What’s Missing From Your Marketing Plan

What’s Missing From Your Marketing Plan

A couple months ago, I wrapped up Chet Holmes’s book The Ultimate Sales Machine. In it, he says the secret to sales and marketing can be summed up as mostly having “pig-headed determination.”

Sure, he elaborates further on various methods and philosophies around sales, but he says that pig-headed determination is the missing ingredient that most people don’t possess. Most people, Holmes says, simply try something one or two times without success, declare it a failure, and move on to the next tactic.

The book is great, well worth the read, but this isn’t a book report. Or at least, that isn’t my intent. Reading Holmes’s book, I found that the idea of pig-headed determination really aligned with a lot of what I believe to be the secret to marketing…and pretty much most of life.

The book was written about 10 years ago, long before marketers (and agencies) were beating the topic of “content marketing” to death, yet I can’t help but chuckle at the similarities.

Determination is hard. Determination takes a long time. Determination doesn’t always look like you’re winning. Determination takes a lot of work. Determination is personal.

Determination is the opposite of what most marketers want – an easy path. And I can’t say that I blame them.

Who wouldn’t want effortless, constant relevance for their brand? Who wouldn’t want to sleep in (I wrote this at 5:30 a.m.), and not have the extra burden of creating content on a regular basis? But today, along with messaging and frequency, marketing is about discipline. The easy world doesn’t exist anymore.

Social media gives us this blank box, and asks us “What’s on your mind?” For a brand to stay relevant today, they have to fill that box everyday. Plus, it’s not just one box anymore. Omnichannel marketing means creating and sharing content across multiple platforms, from simple one-sentence status updates to videos. It means being everywhere. It takes time and determination.

The best part is that a lot of you reading this might think it sounds like a bunch of bull. Omnichannel marketing sounds like a buzzword. You feel that it isn’t representative of your industry. I totally understand. I even agree. But that’s also where I see the opportunity.

Businesses that have the mindset (and courage) to take advantage of this wonderful publishing tool called the internet will be more relevant and have a stronger reputation than businesses that don’t.

They are going to eat your lunch.

Chet Holmes tells us that most people give up before they should. That you should expect rejection, but that pig-headed determination is the key to sales.

Be determined to use new tools. Be determined to spread your message. Stay relevant or die. Don’t hide behind the idea of “busy.” Everyone is busy. You have time, you just don’t think it’s important. Make it important.

WATCH: Mike discusses the missing factor for most content marketing strategies today – determination. Watch below or on YouTube: