Conquer Your Fear of Marketing

Is Your Fear of Marketing Sabotaging Your Business Success?

You know you have a great business idea, right? You are passionate about it. You are sincere. You have people who need you. You may already have a tribe of happy customers.

Despite all of this you find you stall when it comes time to market.

You would rather sign up for a root canal than go to a networking event.

You are terrified to give a short presentation about your business at your Chamber of Commerce events.

You have shut off comments to your blog because you fear people will disagree with you or leave nasty remarks.

You break into a sweat when sending a newsletter. What if no one opens it? Worse, what if someone reads it and sends you an email about that typo you missed?

Maybe you think marketing is sleazy. Or you have fallen for the “build it and they will come” myth.

Maybe you are an introvert. Or worse a shy introvert. The idea of being a pushy marketer turns your stomach.

Isn’t it time to put an end to this self-sabotage?

A new vision of your business

What is the source of all this doubt and fear?

Mostly it is the chatter running in your head. Chatter about your fear of rejection or ridicule. Chatter about comparing yourself to others and always falling short. Chatter about your past failures.

You have so many negatives stories playing in your head, you have left no room for the positive ones.

Well, that is about to change!

In 4 weeks the Conquer Your Fear of Marketing online course can show you a new way to think of your business. You will learn to develop positive stories to drown out those negative, destructive ones.

The new you will be able to step back from your fears and look them in the eye without emotion. You will have a systematic approach to identifying your fears, understanding the underlying sources of your fears and then addressing each one. Is it an attitude that needs to be changed? A skill that needs to be learned? Perhaps you can side-step this fear-infusing situation altogether and yet still reach your marketing goals. You use the 5 Why process to understand its foundation. Then you can determine the best way to eliminate it from your life.

Are you thinking that learning about stories is some new age, la la thing? You’ve tried similar ideas like positive affirmations or positive thinking and it just doesn’t work? Well. it is time to talk about the real power of story.

We do more than talk about stories.

You will learn about how the brain responds to stories and how to use this to reframe your fears and also to engage your audience. If you think of stories as engaging anecdotes, amusing videos, or narratives, you are in for a surprise. There is science behind the power of stories and we are going to use that   knowledge to craft effective purpose-told stories.

Interested in how you can conquer your marketing fears in 4 short weeks?

Welcome to Conquer Your Fear of Marketing starting on Wednesday, April 13, 2016

 

How Does This Online Course Work?

Conquer Your Fear of Marketing is a four week online program designed to uncover your fears and develop ways to deal with them. Perhaps you can find a alternate way to reach a goal and avoid triggering the fear. Perhaps you need to find a way to develop a missing skill. Or maybe just outsource the solution. Often the answer is to reframe the situation by replacing the negative story you are telling yourself with a positive story. We will discuss many ways to deal with your fears and get you to become a confident marketer.

• Each week you watch a recorded video that introduces the week’s topic.
• You then download and print the week’s activities.
• The online forum is available for asking questions, providing feedback, offering insights or general support among your fellow marketers. You will get feedback from me as well as the other participants and you have the opportunity to offer help to others in the group. This is an invaluable piece of the learning process.
• You have two 30-minute private phone calls with me to schedule as needed. This private coaching is what really sets this apart from other online programs.

What Are the Topics for Each Week?

Week 1 | Identifying Your Fears

Before you can conquer your fears you need to identify them. In this week we identify the fears that are holding you back from stellar marketing of your business. We get it all out on paper so we can tackle each one. We will talk about marketing fears in general (fear of marketing is widespread and a major factor in the failure of small businesses). We also learn there are concrete, doable steps to conquer these fears. Are these fears based in attitudes or lack of skill? Are they from past negative experiences or from comparing yourself to others? Are you focusing on the real issue or can you dig deeper to find the source of your fear?

Week 2 | Introduction to Positive Storytelling

Some marketing issues are solved through changing the situation. For example you may be trying to sell to too large an audience and therefore not connecting with your best prospects. But often the issue is the story you are telling yourself. You avoid networking events because the replay of your last attempt — you standing alone, nervous and perspiring in the doorway, until you turned and left in despair — keeps running in an endless loop. Conventional advice is to force yourself to go to networking events until you get comfortable. This will help but only if you go with a new story. This week we learn about story, the real definition of a purpose-told story and its magical confidence-building power.  Important: This is not a creative writing class or a performance class. Don’t worry about your writing skills. If you can write a sentence that is all you need! We will not be performing oral stories. We will be using purpose-told stories, not entertaining stories. There is a big difference–and anyone can do this.

Week 3 — Convincing Yourself

An old sales axiom is “To make others buy you must first sell yourself.” This week we take the negative stories that are eroding your confidence and find options for new, positive stories. You will start writing simple stories you can use immediately to boost your confidence. Note: This is not a positive affirmation program. Read The False Promise of Positive Thinking for more on this.

We will also look at where you can change the situation  and where you need to learn new skills. We also look at how we can avoid the fearful situation altogether and still reach the desired goal. Fear doesn’t just stop us from acting, it often stops us from recognizing the alternatives we have. This week we open our selves to all our options.

