clearly enough. There is no more powerful way to build trust and credibility.
But how do you avoid burnout? How do you avoid becoming one of those grumpy, resentful business owners complaining about exhaustion and endlessly demanding clients?
Your generosity has to be unconditional. It must be given freely and it must come from a sustainable source. And this takes coming from the right place.
A Tale of Two Chocolate Factories
I recently had the chance to visit two chocolate factories. Yes, I was on vacation!
They were self-identified tourist attractions, and definitely attracted my chocolate loving child soul.
It is hard to go wrong with chocolate, right?
But one was a lot less fun.
They gave me powerful lesson in depth marketing and the importance of doing your anti-resentment work.
The first one was advertised as a museum experience: find out all about chocolate! Learn the history, how it is made, great for kids, full of unique chocolate models, tasting, and interactive exhibits!
We were excited by the write up, kids at heart, and decided to stop.
We arrived to a huge empty parking lot, and a hefty entry fee of $27 per adult.
The color scheme was glossy dark brown and silver with mirrors. There was a larger than life-size owner portrait on the wall which glared down as if saying: “look what I made for you, you should feel lucky to be here”.
The entrance was a large, lobby-style open space sparsely populated with packaged options to buy and prominent signs warning not to steal.
They were clearly set up to receive tourist busloads and to be fair, it wasn’t a busy moment.
There was nothing to taste in the showroom.
In the adjoining room was a large empty cafeteria with signs warning you not to consume food from outside, and another sign warning that a robot was at work.
The atmosphere of resentment was unmistakable. The staff were bored, flat and slightly grumpy, and the bottled water was over-priced.
I can’t speak to the advertised museum, because the entrance price just didn’t seem worth it.
Needless to say we didn’t spend big.
The second chocolate factory couldn’t have been more different. Arriving at the location, the parking lot was a curved path through trees, adorned by kid friendly pink, yellow, orange and green signs and a warning that Oompaloompas were at work.
By the door was a welcome letter with a small owner portrait that showed two infectiously joyful faces and told their story of falling in love with chocolate making and escaping the rat-race.
Inside you were greeted by three huge piles of chocolate – dark, milk, and white – and asked which one would you like to taste by a smiling staff member.
The showroom shop was overflowing with different kinds of chocolate products from chocolate scented handcream to freeze dried strawberries dipped in chocolate. Chocolate for all ages. Chocolate for all occasions. Chocolate for all dietary needs. An abundant celebration. Literally something for everyone.
One glass wall looked over the chocolate factory itself so you could see the goodies being made. The cafeteria was bright and open with floor to ceiling windows looking out over rolling hills, and the food was so good I would go back just for the cafe.
We joined the $4 special tasting experience that gave you the history of chocolate with lots of dry humor and fun facts, followed by so many samples that I actually couldn’t try them all!
Needless to say we spent big and did the most valuable thing a customer can do.
We told all of our friends! Often by giving them a gift of the chocolate itself: providing them with a free sample on our own dime!
Word of mouth on steroids.
Imagine if your client, student or reader bought an extra session, an extra workshop seat, or an extra copy of your book and gave it to someone they loved.
The first place made you feel like you owed them something. And even worse, you couldn’t escape the feeling that it was a mechanism to harvest tourist dollars, think big buses funneled into an experience like cattle.
The second was an invitation into someone’s creative child dreaming. It felt like you were helping them to have fun while getting exactly what you came there for.
Have you ever had that kind of experience? Two similar products that couldn’t be more different? What did you learn? Is there anything you can apply to your own marketing practice?
Your Anti-Resentment Checklist
Give value. Give value. Give value. Makes sense … but how do you avoid burnout?
If you ever find yourself resentfully grumbling, ‘I shouldn’t have to do this’, then you will only waste your time and effort. You need to know where you are coming from inside yourself. You must know what is in it for you.
Use this Anti-Resentment Checklist to make sure you coming from the right place with your marketing efforts:
- Am I clear about the change I want to make in the world? Claim the transformation that you stand for and add a specific time-related target – e.g. In 12 months, I will have helped 150 people feel more connected to their inner experiences by teaching them innerwork with my online course so that they can have better relationships and strengthen their community.
- Am I clear about the person I want to serve? Describe them in sensory grounded detail so you can picture the person clearly. e.g. Professional women without children in their 30s and 40s who feel called to a bigger purpose in life but lack the confidence to follow their dreams.
- Am I fascinated by the social roles and forces that impact the person I want to serve? Write down three things that you want more awareness about: E.g. how female gender socialization and workforce pressures make women feel insecure about being assertive in relationships and following their deeper calling.
- Am I excited by the story I will tell my potential client to invite them into their best possible future? Describe the happy ending of this story for your client so you (and they) can picture it clearly. E.g. After working with me, my client wakes up with a sense of connection to their own inner process and finds nourishment in the challenges of every single day.
- Do I feel joy about guiding the person I want to serve? Am I deeply in love with my hero? Allow yourself to relax and breathe. Imagine your heart is radiating love and allow this to pulse and fill your whole body. Allow your love to radiate with ever-increasing circles until it reaches the person you want to serve. Imagine they are feeling the radiating joy of your love so that it puts a smile on their face and makes their day a better day.
- Finally, check: do I have clear, measurable financial goals for myself? Visualize an objective finish line for your marketing efforts over the next 12 months. What will you get for doing this work? Ask yourself, clearly and directly: what is in it for me financially, practically and emotionally? Write this down in economic and subjective terms e.g. I am using marketing to grow my practice so that my income is increased by 25% and I have the freedom to spend more time with my family without worrying about money.
Love is the deepest relationship metaskill and it is a renewable resource. But you must also have clear, concrete, objective financial goals to make sure your work is sustainable, to make sure your love is clean.
Check that you are not building the fuel of resentment by denying your needs for meaning, for impact, for security and for freedom. Do your innerwork before you work on your marketing so you can come from the right place.
You’ve got this.
And the world needs you.
Love
Hellene