I read (and re-read) and listen (and re-listen) to a lotta stuff.
(Quick Note: I do believe that doing is WAY more important than just consuming content… But anyone that tries to diss the continual intake of new thoughts, strategies, and ideas likely won’t be at the top of their field for very long. Better inputs = better outputs)…
Prefer to listen? Check out the podcast:
[smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/modernmarketingminute/Marketing_lessons_from_a_stove.mp3″ ]
So…
There’s an inspiring story I heard again recently that I wanted to share with you.
It’s simple.
But is a powerful reminder of cause and effect…
A universal law that applies not just to marketing but to every single thing in the universe (“WHOA way to get all deep and sciency there Adam”)
Maybe you’ve heard the story before (it’s likely you have)
And maybe it made sense and you took it to heart (it’s likely you did)
But I’d ask that you think about it again. Even if just for a few seconds. And see how and where you may have applied the same mistake as the man in the story. And how to correct it.
The example is this:
A man sits frozen in front of his stove and curses it for not putting out any heat. The stove explains that the man hasn’t put any wood in. And the man becomes angry and yells at the stove “give me heat and THEN I will give you wood”
But we both know it doesn’t work that way.
Not with stoves.
And not with marketing.You don’t get flooded with clients BEFORE you deliver value.You don’t get big profits BEFORE you prove yourself to the market.You don’t get leads on autopilot BEFORE you produce content.You don’t get calls ringing your phone off the hook BEFORE you create ads. And you don’t become highly sought-after and in-demand just because you want to. Everybody wants to. But not everybody wants to earn it. You have to put in the fuel to get out the heat.
And then you have to KEEP putting in the fuel until you have a fire big enough to burn down an entire city (that’s the tipping point)
One of the reasons I was able to build my first agency up quickly so many years ago was that I was willing to stock that stove so full it didn’t even know what to do!
My competitors?
They didn’t want to “waste” their time creating content nobody was likely to read, watch, or download.
And so I stoked the fire.
Day after day.
Week after week.
Month after month.
Then POOF.
A small spark turned into a highly profitable business that I was able to leverage into bigger and better things. Things that ultimately got me to where I am today.
And it all started because I respected the stove.
It’s just cause and effect.
