In marketing and sales one of the most important driving factors is motivation and focus. Knowing your why is a large part of finding both and being successful.
Start by asking yourself, Why are you marketing?
Being able to understand and know exactly what your why is integral to the marketing process. When you understand and know your why, you begin being more self-motivated. There is no outside force that needs to push you to market because you know what you have to do.
Eric Thomas had a speech about a lion and a gazelle explaining how one was self-motivated and the other had to be pushed. For this, we will be using the hartebeest and the lion, though the thought process remains.
The Hartebeest
The hartebeest is an motivated by outside forces. It is completely capable of outrunning a lion but is still on occasion caught. This is because after it gets away from the lion it forgets why it was running. It forgets the WHY.
You are the hartebeest whenever you create something useful and leave it on the shelf untouched. Think about all your assets or marketing collateral and how much of it’s collecting dust.
You are the hartebeest when you start a blog or podcast and then you abandon the idea just as quick as you started it.
You are the hartebeest when you wait around for something to fall in your lap as opposed to chasing it.
You are the hartebeest when you expect things to be going your way, even if you aren’t actively reaching out to your prospective audiences.
You are the hartebeest when you create a website, cross it off your list and then never refine it in a way that will consistently generate leads, nurture leads into clients and then convert those clients into brand ambassadors.
So it all comes back to your why.
You need your why to be so crystal clear that it is the center of your focus. That you never forget what you are doing and why you are doing it.
The Lion
The lion, on the other hand, understands the why. It knows why it is doing what it is doing. It knows it needs to hunt to survive and thrive.
It remembers its goal and chases that goal without fail.
It not only has a drive and thirst to always be on the hunt, but it also has the motivation that allows him to keep going when the times get tough.
You are the lion when you are constantly on the lookout for new customers and opportunities.
You are the lion when you use all the resources at your disposal to get ahead and keep ahead.
You are the lion when you analyze the information you have gathered to create new marketing content that propels you toward your goals.
You are the lion when you define your marketing system and run that system like a well oiled machine.
You are the lion when you set goals and you make it your mission every day to do the daily disciplines it takes to reach those goals.
As Eric Thomas said, “You owe you an explanation.”
So what are you? Are you the lion? Or are you the hartebeest?
Becoming A Lion
Regardless of what you currently are, hartebeest or lion, there are certain steps that can help your marketing. If you are a hartebeest this can help turn you into a lion. If you are a lion, these steps can help you stay that way.
Sweat the small stuff
This might seem like a weird thing to say, but it’s important to acknowledge in the world of marketing. When you forget the small stuff, you are often forgetting your end goal like the hartebeest.
You see, sometime it comes down the small stuff. The small stuff in your analytics, or your marketing message, or the timing of your emails. These things matter. And sometimes it is the reasons why winners win and losers lose.
Remembering things like:
- segmenting your email lists
- working on your website, and marketing collateral
- 1 more prospecting call a day
- writing a blog
- scheduling that webinar you have been putting off
- picking up the phone to drop a line to an existing client who might not be getting the results they were hoping for
- reading a blog every day that will inspire you to say on the hunt
These are the things that allow you to stay focused and reach your goals, like a lion.
If you don’t sweat the small stuff you’ll lose sight of the big picture.
Sweat the small stuff, because the it’s the stuff that is going to make sure that you are capable of reaching your marketing goals consistently and effectively. It also helps you remember your WHY.
Set goals and expectations
Before you get going anywhere, you need to to know where you are going. If you set goals and KPIs for your marketing initiatives you’ll stay focused. Having a measurable or tangible goal will keep you on task.
Just as important, have expectations so that you can fulfill them and hold yourself accountable for them.
Some examples might be:
- Find new customers
- Expand sales
- Find new markets
- Increase profit
- Build awareness
Having a defined goal will give you a target to work towards. If you don’t have your goals written down and memorized, stop marketing until you do.
If you continue you might find yourself running amok without any clear direction. Slow things down and make sure you have the focus it takes to succeed.
Inspect your Expectations
As good as it is to have defined goals, it is equally important to be able to look at them and understand them.
If your goals are too easy or unrealistic, they aren’t going to help you go the distance. Everyone’s KPI’s are different. Understanding the goal and having a realistic expectation of how to accomplish that goal will make it much more likely for you to achieve what you’re setting out to do.
Understand that these expectations and goals will change over time, as your company grows and expands. Go back and look at your expectations.
- Have you reached them?
- Have they become too easy?
- Should they be tweaked?
Always remember to look back at your expectations and how they support your goals. Understand what they are, and how they work within your company culture.
The “Big Mo”
When you do these things intentionally and with purpose big things start to happen.
You start to get momentum. It was Darren Hardy calls “The BIG Mo”.
Momentum happens when Motivation and proper action meet consistency and focus. Companies that get that momentum don’t starve. In fact this is what helps you get ahead of the curve and stay on top. When you get some of this momentum, use it. Build on it. Be sure to remember your why in the midst of all that momentum.
Go Forth
It’s easy to forget where you were running towards especially when you forget the small stuff. If you neglect to remember where and especially WHY you are running you shouldn’t expect to get very far, like the hartebeest. Likewise, if you can motivate yourself internally, and keep on track, you can come out on top like the lion.
You have don’t have to be the smartest sales and marketing specialist in the world to be a lion. But you do have to get organized and put in the work.
Remember Lion’s don’t eat unless they win. So go forth and win.
Action Items & Takeaways
- If you don’t have a clear set of goals and roadmap to get there. Stop marketing until you have them written down and they are clear.
- Do a SWOT analysis on your life and particularly on your schedule to figure out where your weaknesses and threats are. These things are energy suckers that often turn you into a Hartebeest.
- Develop a list of KPIs (Key performance indicators) that are going to help you reach your goal. If you don’t have the time to figure this out and monitor it then outsource it or delegate it to someone who can.
- Dream about the concept of getting the “Big” Mo. THEN figure out if there are certain things you can do daily to turn this into a reality.
