Copyright 2006 Marketing On The Playground (TM)

Yes, you can market from your comfort zone. It's all about permission, learning style and claiming where you are most comfortable...by the way, that's where the permission comes in. So many of us are led to believe we must step out of our comfort zone in order to market our business. I would like to transform that thought right now.

It's amazing what will happen when you give yourself permission to stand in your comfort zone. You will automatically start branching out and yes, you may be so excited you will want to try new things.

So what is your comfort zone? Here's a quick exercise to help you identify with the perfect stepping out point.

Take out a blank sheet of paper. Get some colored pens, markers, crayons or a plain pencil if you like. There is one rule. You cannot write down anything you don't like and anything you're not good at.

Begin writing:

- things that bring you energy

- things you enjoy and skills you have

- things that people say about you and your expertise

- what you have heard from your clients

- gifts you share with others

- how you have helped those you connect with

In the previous course we talked about the perspective of your marketing definition. Now let's talk about the perspective of your approach. There are two ways you can think about stepping into marketing action. You can come through the door marked "Marketing, Follow Me" or you can go through the other door marked, "My Comfort Zone first, My Chosen Marketing Steps Next."

Here's an example:

Someone might suggest to me, call 3 entrepreneur associations a day and tell them about my business. I might say, "that's a good idea but I think I'll do it from my comfort zone. I'll contact someone I know that's involved in an association, ask if they could introduce me to the person in charge, make the call and ask if they would like to talk about each others business to see if there's a connection. You see, I like to hear about other businesses and make comfortable connections. My comfort zone in this example was a "warm" call, which is having someone else, connect me and my comfort marketing was asking to share a conversation about their business and mine rather than 'telling' them about my business as the first part of the conversation.

Each person has their own comfort zone and their own style. We are all unique. Again, we choose different business paths; wear different clothes; drive different cars; have different viewpoints-our marketing approach should be just as unique. Marketing from your comfort zone is all about the right fit for you. Since we are all different, let's identify what's unique about your or your approach.

List 3 ways you are unique. Here are some key points to think about while making your list.

- Don't take your style, skills and passions for granted. Not everyone does what you do.

- If you have a difficult time writing these down, ask a friend or relative, "Do you see something unique about a skill or hobby I have?"

- What does unique have to do with Marketing? It's a huge piece in differentiating you from your competition.

Now that you know what makes you unique, what are 2 creative ways YOU can make a comfortable marketing approach?

There is a marketer inside of us all - it's just a matter of identifying the true, authentic marketing person inside of YOU.