From XU Magazine, 
Issue 21

Marketing is hard. (Warning—total BS)

What does it actually take to be successful with your sales and marketing activity? These 9 pointers will extend beyond the work itself and far into your life…
This article originated from the Xero blog. The XU Hub is an independent news and media platform - for Xero users, by Xero users. Any content, imagery and associated links below are directly from Xero and not produced by the XU Hub.
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You need to understand that your sales & marketing activity is not always going to work. There will be campaigns you put effort and $$$’s into but will produce a big fat n0thing. But NOTHING shouldn’t stop you from taking the learning and powering on to build that cred, push that message and move that audience. When you’re stuck, remember this:

1) MARKETING will not work for you if you say it’s HARD. Hard is having to stay in a shitty money situation, hard is not fulfilling your desired business goals, HARD is watching all your competitors fly past while you’re just getting by. Choose that what you do will be easy. It won’t always happen with ease, but trials help you understand what WILL work, and challenges help you expand and grow.

Marketing developed a reputation as hard—don’t be tainted by old ideas.

2) SALES (and marketing) won’t happen for you if you don’t become RESILIENT. On average it takes 11 touch-points, 8 hours of content and 3 phone calls to get some interest. Most people give up after just 1. Choose to be the business person that bounces back and uses the learnings to FUEL YOU.

Steel yourself, this is not a drill—it’s the path that forms your character.

3) TEAMS won’t work for you if you’re not coming from a place of complete abundance, and letting go of desperation and scarcity. This isn’t ‘fake it till you make it’ it’s simply ‘let that shit go’ as it does not serve you. Your team will be your GLUE, you must choose consciously each and every day to come from abundance and LEAD them (and yourself) to the same. When you focus too heavily on the output you forget about the input. But there’s always enough resources, people, and opportunity.

How you feel counts—your biggest influence is the actual state you’re in.

4) CLIENTS will not work for you if you’re not being SOLUTIONS FOCUSED. Staying in the problem zone won’t get you anywhere. If there is an issue, ask ‘what’s the solution?’. Then go and action it! Do not harp on and on about the problems. Your clients want solutions. And for the record, TIME is not an excuse, none of us have any time to waste, and there’s certainly no time for victim mentality.

Getting sh#t done is good—getting problems solved is great.

5) BUSINESS won’t work for you if you compare yourself to others. This is the all-time killer of dreams. Everyone starts somewhere, so give yourself a bloody break. Becoming the influencer, the thought leader, the powerful figure—it starts with making a DECISION. Learn the ropes and tools, hire great people to help you, come from service and impact every day. People will thank you for the work that you do in the world—and you need to believe this.

Believe in yourself—then realise how many other people believe in you.

6) RELATIONSHIPS aren’t complicated, they’re beautiful, and that’s what marketing is built on. You’ve got a big heart, so use it. When you care what’s happening for people, it shines through. When you bring HONESTY into a room (or a call, or a piece of writing), it sparks connection. Don’t force it—let business relationships be what they’ll be. And STAY OPEN—first impressions are mostly projections. Give customers time to fall in love with you.

People make business work—be the person who’s there to connect with.

7) BORING but important—we’ve all heard that one. Yaaawn. Boring IS important. Every rockstar moment is the tip of an iceberg made of icy white boredom. Yoga students shape up with patience for every little movement. Make work your yoga. Stay with every little task. It’s all connected to the moment that you land the big one. Then the next one. Then the next one. SAVOUR your boredom, it’s precious and it’s the ticket price to success.

Be present with boredom—every great ride starts with shuffling in the queue.

8) IDEAS are the only thing people buy and sell, and the only thing worth communicating. Everything else is logistics. Whatever your business, get in touch with the ideas underneath. Learn how to share those ideas, or pay someone who can do it well. Then learn how those ideas LIGHT UP your customers. Ever seen a customer transform from dubious to zealous? An idea did that to them. Make it one of yours.

You are what you believe—fall in love with the ideas your business runs on.

9) ENDINGS are often awkward—but if they are, you’re doing them WRONG. Don’t get so caught up valuing customers that you hold on too tight. Smother much? Let it GO. Hold your customers lightly, ready to happily move on—people love it, and those ex-customers become advocates out in the world. You know, the world FULL of your next customers. Trust the universe? The universe is business, baby!

Endings open space in your business—fill that space with growth, not grief.

So… Marketing isn’t hard. It’s simple: Do not complain, do not give up, do not forget to smile. Do what it takes for your goals to be bigger than your own BS.

Hunt & Hawk has been helping Accountants, FinTech providers and other professional services organisations kick ass for almost a decade. We have worked with some of the biggest players and we get YOU.

Whether you need an impactful new website or a solid sales process, we’ve got your back—and we’ll make you look shit hot in the process.

Why leave it there?

Let's have a brainstorm and strategise over a refreshing beverage together – no gimmicks – we're in this with you

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