Week 4 — Inspiring Others

Having confidence in yourself is not enough. You need to inspire your Meaningful Few to buy. Your Meaningful Few are your best customers (or prospects). Once you are crystal clear on who these people are, what motivates them and why they need you, you can start crafting stories for them. Stories for networking events. Stories for overcome sales objections. Product stories. Services stories. People don’t buy products (or services), they buy to attain a better future, a better version of themselves. You need stories to show this vision to them. This week we also work on what stories you need and where to use them. Note: You may think this works for self-improvement businesses or health care. But what about your plumbing business?  There is more to a successful plumbing business than pipes.

 

What Makes This Course Better for You Than Others?

There are books and other courses on building confidence. Won’t that be a cheaper way to solve my marketing fears?

Yes, it might be cheaper. But what good is cheap if it doesn’t work?

Conquer Your Fear of Marketing is more than just theory and a set of instructions. It is a supportive environment for you to learn and practice fear-busting techniques. To get helpful feedback. To be in a community of other reluctant marketers. And to have my help guiding you through the process.

This course is designed specifically for solo and encore entrepreneurs who have great ideas and need a boost in building confidence about marketing what they offer.

Other Methods		Conquer Your Fear of Marketing
Lots of theory but no application.		This course is all about practical exercises to address your challenges. This is a hands-on program so you learn by doing. You will be working on your problems, not some artificial classroom examples.
The material sounds good but there is no one to answer questions, get you unstuck or give you feedback.		You have an online forum for discussion with others in the course as well as for my input. You are never alone in this process. You also have two-30-minute private coaching calls to use when you need them.
You have many ideas but are confused about where to start.		This is a structured program so that you work through the issues in order. No jumping around. A bonus is this course gives you a process you can use in the future so this isn’t just a one-use program.
Generic information without guidance on what applies to your situation.		This program is designed for the solo and encore entrepreneur. I understand what it is like to be a one-person business so I don’t overwhelm you with irrelevant information or ideas requiring staff and large budget. The focus is on your business and your specific needs.

Is Conquer Your Fear of Marketing the Right Course for You?

 

This course is for solo business owners, including midlife startups, if:

• You have a business already or have a solid plan for your business. (If you are in the idea phase this may be premature for your situation. However, feel free to email me and we can discuss if this course is right for you at this stage of your business formation.)
• You believe in this business. You believe it is important work. That doesn’t mean you have a cure for world hunger. It means you have something to offer that some identifiable people need. Without you would these people have no other place to turn? Or would they have to settle for a lesser substitute?
• You realize that your reluctance to market is holding your business back.
• You find that your passion for what you do is not getting communicated. You can’t find the words to explain the value of your service. People just don’t seem to “get it” even though you are convinced they could benefit.
• You have trouble rebounding from business setbacks. You need a way to keep up your enthusiasm even when the going gets tough. If you ever toyed with the idea of quitting, you owe it to yourself to take this course.
• You always thought that your web site, or Google ads, or Facebook page would be enough to draw customers. It turns out you were wrong. But you don’t have a backup plan.
• You know marketing is critical to your business. You just don’t like the idea of marketing. You may think marketing is sleazy. Or that if your product is good enough people will find it and buy. (This is the old myth of “Build it and they will come.”) You need a way to learn that marketing can be enjoyable and honorable.
• You are able to commit to four weeks of work and will stay the course. I keep the group small so there is plenty of time for personal attention. But the course only works if everyone participates. Others in the course are depending on you.

 

What Makes Me the Right Person to Coach You?

Because I was that fearful marketer. Marketing was the last thing I ever wanted to do for a living. I mean, why would I want to join the ranks of those sleazy folks selling stuff to people who don’t  need it or can’t afford it?

I was too shy. Too much of an introvert. But slowly I learned I was looking at this from the wrong perspective. The problem wasn’t marketing. The problem was me. I was selling something I didn’t believe in. I also didn’t believe in my self. I listened to all those old stories in my head about failure, about my lack of confidence, about my poor public speaking skills.

Everything changed when I created a new story for myself. The same can happen to you.

I have been coaching small business clients for over ten years. Working with hundreds of clients I have heard it all about their marketing problems. I also have learned that most of their problems can be solved. Let’s get to work on solving what is holding you back from marketing your business.

 

How Much Does This Course Cost?

The 4-week program, including weekly video, small-group forum access, handouts and two-30 minute private feedback sessions from me is $197.

Spaces are limited. I keep the course enrollment low to help everyone feel at ease and for more opportunity for feedback. You will not feel overwhelmed by being just one person in a crowd.

Are you hesitating?

Think about it. $197 is a small price to pay for getting on the road to business success.

• How many sales do you need to cover this cost?
• How many sales are you losing by not being a confident marketer?
• How many potential buyers don’t even know of your business because of your lackluster marketing?

Does $197 still look expensive?

My Guarantee

 

Need more encouragement? I promise that if you attend all four weeks of webinars and participate in the forum and still feel you have not benefited from this course, I will give you a full refund.

If you want me to email you when the next series opens for enrollment Just send me a message.