Avoiding Marketing Mistakes That Prohibit Success

By Kristine Maveus-Evenson
Posted Monday, October 4, 2004

If you’re like most small business owners, your focus is on the day-to-day operations of your business. Or, in some cases, the mere thought of marketing your business scares you to tears. However, you may be the rare breed of small business entrepreneurs who has decided to tackle the complex task of marketing your products or services.

In order to survive the competitive world of marketing, you should recognize what pitfalls may prohibit you from successfully marketing your own business.

=> Lack of Confidence

If you are not confident in your abilities, you won’t be able to influence your clients that you are the right choice for them. If you are afraid of being labelled as a “pushy salesperson,” you won’t have the skills necessary to benefit your client because you will be focusing on your confidence level and *your* needs, instead of listening to what your customer needs. When you’re not listening, you can’t provide solutions, you can’t overcome their objections, you can’t earn their trust and most importantly, you won’t have the confidence to ask them to partner with you.

=> Lack Understanding of Your Own Service

If you don’t really understand what it is that you do, if you’re not prepared to express to your client in simple language what your services can do for your client, then your lack of understanding will be reflected in your tone. If you don’t sound like you believe in your service, it will be next to impossible for your client to believe in you, let alone believe in your service.

=> Lack Pride

Are you really proud, almost boastful of your service? Can you effectively tell your customers how well you deliver your service? If you lack pride in how well you respond to the needs of your customer or how well your service really works, your clients will sense this and you will lose integrity. Don’t be so arrogant or boastful that you break your arm by patting yourself on the back, but if you’re proud of your service, let your customer know it!

=> Fear of Failure

Some people simply aren’t effective at marketing their own business because they think that a start-up business will be difficult to pitch. Symptoms of failure fear is the mentality that you’ve tried “everything” to get new clients and “nothing” is working. You are constantly looking for advice on how to build your business from family, friends, and even strangers because you are coming from a place of fear and your fear of failure is keeping you from effectively marketing your business.

Your fear may be reflected in your tone when you speak to your clients or may be as simple as thinking you are unworthy of receiving money from people who want to buy your service/your business. In either case, business development may be a bit of a challenge.

=> Lack the Proper Communication Skills

You might be the best chatterer in the world, people may love to talk to you and you may be able to transcribe the most technical language into comprehensible speech, but if you can’t articulate what it is that you want people to invest in, they won’t. If your clients don’t understand why they should invest in your service, what it is that you do, or what the lasting benefits of that service will be in their business, you’ve blown the perfect opportunity to gain a new client.

All of the above pitfalls can be overcome with additional education or training on your product or service line, through experience or by enlisting the assistance from a qualified business coach with strong marketing skills and strategies.

About the Author
Kristine Evenson may be contacted at (http://www.capturehits.com) kristine@capturehits.com.

Kristine Maveus-Evenson is internet marketing strategist and small business coach. She provides services such as website optimization, and affiliate program management. With a talent for working with small businesses, her coaching and teleclass sessions provide an engaging and liberating perspective on business growth strategies.

You can reach her by email:kristine@capturehits.com or on the web at (http://www.capturehits.com)