The biggest mindset mistake of people who market themselves and their products is that they don't understand they are marketing themselves.
Now read that again, so you can get it in deep.
In job interviews, startup pitches, sales calls people extoll their skills and accomplishments.
Strategically, you must get this simple FACT.
People hire you if they like you, and they keep you if you're competent.
But this error in perception is not the point of today's missive.
That's a lot more tactical and simple and ACTIONABLE.
Actionable, as in FRACKING NOW.
And applies to virtually anything you could possibly do for a living.
I was recently approached by a young artist to help him build a brand and business around his craft.
And even without taking into account the total garbage that postmodernism is.
He really puts in for his craft and his stuff will sell big.
We talked at length about his situation and what he needs in order to be able to sell all the way to the Moon.
For someone who isn't a PR or marketing pro, he was unusually aware of all the angles he needed to cover in order to get his work in front of the right people.
I expected that from earlier contact.
What surprised me was that he was limiting himself the exact same way I did in the early half of my professional life.
Barely out of college, I had better credentials than the vast majority of my competitors. When I went to graduate school, it was a very similar story – massive skill advantage in breadth and depth. Same when I started work afterwards.
And all those times I made the exact same stupid mistake.
I virtually never cold-called people.
I always relied on job ads, project announcements and the little network I had as a relative beginner at each of those stages in my professional life.
And so I missed out massively on income and put myself in a lot of pointless pain.
Leaving cold calls out of the picture is the stupidest marketing mistake anyone can make when selling something big-ticket (such as yourself).
Of course, I only realized that years later when I dug deep into marketing and PR.
If you have a genuine interest in something, cold-calling is hands-down the fastest way to build a fracking network in just about any field or endeavor.
And it's a major investment in your Power of Mind because it's a fantastic method to learn how to handle – and welcome – rejection.
Cold-calling people like it's nothing is a skill that will take you far – underrated and unavailable amongst the lo-awarenes mass.
The more cold-calling you do NOW, the more of what you WANT to do you'll be able to do later and the SOONER you'll be able to do it.
If you want a promotion.
If you want a new job.
If you want more clients.
If you want more women. Or men.
If you want more sales.
If you want to be admitted to a top academy.
Start cold-calling people immediately – by phone, email, package or carrier pigeon.
And if you get value from these daily emails, become a supporter on Patreon at this link: https://www.patreon.com/join/startupdaemon.
PS: I'd invite you to cold-call me with your questions, but then it wouldn't be cold-calling, would it?