How much did they charge you?

If you are willing to buy from someone with the lowest price, just remember they will be trying very hard to figure out how to make a profit from you.

You will get what you bargained for. 

What was the price you paid?

Why should they pay attention to you?

You aren’t even speaking their language. In your mind, you are educating them. In their minds, I don’t need to know or learn this.

How can you do better?

Are you selling what you believe?

If you want to sell something, you have to believe in it wholeheartedly. 

If you don’t, do us all a favour. Get out of the way.

One of the worst things to do is to get a brief from a marketer who does not believe in his product.

Stop living a lie and stop lying to the market.

Can you find a better job?

How much time do you have?

We need to educate the consumer. 

Increasingly I am beginning to dislike the word “educate” especially when used in the context of a marketing and communications meeting about getting the consumer to buy a certain service and or product.

Come on, educate? Do you know how long it takes? How much budget do you have? It is now your job as marketers to teach now?

Here’s your challenge today. Find a better word to replace the word “educate”. You would probably stumble on a better process and way to get your consumer to give you their money.

How much money do you have?

Do you really need to crack your head?

Come on. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Everything that works in sales and marketing has been done before one way or another. 

Pick the right ones and execute the hell out of it. Ok, maybe crack your head picking the right ones.

Does it have to be so difficult?

What is your choice?

You can choose not to work with people you don’t like. Believing this statement takes courage. But it doesn’t mean it cannot be done. Like everything else, once you realize it, it’s liberating.

What really matters?

Have you got it all figured out?

Probably not. And for many things.

Why then do you fear being wrong when it is by far one of the best ways to learn?

About yourself, about the situation.

How often do you admit it is a mistake?

Can you convince them?

Very rarely are you able to convince a successful businessman that he is wrong or that certain things can be improved when people continue to buy their service and products. They can say they want to improve and they have open ears. But you should know the truth, no business person will fix the formula when it still works.

What does ‘still works’ mean? It means they are still making good money.

We have developed a sense of who these people are, you should too. Spend your time elsewhere.

Is it your job to educate them?

Do you really care about what they say?

Well, sometimes you should. At other times, you just have to keep walking your path. If you have a goal and you have done everything necessary to get closer to your goal, then keep doing what will get you closer. Caring too much what others say or feel detracts you from doing what you do best.

Did you pay attention to your heart?

What does failure mean to you?

When you do not fail enough, you often associate failure with shame. Once you have failed enough, you would realize that the shame associated with failure is just your ego talking.

Leap and let failure flow.

How do you get to success?

Do you stick to deadlines?

One thing that propagates indecision is the ability (read authority) to move deadlines.

If you are already an indecisive person, try some form of discipline. Stick to the deadlines you have set.

You don’t need more time, more data, better crafted copy, the perfect timing, (and whatever else is your excuse, please add here.) You need to decide based on the information you have, the experience you have and execute the hell out of it.

How more perfect will it be?

When is the best time?

Now.

If you don’t know how to begin, start with a pencil and paper. Start writing what’s on your mind. What you write does not even have to make sense. Just scribble away.

It works for writing articles, writing marketing plans, financial goals, who you want to marry and stuff that is bothering you.

Something magical happens when pencil meets paper.

How do you start?

Are you human?

It’s OK to be wrong. You already know that. Admitting that you are wrong is perhaps difficult. But it’s OK. It tells us that you are human.

Oh, and say you are sorry. Actually use the word “sorry.” I am sure your mom taught you manners.

Can your ego talk?

What can you offer at work?

A lot.

Look around you, there are a lot of problem areas that can be solved.

Look for solutions and share these ideas. Yes, it means more work. Yes, it can mean being criticized. Yes, it also can mean you become a competitive advantage of the company (and usually that means a better pay scale.)

How much do you want to be paid?

Do you want to be a millionaire?

"You can't have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic." - Stephen C. Hogan

How is your work ethic?

How’s your marketing campaign doing?

Not very well? Ok. Checked everything? Good.

Now objectively review your own personal effort prior to the campaign.

I did say, “objectively.”

Who did you blame?

How are things moving?

Too many hurdles you say? Love them. Yeah, love those hurdles.

Those are the very things that force you to push your envelope.

They make you think deeper, work harder.

What’s not to like about hurdles?

Did you reach your goals?

If you did, what do you think will help you reach your next goal?

If you didn’t, what do you think will help you reach your next goal?

What did you learn?

What should you forget?

Stuff that bug you from years ago, months ago, weeks ago or even a few days ago. You know those stuff of who said what to you that offended you, did or did not do something for you or to you that rubbed you the wrong way. Yeah, those stuff.

Forget it.

What’s worth remembering?

Are you pushing the envelope?

If you truly say you are pushing hard, then you should be trying new things.

Are you pushing the wrong things?

Are you achieving your goal?

Perhaps what is missing is discipline.

Try mixing a good dose of discipline into your desire. Drink it.

That concoction should give you some progress.

Why aren’t you moving?

When was the last time you asked for feedback?

On things you should continue doing; on things you can improve; on things you should stop doing.

Can you take it?