Why A Different Way of Marketing Is Needed

Do you sufer from "Sales Reluctance"? Are you unwilling to be pushy? Do you feel uncomforatable "selling yourself"? If so, you're like thousands of other professionals who do wonderful work, yet have not found a way to grow their business in a way that feels good.

The Challenge

How can you get other people to market you? This is the dream that confronts the professional practitioner who wants to help create a better world in a way that enhances his or her dignity and integrity. How can you market your passion? The challenge is to find a way to grow your business and be successful in a way that is aligned with your beliefs and values.

Even those who are able to sell the products and services of others find it difficult to sell the thing they most passionately believe in – their own professional services. Time and time again in my seminars, participants report that they avoid “selling themselves.”

That’s the problem. Whenever we are asked to sell our own services, we get caught up in a low-consciousness “selling myself” trap. Guilt, shame, and fear, we recognize them all. It seems that “selling myself” belongs in there as well, another low-consciousness state of inner conflict we try to avoid. How can you possibly promote your own business when you feel off balance? The old answers don’t seem to be working any more. Traditional sales and marketing:

• Requires you to do something that isn’t fun (cold calling.)
• Is primarily outbound (sales based, you call them.)
• Is demotivating, doesn’t enhance your integrity.
• Uses impersonal methods suited to big business.
• Is time intensive (reduces the time you are with clients.)
• Is expensive (requires staff and marketing materials.)

This challenge is particularly strong for those people who are seeking to make the world a better place. Their sense of integrity and authenticity prevents them from even beginning to promote themselves, because they know that it will lower their level of consciousness. They are willing to forgo the clients whom they could help, and the abundance they deserve, in order to stay in the calm and courage of higher consciousness.

The Opportunity – Help Others To Market You

Neither market yourself nor avoid marketing yourself – help others to market you. Whether you like it or not, it’s time to take action and revitalize your practice – or risk your future. When one is living a life of joy and inner peace, one is motivated to serve others, and would naturally avoid activities that feel selfish. How can you avoid the ego force of selling and harness the power that energizes, supports, and gives life energy? How can you be compassionate and feel positive about yourself? How can you grow your practice in a way that allows you to stay balanced?

The Solution - Collaborative Marketing

Collaborative Marketing is designed to help you accomplish this goal by helping others to market you. Pursuing clients through traditional marketing methods isn’t always suitable for you as a professional. Now it is time to learn how to increase your income while at the same time maintaining your professional integrity.

Collaborative Marketing: Definitions and Distinctions

Marketing and Sales Distinctions

Collaboration and Cooperation

Although these words have similar meanings, and are often used intechangeably, I like to make a clear distinction between them. Cooperation happens by accident, collaboration is is created with intention and purpose.

Collaboration and Leadership

Although collaboration is a about groups, effective collaboration does not happen without individual leadership.

Collaborative Leading is a way of learning and working together that includes all of our levels of being - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social - in a shared search for meaning, to help manage the complex issues of our time. Collaborative Leading is a process that leverages people, time and ideas to discover solutions to complex challenges. It is a way of consciously relating that brings out the greatness in ourselves and others.

Collaborative Marketing

"If the People Lead, the Leaders Will Follow" – William “Bill” Ellis

The solution is to build a system that helps others to market you. You want others to help market you by:

• Having a personal, small-scale client-friendly service oriented approach.
• Enhancing your integrity (and your self-esteem).
• Avoiding time spent selling yourself.
• Maximizing time spent earning income.
• Being referral-based (You don’t call them, they call you).
• Being self-running and self-perpetuating.
• Being low cost (no staff, no expensive marketing).

Collaborative Marketing is a way of marketing with integrity. When you use groups and your business to support a cause greater than yourself, you move out of fear into a place of security, trust and courage that enhances your self-esteem.

To find out more read Marketing Solutions, which is available now. To help you make up your mind, read the Introduction and Chapter One. Also you can download and print an Adobe Acrobat version of the Table of Contents , Introduction and Chapter One.

If you wish you can buy Marketing Solutions in the We-Q Web Store