Marketing From the Inside Out: A Coach's Perspective Part one in a series on reframing your marketing efforts, analyzing your target market and creating a marketing plan

Recently I was participating in a group of entrepreneurs whowere discussing how to market their professional services. Many ofthe people in the room had never marketed anything, let alonethemselves. The group leader asked a simple question: "Whatdoes marketing mean to you?" The negatives came pouring out:dishonesty, fear that my message will turn some people off,manipulation, I don't like the idea of "packaging"myself, junk mail, obnoxious telemarketers, used car salesmen,unethical. The negatives went on for 15 minutes. Their feelingscan be summarized in the following statements:

• "Marketing is a necessary evil to survive inbusiness."
• "I don't want to put myself in the same group asunscrupulous salespeople and obnoxious telemarketers."
• "I'm afraid I'll screw it up because I don'tknow how to 'do' marketing."
• And the biggest fear of all, "What if I market my servicesand products and no one is interested?"

In executive coaching, we often reframe a client's statementso that he or she may look at it from a different perspective.Reframing the above statements might look like the following:

• "Marketing is the way I communicate my passion to theoutside world."
• "I choose to honor my values and ethics by marketing inthe same way I enjoy receiving information from others."
• "Marketing is nothing mysterious, but simply an activitydirected at satisfying needs and wants through the process ofexchange. I will use my common sense and enlist the help of othersto do things beyond my interest and skill level."
• "I am confident that I am filling a stated need in themarketplace."

I have shortened these to four simple guidelines:

• Express your passion.
• Honor your values.
• Use common sense.
• Find a need and fill it.

Express YourPassion
How many times have you made a recommendation to a friend aboutsomething you enjoyed? "You have got to see that newmovie!" or "I went to the most amazing massage therapistyesterday!" or "A week at that resort changed mylife!" It's easy to get excited and convey your ideas withenthusiasm when you're really moved by something. There aremyriad things that touch our lives and change them for the better,increasing our sense of wellbeing. We relay stories aboutcompassionate acts. We show off our latest gadget and extol itsvirtues. We encourage friends to seek help and support them byrecommending professionals we have dealt with. All of this comesfrom the heart-because we care. We are not lying. We have nothingto gain by sharing this information, other than the good feelingthat comes from sharing and helping.

Marketing yourself and your business is no more than sharingyour passion. You chose your profession for a reason-presumablybecause you believed there was value in what you do. Focus on thatvalue. Telling your story-marketing your business-is most crediblewhen it comes from the same place that led you to your business inthe first place.

Think of a product or service that you really admire and imagineyourself telling a friend about it. What are the benefits youreceived? How did it help or change your life? Why is this onebetter than anything else you've tried? Now do the sameexercise describing your own business. Detach from the fear ofrejection, or the embarrassment of talking about yourself. Try tobe objective, and remember the passion that drove you to start thisbusiness in the first place.

Honor YourValues
Product value can be defined as price plus perceived benefit. Ifthe price a person pays is equal to the benefit a customerperceives he is getting, he feels that he got a fair deal. If theprice is too low, he might think there is less perceivedbenefit-that the product is cheap or shoddy. If the price is toohigh, relative to the perceived benefit, the customer might notwaste his money. The goal is to understand the benefit of what youoffer and then price it appropriately.

There is another place for the word "value" inmarketing. Our personal values are the principles we live by, and afulfilling career is one where our core values are honored. Askyourself how your business honors your core values. Are there anyaspects of your business that do not honor your values? If so,those are areas that you might want to realign. In order to expressyour passion fully, there should be nothing that you are"fudging" on or making excuses about. If you do the bestyou can and honor your values, your business will be morefulfilling.

Use Common Sense

To paraphrase the golden rule, market to others as you wouldhave them market to you. In what marketing textbook is it writtenthat marketing must be intrusive, obnoxious, insulting orunethical? If you love receiving phone calls during the dinnerhour, then by all means, telemarket your service. But consider howyour customers or clients like to receive information. If you areunsure, ask them.

As to ethics and manipulation, your ideal customer doesn'tlike being lied to anymore than you do. A business that honors yourcore values will more than likely honor your customer as well. Theimpact of customer satisfaction is huge. A general rule of thumb isthat when someone likes a product, they tell an average of threeother people about it. However, when they are unhappy, they willtell seven other people about their negative experience.

The last common-sense guideline is to do what you arecomfortable with. If you detest public speaking, don't do it.You will be uncomfortable and probably not show your business inits best light. An alternative might be to write articles or put upa Web site that people could visit. Create the marketing mix ofproduct, promotion and pricing that works with your style andsupports your values. This might mean hiring people to do the partsyou feel are necessary but are not prepared to do yourself.

Find a Need and FillIt
The best definition I ever saw of marketing was on the side of acement truck on a California freeway. The big mixing drum wasrotating, and the slogan painted on the side was "Find a Needand Fill It." Rarely do people purchase goods or servicesunless they perceive a need. And it is an uphill battle to educatesomeone who doesn't believe they need something. So targetmarketing was invented. You have to find the people who have theneed for what you're offering.

Define your ideal customer or client. Then spend some timethinking about how they make purchasing decisions. Who influencesthem? Where do they get their information? What is the need yourbusiness fills, and what are the benefits to the customers?

Once you have identified customer needs and benefits, checkedyour business against your core values, assessed your personalstrengths and weaknesses in communicating with prospects, andreconnected with the passion that brought you to this career in thefirst place, you are well on your way to marketing from the insideout.

Later articles in this series will examine how to do a marketanalysis and build an effective marketing plan that works foryou.

Rebecca Cooper is a professional and personal coach who workswith visionary people seeking to create and live authentic lives.She helps provide clarity, illuminate choices and reflect thepassion of her clients. To explore what's next in your life,e-mail her at Rebecca@authentes.com or visither Web site at www.authentes.com.