The magic marketing formula
By: Greet Bunnens
Tags: Marketing, Business Development, Sales, Authenticity, Personal Branding

There’s no such thing!

I’ll tell you a secret.

Well, actually it’s not a big secret anymore.

I’m pretty open about it.

I used to say so many BS things about marketing, sales, and business.

Once upon a time, I conducted business and marketing in an intuitive way.

And that went well. Ups & downs, but things were OK.

I listened to my heart and gut and I liked the way how I attracted clients and grew the business.

I was not a sales or marketing person. I was an HR consultant who founded an HR business.

And after a while, it was no longer a 1 woman show, I worked with freelance HR interim managers.

We connected great HR people to great HR assignments.

And the business grew. Fast.

And you know what Peter Drucker says:

“Business has only two basic functions: marketing & innovation.”

So I decided to attend a business and marketing training.

And OMG, I discovered a whole new world.

They taught me new marketing techniques, the success formulas, the ways how to and how not to brand yourself.

I learned how to blog, vlog, get my content out there. Every day.

Step 1–2–3 ….

I loved it!

And I wanted to teach this to my clients.

Long story short, I created a new business focused on Personal Branding.

What an adventure.

And step by step I grew the business.

But something was off.

I just did not know what it was.

Maybe it was because I did not like working alone.

Something was off…

So I started yet another company together with a friend of mine.

Business Boost Event.

And boy, what an interesting journey that was!

But still, something was off.

The more we grew, the more I felt unease.

I started to dislike what we were teaching.

“You must do this, this, and this in that order and you’ll be successful.”

“Be a good soldier (oops student), do what we say, and you will be successful.”

“It’s all about volume and consistency.”

“It’s a numbers game.”

Etc….

We tried to feed our students the magic marketing formula.

My gut and my heart knew there is no such thing.

But my mind kept going.

I couldn’t take it anymore…

Until I couldn’t take it anymore.

My colleague decided we should go our separate ways.

Can’t blame her. I was constantly saying: “This does not feel right.”

“Don’t tell me what I must do and not do. I don’t have to do anything.”

“You say this is the right way. I say: is that so?”

It must have been hard for her to work with me.

So she ended the relationship.

And today, I’m happy she did.

Because now I can freely speak my mind.

And amongst others, I want to tell you:

“Don’t believe traditional marketing and business gurus.”

Heck, you don’t even have to believe me.

Believe in yourself!

Believe in yourself and trust your gut feeling.

Don’t ask your marketing coach: “How many times do I have to post on Facebook?”

What does he or she know?

Trust yourself.

Don’t ask your business coach: “Should I do blogs or vlogs?”

What does he or she know?

Trust yourself.

Does that mean that you should get rid of marketing or business coaches?

Nope, or I’d be out of business ;-)

But avoid the ones who sell you the standard success formulas.

They don’t exist.

Go talk to the business and marketing coaches who are willing to listen to you and your needs.

The ones who are emphatically interested in you and your business.

Those who are in it for the greater good and not only for their own gain.

Find someone who’s the right match for YOU.

Trust your gut and you’ll find that person.

And yes, we do exist :-)

Contact me

I’m Greet Bunnens — not your typical business coach

Want to know more? 1place: www.greetbunnens.be