Marketing is a serious business discipline. People are not born marketers. It is a discipline that can be learned. But it takes the right mix of talent, time and effort.
Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors and in his book “Outliers” the recurring theme is the “10,000-Hour Rule”. The rule is that the key to success in any field is a matter of practicing it for a total of 10,000 hours or more. Just ask any Olympic Gold Medalist what they did in their spare time.
Edward S. McKay, author of The Marketing Mystique describes the many ingredients in profiling a master marketer.
Here’s what I believe the 7 most powerful ingredients are:
1. An unwavering commitment to marketing: 10,000 hours or more.
2. An entrepreneurial spirit and natural innovator.
3. Refined business judgement.
4. A master of the risk/results relationship.
5. Soundness of character and the personality to sell ideas, inspire action and elicit cooperation.
6. A combination of analytical and creative abilities; a right-brain, left-brainer.
7. A well-rounded understanding and appreciation of the functions of finance, legal, accounting, information technology, procurement, administrative services, human resources, consumer behavior and sales.
About VLW Marketing Group
Founded by Victoria Whatley in 2008, VLW provides Digital Marketing, Website Design & Hosting, Marketing, and Social Media Services for small businesses in the professional services industry. VLW’s ability to effectively address these areas for its clients has resulted in more than 90% of new business engagements coming from client referrals, check out VLW’s testimonials.
