Carolyn: new proficiency in marketing
Carolyn* was discouraged when she came for coaching. She had been an established professional service provider but was feeling the impact of the economic downturn and knew she would have to promote her business more actively if she was to stay in it. "But I hate to market, and it shows!" Within a few sessions I suggested that she look for the hidden beliefs that might be making marketing so repugnant, and she had a glimmer of hope. Being introspective by nature, she fairly quickly recognized that, in her words, "I believe I have to be someone I don’t want to be in order to generate referrals, like a salesman."
Knowing Carolyn to be open-minded, I invited her to play with this belief, as a way of making room for it to shift. "What are eight positive qualities you believe characterize successful marketing people?" When she had her list, I asked her to pick three that were congenial to her. With "outgoing", "curious", and "ambitious" as the cluster, together we designed three one-week experiments in which she was to "act as if" she was one of the qualities and do specific activities that embodied it. She came to the next call triumphant. "I knew I could be outgoing if I talked about the parts of my work that I love. The first few times I talked to people I already knew, and then I tried it at a party where I didn’t know anyone. People mostly responded with interest, and one even commented that I seemed to love my work. I guess that’s pretty good publicity!"
After I challenged Carolyn’s self-description as a poor marketer, she identified some marketing practices that she felt comfortable with and quickly agreed to try them out. While there’s more for her to learn about effective strategies and she probably won’t feel comfortable the first time she tries something new, she now knows that successful action can help her anchor a new attitude and set her up for more success.
*These stories are composites of many different women’s
stories. Actual stories of real clients are held in strictest confidence.
Nina Ham, CPCC, LCSW | Success from the Inside Out
Email Coach Nina | Telephone 510-526-7377
all contents Nina Ham © 2002
