The million-dollar marketing question that is too often overlooked is really the age-old marketing question: “What are you willing to do for a million bucks?”
In other words, the no-brainer concept is that one can never hope to make a million dollars without relationships; no one can afford to be without those who have the potential to help you achieve success – financial or otherwise.
Most of us understand that no successful man or woman is really self-made.
To be successful (at any level or position) requires:
• The support of others
• The encouragement of others
• The loyalty of others
• The involvement of others
No one gets to the top without some level of assistance from others (even if it’s the guy who supplies the ladder!)
Would you betray a friend for a million dollars?
This isn’t a trick question. When you think about the value of friendship and the value of money – and the comparisons between the two – if you can actually say “Yeah, I’d betray a friend for a million dollars” – one of 2 things is probably true about you:
1.) You’ve never had a friend.
2.) You don’t deserve to have a friend.
If, as an entrepreneur, your only goal is to make money, you will probably need to take another look at your “WHY” for wanting to be in business.
Truly successful entrepreneurs will tell you that your “WHY” for doing what you do MUST include:
• Expertise
• Passion
• Confidence
But, Neil Kane, MBA, an entrepreneur and educator at Michigan State University’s Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation suggests, “The most successful entrepreneurs are motivated to solve a problem, right a wrong, or help a certain market segment.”
And, Michael Goldberg, MBA, and associate professor of design and innovation at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management says, “If you’re only focused on financial success, but you’re not really solving anybody’s problem, that’s probably a bad place to start,”
You not only need relationships with others, you need right relationships with others if you hope to be successful.
If you have the expertise, passion, and confidence in your product or service, that’s WHAT you have; that’s what you offer.
If you’ve built relationships with others and earned the trust and loyalty of others – that’s HOW you’ll be able to share what you have to offer.
WHY you want to offer what you have; WHY you do what you do is moot – unless you have someone to market to.
NO MARKET = NO BUSINESS = NO SUCCESS
Right about now, I’m also reminded of that age-old question: “Which came first – the chicken or the egg?”
In my mind, the answer could easily be: “Who cares?”
But, maybe that’s the REAL question…
Let’s just say WHO represents the market demanding chicken or eggs…then WHO actually CARES…and what WHO cares about matters!
What matters to the market WHO is looking for chickens is: Where’s the chicken – How can I get the chicken? And what’s important to the market WHO is looking for eggs is: Where are the eggs – How can I get the eggs?
Now, you can be the one that supplies chickens – or eggs – or both – but you’ll be more successful in your digital marketing efforts if you’ll remember to focus on who your market is.
Make it your goal to clearly understand what your market wants and needs and then be the one that’s able to deliver – in a way that shows them that they matter to you.
Because, when you’re in the market for lasting success – in business and in life – putting others first can make you feel like a MILLION BUCKS!