I once read an article by famed copywriter and direct market Bob Bly that I’ve never forgotten about the 4 stages most marketers go through in their quest for marketing excellence. It really struck a chord with me and actually helped me along the way to achieve my goals precisely because it gave me an idea of what to expect. I no longer have the article, but I can paraphrase it for you here.
See where you fit inside the 4 levels of marketing competence…
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Unconscious Incompetence. You not only don’t know what you’re doing – you also don’t know that you don’t know what you’re doing. (You might need to read that again.) It could be that you think you’re a pretty good marketer, but the reason nothing is working is because of forces beyond your control. Guess again. If you suspect you’re in this category, get help. I would highly recommend seeking out a qualified mentor.
This is the lowest level, the one most of us start out at, so don’t be embarrassed if this might be you. It only gets better from here.
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Conscious Incompetence. You’ve figured out that the reason your brilliant marketing isn’t working is because it isn’t brilliant at all. You don’t know what you’re doing and you KNOW you don’t know what you’re doing.
This is a good thing because you recognize the need to learn from others who are having consistent success.
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Conscious Competence. Congratulations! You’ve done your homework, you’ve attended classes, read the books, watched the videos or whatever. You know how to market successfully. The only problem is, you have to expend a lot of thinking to get things right. It’s like when you first learned to drive. You could get from point A to point B successfully, but it took all of your concentration and focus.
To make things easier, you should keep swipe files, checklists, outlines and so forth. Don’t reinvent anything yet, just keep doing more and more of what works. You could stay in this stage forever and earn an excellent living, but you don’t have to.
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Unconscious Competence. This is the magical level where everything marketing becomes second nature to you. You don’t need checklists or swipe files because everything just flows from you like a fountain.
How do you get here? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice.
If you’re in any of the first 3 stages of marketing competence, know that it does get easier. Marketing can become as second nature as tying your shoes, and when it does you’ll see your work decreasing while your income increases. The mistake many people make is expecting to be in stage 4 from the very beginning, probably because they read salesletters for instructional materials that make ridiculous promises. Getting to the fourth level takes work, practice, and a great deal of learning.
Is it worth it? Beyond a shadow of doubt, yes it is. Remember, the only sure route to failure is to quit before you succeed.