How to develop your marketing muscles

Okay, so you’ve decided to get serious about marketing. You’ve got some ideas, you’re determined to do this, and you’re ready to start.

Now what?

One of the smartest things you can do, right from the beginning, is to get a "workout partner".

Ever joined a gym? Then you know how much easier it is to have a workout partner, someone who shows up when you show up, spots you, talks you through the tough times.

It works just the same with marketing.

You and your workout partner brainstorm ideas, share resources, and have regular check-ins. You coach and assist each other, and make each other accountable. If one of you says they are going to do something, it is much more likely to get done because your partner is watching.

Marketing, like exercise, is doing a few simple things over and over again. The hard part is in your head. When no one is watching, it’s easy to delay, curtail, or avoid. Having a workout partner is the key to staying on track.

Your workout partner may be another attorney, but could also be any kind of professional, e.g., CPA, insurance agent, financial planner, real estate broker, or a business owner. More important than their background are there values and commitment. You want to workout with someone who will show up and work as hard as you and push you to reach your potential.

Your partner could be someone you’ve known for a long time, or someone you have not yet met. One of the best places to meet candidates is at a class or seminar on marketing.

One of the first things you’ll want to do is find out each other’s goals and sense of urgency. It’s best if they are reasonably compatible.

The key to being a good workout partner is to be a good listener. Your role is not to criticize or to tell the other what to do. You are there to support your partner in the attainment of their goals, and to remind them of what they told you they wanted and intended to do.

Being a good workout partner will call upon many skills: tact, patience, compassion, the ability to be honest without being hurtful, and making others feel good about themselves, just to name a few.

As you learn and improve these skills, not only will you become a better workout partner, you will also become a better marketer, leader, professional, and human being.