Introductory Notes by Rev. Bola
The very purpose of all advertising, is so as to tell us as how we should be spending our money, what we should buy, when we should buy it, and why we should buy certain products or services.
Then there is the advice we get from 'well intentioned do gooders' and 'well wishers' claiming to have our best interests at heart, and assuming to know better than we do, what we should be doing or not doing with our lives. Often enough we get advice given us, by people who themselves, do not act upon the advice that they are so keen to dish out to others.
Naturally, it does make sense to be able to learn from the mistakes of others and to listen to the counsel of good advice when we can get it. But how do we discern which advice is 'good' or even appropriate to us, from that advice which is unhelpful, or sometimes even damaging? How many times have you accepted advice from someone claiming to know better, only to regret your decision later?
At the end of the day, we are each responsible for our own actions, good or bad. This includes the advice we take on-board, from other people and act upon.Just recently, I accepted some very bad advice, from a so-called 'expert', in the field of advertising, I of course being the 'novice'. This 'expert' claimed to be very confident that his advice was not only accurate, but an excellent business decision, which if not taken on the spot would be something I would come to regret later on, I was given the strong impression that not taking the advice would be a huge mistake on my part, and so being a new person on the scene of little experience, I went ahead and acted upon the 'experts' advice.
This person was being hailed as a top notch adviser, not to be disregarded. I accepted the advice and ended up thousands of dollars out of pocket for it. Naturally the said adviser, quickly made themselves and any further advice unavailable the minute the problem came to light. The whole thing was a deliberate set up and con trick, by some one, out to make a quick buck at another's expense, and then disappear the second they got what they wanted out of it, leaving me to pick up the pieces and clean up the mess of their bad advice. This advice turned out to be not only false and inappropriate, but with devastating consequences. Needless to say, I am now very wary of accepting advice from experts, especially unsolicited advice.
Here is a very interesting and well expressed viewpoint on the matter.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.
- Jay Leno
I'm sharing Jay's quote today as a gentle reminder that there is no shortage of people giving advice for growing your business. It goes without saying that not all of it is valid for your business. Before you race ahead to implement the new suggestions make sure you that you've bounced the idea off someone you trust first.
I listened to a conversation between a marketing specialist and an accountant. The specialist was trying to convince this well established accountant that he could massively grow his business by offering another service. The additional service was to be a marketing consultant to his database. His advice was to listen to the marketing audio program he was going to sell him and then approach his database of clients. He told the accountant to, "tell your clients that you've studied this marketing program and now you can be their marketing consultant."
How quickly would you be willing to pay to find out how much the accountant was able to learn from the marketing program he had purchased? Might be less costly just to go buy the marketing program for yourself!
The fact that you are reading this article means you are looking for ways to grow your business or improve your marketing results. This is a good activity. I do it myself on a daily basis. Increasing our knowledge of marketing, advertizing and sales should be an ongoing commitment.
With the abundance of free information available from the Internet there really is no excuse for a business owner to remain ignorant in regards to effectively marketing his or her business. But how much of it should they believe or use?
When you read or hear a piece of marketing advice ask yourself, "Does this make sense? Will it fit with my business model? If I implement this advice will it take away from marketing activities that have proven to work?"
So whether the advice comes from an Internet guru, Jay Leno or myself it is still your responsibility as a small business owner to do your due diligence before you implement and new marketing strategies or advice.
Closing Notes
For this, I give my thanks and appreciation to Larry Arrance who is an entrepreneur, author, workshop facilitator and Sr. Marketing Coach He's coached professionals and small business owners to achieving number one in their industries. To attend one of his Marketing Bootcamps go to http://www.marketingcoachandconsultant.com
Peace and Light
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