“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.“
~ Albert Einstein
In Miguel Ruiz’s best selling book, The Four Agreements, he teaches a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. The Four Agreements are: Be Impeccable With Your Word, Don’t Take Anything Personally, and, Don’t Make Assumptions, Always Do Your Best. I have read this book several times and have been enriched in many ways as I have practiced applying these fundamental principles to my life. I have shared the book with my family and close friends and have preached the merits of these principles to my kids. As I was thinking today about marketing, I realized that so much information is already out there about what, when, how and why to market yourself and your business services. What more can be said? What new shiny object can you embrace that is really going to make the difference in your business? What’s really needed is for us to understand and practice the basic principles of marketing – but it can seem so daunting and completely overwhelming with all the information out there, right?! Let’s simplify it and bring it down to four basic principles – I’ll call it the four agreements of marketing…
The Four Agreements of Marketing
Agreement #1 – Be Impeccable with Your Word
What you say in your marketing needs to be authentic and true. Do what you say. Practice what you preach. Don’t embellish. Use your words to educate, inform and create to synergy about your product or service.
Agreement #2 – Don’t Take Anything Personally
Put your message out there authentically, knowing that you cannot please all the people all the time. If some don’t receive you and the message/story you are sharing, don’t take it personal. It will resonate with the ones who have the same perspective about the service you are offering. You might have to go through a number of people to find the right audience.
Agreement #3 – Don’t Make Assumptions
Don’t assume that people know about your business or that they know what you do. Approach every marketing campaign as an opportunity to educate and inform your audience about your business, who you are, and what your services can do for them. Practice telling people about your business. Don’t take the client relationship for granted, if you are not sure where you stand, ask them!
Agreement #4 – Always Do Your Best
Marketing takes commitment. It takes time and imagination and resources to develop and produce great marketing that builds relationships and builds income. You will make home runs and yes, you will make mistakes, when you do, get up, shake it off and try again. Always do your best.
I believe that these four agreements for marketing can create a foundational understanding of how to build and implement your marketing strategy. Contact Sandy Hibbard Creative today and let’s talk about how to simplify your marketing.
