The Myth of ‘Getting Out There’
When I first got started in business, I believed in the myth of ‘getting out there’ (it’s in quotes because it is such a nebulous approach that doesn’t have any form or really mean anything).
It’s the thought that if you get ‘out there’ and people ‘see’ you ‘, they’ll become super interested in what you do, excited as you are about it and want to buy your product or your service.
My story of ‘getting out’ there….
I bought into the myth too. When I first got started in business 12 years ago, I too postered the streets, put business cards at every cafe and health food store…. I bought space at event booths, magazine ads and wrote articles on nutrition for local magazines and even spoke for free at local and national events ( well in truth, it actually cost me money to do these so called free events!).
Despite all the effort, I stayed broke and had only a sprinkling of clients here and there.
And strangely, while the ‘getting out there’ approach rarely produces results, it is one of the first mindsets I usually have to work with my clients to unravel.
The truth is you do need to ‘get out there’ to be successful in business, but it isn’t the ‘getting out there’ that gets clients.
It’s what you do when you are out there, and who you are in front of that makes ‘getting out there’ actually work for you and your business.
Here is a quick peak at the Do’s and Don’ts of ‘getting out there’
The Don’ts of ‘getting out there’:
1) Don’t say yes to every and every offer to speak or write for free (save your energy for the right audience)
2) Don’t write or speak for free without having a specific way to follow up with your audience or invite them to learn more about working with you (let’s face it, they aren’t going to walk up to you after your talk and throw their credit card at you : )
3) Don’t hand out your business cards (unless someone asks you for one), because they are likely to throw it in the garbage- you just invested your hard earned money and time makeing those babies pretty! And finally, make sure it has an offer on it, or at the very least an invitation to sign up to your e-mail list
The Do’s of ‘getting out there’:
1) Write and speak for free only infront of audiences that are your ideal client and who actually have the need that your product or service fulfills
2) Create a feedback form for all your ‘talks’ that asks the audience if they would like to sign up for your e-mail list and/or to connect with you 1 on 1 to have a conversation to learn more about how your product or service can help them
3) Be interested in other people’s business. Ask for their business card (follow up or stay in touch, essentially keep the door open if they are your ideal client or someone you can collaborate with)
4) Writing articles..always have a clear offer to sign up for your e-mail list and/or to connect with you 1 on 1 to learn more about how your product or service can help them. Put this offer at the end of all your published articles, along with your bio.
Being really specific about how you ‘get out there’ will not only make your efforts worthwhile, but will also keep your energy high- as you won’t be wasting it on time consuming, draining and ineffectual ‘busy work’ in your biz- because you’ll be sticking to the stuff that works.
Want to learn more about how you can manage your energy in your business?
Click here to learn how you can.
Tags: getting out there in business, marketing
Trackback from your site.
