A couple of years ago, I took over as leader of about a 25 person networking group, which meets monthly. No one who knows me would call me shy and retiring, but I’m also not what you would call a “born leader.” However, in the past few years, I’ve seen my leadership skills grow and my confidence increase. I realized that my ability to lead was there all the time, waiting to be unleashed.
How does this relate to turning professionals into better marketers? Teaching lawyers, accountants and other professionals how to market is not about forcing them to do something unpleasant which does not come naturally to them. Rather, it’s about unleashing their innate ability to market and putting it to work so they can get better and better at it.
The fact is, most professionals who really want to build their own book of business can nurture the skills to do so. It takes a lot of work because you need to develop skills on two levels – your personal ability to connect with others, as well as the marketing tactics that support and maintain your connections, such as mailings, emailings, etc. Some professionals will always be better at it than others, but your inner marketer is there, if you’re just willing to set it free.
