My clients discuss their marketing or business issues with me. Their problems are often different, but one thing I have found common that stops many marketers from achieving their potential.
A printing agent came to me and said, “I can have 10 times more clients than I currently have. But I don’t like to suck up to people.” Another client, a real estate agent, told me, “I am not selling as many houses as the top guy. People have unrealistic price expectations, which are just not achievable in today’s market. And there’s no way I can convince them.” The third guy, an insurance broker, had a different challenge, “People don’t mind spending thousands of dollars on building a patio for summer, which will be useful only for three weeks of the year. But they won’t spend a few dollars on health insurance.”
It will be hard to see any commonality in these business problems. They are from different fields and relate to different areas of business.
But look close: there is one common theme – in all the above situations, the marketer believes that the barriers are insurmountable. And that’s the problem.
The problem is in the thinking.
As long as you “think” that there is a problem that you cannot overcome, you have a problem.
Your self-image determines your degree of success in marketing, whether it is insurance marketing, restaurant marketing or even dentist marketing.
In fact, I know two dentists who graduated from the same college in the same year. One is running a highly successful practice with celebrity clients, while the other is running an average practice.
What’s the difference?
The difference lies in your self-abasement or self-image. If you think you can’t sell to a particular audience, you certainly won’t. As long as you believe your have a weakness in a certain area of life, for example, selling health insurance to single men under 30, you will continue to have that problem.
How do you know whether you have a low self-image?
It’s not that hard.
When you get up in the morning, look into the mirror, and ask yourself – How much do I like myself?
Do you hear a resounding, affirmative answer?
If your answer is “may be”, or “sometimes”, or “yes but”, then you have low self-esteem.
Those who like themselves will hear a resounding YES. They always have a very high self-esteem and this will reflect in their marketing or business.
A friend of mine, a recruiter, once said, “I can tell a winner from a loser purely by the way a person dresses.” That’s so true. If you like yourself, you will always dress well. You will enthuse confidence in others. Just like laughter, confidence is highly contagious. Ask any political leader.
The higher your self-esteem, the more likely you are to visualize a successful outcome of a marketing campaign. If your self-image is of a successful marketer, you will find ways to live up to that self-image.
However, if your self-concept is low, you will reflect that in all your business dealings, and you will find it hard to get leads, or convert leads to customers.
If you are with me so far, your next question is: How do I improve self-esteem?
It’s not very hard.
You become what you think about, said Earl Nightingale.
If you can get in the habit of thinking highly about yourself, you will inculcate high self-esteem.
There are three ways in our brain learns something and forms a habit:
- Association
- Repetition
- Imagination
Use one of these three methods to increase your self-esteem.
Association: Think of a moment you felt most-confident. Any moment. It could even be from your childhood. Recall that moment as vividly as possible, as if it was happening right at this moment. Now create an anchor for that moment.
An anchor is any physical action, such as pumping your fist in the air like a sportsperson, or simply saying a thrustful “yes” to yourself.
Now, whenever you are low on self-esteem, just pump your fist in the air. That physical anchor will bring back the memories of the successful event and you will notice an immediate improvement in your self-esteem.
Repetition: Repeat to yourself as often as you can throughout the day “I like myself and I am a successful marketer or salesperson.”
Imagination: Use vivid imagination. Imagine yourself as a successful marketer. Use this imagination as often as possible. Almost like a day dream.
Go on. Create your success in sales and marketing with a high self-image.