“If your efforts are sometimes greeted with indifference, don’t lose heart. The sun puts on a wonderful show at daybreak, yet most of the people in the audience go on sleeping.” Ada Teixeira
I used to really like this quote. I even put it in my book, Great Quotes from Feisty Women. In the book, I tell a
story about how my mom missed my first jump off the high diving board because someone walked in front of her just as I jumped. I wrote, “What I know now, looking back on this some forty years later, is that my jump was magnificent, even if no one saw it.”
I went on to say, “I try to remember this when I put something out in the world. If I’m excited about something I’ve done, I can’t let the reactions of other people dictate how I feel about it. I have to trust my own heart, be my biggest fan, and know I gave it all I had.”
I don’t believe this any more and neither should you!
I didn’t know much about marketing and sales when I wrote this, and I wasn’t thinking about it in a business context. I was thinking of it in a personal growth context. And it’s probably true in that context.
But in the business world, we have to be incredibly tuned in to the problems, the struggles, and the needs of the people we serve. We have to be problem solvers. We have to know who we can best help, and create products and services that will improve their businesses and their lives. We have to care about the reactions of our tribe, our “peeps” if we want our businesses to thrive.
So putting something out into the world that is not embraced by the people we created it for is a miss. We have to pay attention to that. We need to re-think, re-design, and re-launch. We need to make sure what we’re doing is on target. And we have to get the word out about what we do.
You may be the best in the world at what you do, but if no one knows it, it does you no good, and does the world no good. Get out there and use public speaking to share your message, to let people know what you have to offer, and to have a bigger impact.
Make sure people see what you have to offer, and are not “sleeping through your sunrise!”
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Comments
Hello Ava,
I always thought that when you put out your best it will always be good, but not always. I run a homeless shelter for families and many times the families view of my best is not enough, but it is not the time for gratitude. So my best effort right now is to get the network open in Fort Collins (something that has been worked on for over a year). The churches for the overnight are in place and training has begun. Biggest hold back is the dollars needed but the best effort will be out there again and it is not for me it is for the many children that spend the night not knowing where their next night will be spent. Those children are my best effort.
Great post, Ava. This describes my situation dead on. Last year I wasn’t getting very many leads from my website. There wasn’t any message on there to encourage people to take the next step to get help with their fitness goals. The copy was all about me. So I revamped the website with a message that gave a strong call to action. I also put on there the emotional reasons why they needed to hire a personal trainer. Needless to say, it worked and I am the busiest I have ever been. So, yes, we must be cognizant of the message that we put out there.
So true. Marketing messages that are custom crafted for our tribe/peeps/niche and touch their emotions are messages that make people say, “That’s for me!” So glad you make that change…you’re an awesome trainer.
Yikes, Ann Marie. My response to your comment didn’t post for some reason.
What you are doing will be a blessing to so many people! I wish you all the best in what you are bringing to Fort Collins.
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