“Strategic marketing has more in common with fencing than just about any other sport or activity.”

~ Debra Hilton

Fencing? Really?

You’ve got to love a sport where your primary goal is to stab your opponent as often as you can! It’s great therapy at the end of a stressful week and I think it probably ought to be mandatory for all teachers as it would give them an outlet for their frustrations. In fact, if politicians took fencing lessons we might see them focusing more on accomplishing the things we elected them to do and less on slinging mud at their opponents and frustrating their electorate, which may or may not be a good thing… But I diverge.

The reason I’m bringing you lessons from the fencing piste is because they are critical for your business and your marketing as well.

The Man Behind the Mask

One of the challenging things about fencing is that your opponent is wearing a mask. You can’t see his eyes or facial expression, so the only way to judge what he is thinking and feeling  is by reading his body. Believe me, you can tell instantly when your opponent is tired, distracted, frustrated, or furious even behind the mask… And the ability to see and respond to that reality gives you the edge.

The same is true in marketing (and sales). Your prospects don’t always come up to you and say, “Here’s what I want to hear… and if you tell me these things, I will buy from you.” In fact, they’re more likely to say, “Read my mind. Sift through all the sidelines I’ve distracted you with. Guess what I want… Then I’ll think about buying from you.” On top of that, most of the time they’re actively trying to hide what they really want to hear… Or else they don’t know what it is until they see (or hear) it.

So… one of the most important skills a business can have is people who can read what is going on behind the mask – just like in fencing.

Predicting the Future – or at Least the Next Step

Wouldn’t you love a crystal ball so you could jump ahead of your competitors into the mind of your prospects and clients even when they don’t tell you what they want?

Wouldn’t that make it easier to design the products and services they really want?

You don’t need to be a fencer to realise that if you can get into your prospect or client’s head and understand what they want you have an immense advantage when it comes to designing immensely desirable and profitable offers.

One problem with this is that most of the time your prospects aren’t sure exactly what they want, and they usually don’t know how to determine the difference between what they think they want and what they actually need… So that’s your job and it takes a deep understanding of your market and your own abilities.

The Challenge for Your Marketing

The biggest challenge most business owners face is that marketing isn’t really their ‘thing’… So they outsource it to an agency or a casual freelancer.

The thing about an agency or freelancer is that they simply don’t have the time, energy, or interest in either your prospects or your products. Their goal is just to get collateral out there and hope it delivers the results they’ve promised – and since usually you haven’t been doing anything at all, it often works – for a while.

Eventually, though, you start talking to people who don’t really fit your ideal prospect criteria and realise you’re missing people who do fit that model… This is why many sophisticated companies bring their marketing in-house or at least work with just one freelancer who knows their business and their customers intimately because it’s that depth of insight and understanding that enables you to create compelling marketing campaigns that deliver extraordinary results.

Dynamic Direct Response Copywriting – The Audio Book

My book Dynamic Direct Response Copywriting provides an insight into how to dig deep into your prospect’s psyche so that you can understand what is really going on behind the mask of their behaviours and words. It helps you research and write powerful advertising copy that irresistibly attracts your ideal prospect and pre-disposes them to work with you.

You can get the audio version (read by me) free when you sign up to my daily email list at: https://debrah.me/join