In the course of consulting with a number of business owners, I find that some can be delusional when it comes to marketing. Specifically that marketing cost money. No matter how many ways I say this, no matter if I put it in writing, no matter if I discuss it in a seminar, people just don’t get it.

Let me put it this way, if you are a business owner and you charge money for your product or services then you have to expect your marketing consultant, coordinator, agency, manger, director or whatever title your marketing professional has to expect to be paid for their services. You also have to expect there to be residual cost, i.e. printing, video productions, graphic design cost, brand ambassador cost, etc…. It doesn’t matter if you, an agency or some online business builds your website; there are ongoing costs associated with that website. It doesn’t matter if you or someone else does your graphic design, there will be print cost associated with producing your marketing materials. Just, know, it doesn’t matter what you do with regards to marketing or running your business, there will always be a cost.

For some reason, people seem to think it is okay for them to charge others for the products or services they provide, but they can’t seem to grasp that someone else is going to charge them for their products or services. My advice to you is if you cannot afford the services as outlined in an email, contract or verbally then you should say so up front. Don’t let your business suffer because you start working with a marketing professional and in the middle of the process, because marketing is a process, you have to stop because you’ve run out of money, no longer want to pay or feel you’ve gotten enough “marketing” thus far and don’t want to see the process to fruition.  

I’ve said it before and I will say it again – “You can’t get it for FREE!”

My advice to you is to stop fooling yourself and those you plan to do business with, if your money is funny and your change is strange, then you are NOT ready to do business with anyone, let alone embark on some form of marketing for your business. Get your finances in order. Adjust your mindset. Be a better business owner.

I know you’ve heard this “Trust me, I’m a …” many times before. For some reason, experts in their fields have to remind their customers to just trust them. I’m not sure if it is because there was a breach of trust within the relationship or if the customer/client came into the relationship with a mindset of fear and distrust. Either way, there are times when you have to reestablish trust in the client-professional relationship.

As a marketing professional, I work with a number of small business owners. Many of these business owners “get” marketing, but the ones who don’t “get” it are distrustful. It becomes an uphill battle of trying to educate them on what marketing can do for their business, the value of marketing, the cost of marketing and understanding that marketing is a process not a product.

I can show them marketing successes such as Geico, McDonalds, Walmart, M&M’s, etc… but to these business owners, marketing success is just some sort of abstract idea. They are unable to see that the principals of marketing will work on a small scale just as they do on a large scale. I have to be honest and let them know that having a large or flexible marketing budget will give them a greater reach than a small budget. But with a small budget and a little creative thinking, they can still garner a share of whatever market they are in. Then as their business grows, their marketing budgets will do likewise. 

Merriam-Webster defines trust as, “the belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc…” When working with a marketing professional or agency, you, the business owner, must learn to trust the suggestions and direction they offer. I’m not saying that everything they say or do is gold, but if you believe you both are on the same page and that this professional is trustworthy, then why would you block or sabotage their work, when it is all in your best interest? Adversarial relationships are never successful.

My suggestion is that you be present and active in your marketing efforts. Don’t just “leave it to the professionals” and then cry foul when you failed to be an active participant in the marketing of your business. Be open to suggestions. Understand that what you think may be different from the professional. Remember if you really knew marketing, you wouldn't have hired them in the first place, so don’t run them away, just because you disagree or can’t see the big picture. Give the professional a chance to connect the dots and color in the spaces for you and who knows, you just might be sitting on marketing gold.