When I agreed several months ago to do a talk for the Business Marketing Association about The Role of Free in B2B Marketing, I was excited. After all, I consult on pricing strategy for digital content and services companies all the time, and am passionate about recurring revenue models, most of which incorporate at least some element of "free" in their marketing strategy.
But last week, when I sat down to put together my speech, I was sorry I'd committed. I was swamped with work, had a vacation planned for the 2 workdays prior to the event, and was planning a Strategy Breakfast at Stanford GSB, featuring Financial Engines CEO Jeff Maggioncalda and founder Joe Grundfest, for the same week.
And while I know a lot about B2B marketing, I still had to pull it all together for a presentation. As the day grew closer, I began to get stressed. But you know what else happened? I figured it out. I drafted the presentation, prepared and prepared, and the final result was actually pretty good. Plus, now I have a great presentation that I can use again, and content for a white paper.
If I hadn't committed so far in advance, I wouldn't have done it. This kind of "kick in the pants" has propelled me forward many times. It's actually an effective technique, to identify a goal, publically commit to it, and then just "have to" get it done.
I do a lot of yoga, so it's getting easier to kick myself in the pants…and while there are still brief moments of pain, the results are worth it.
In this case, the talk went very well–and I had the unexpected joy of having my entire "mastermind" group present. These 5 fellow consultants have been my advisors and friends for many years, and we meet regularly to talk about life and business, and to egg each other on. And having Niti, Steph, Pam, Lilia and Laura there meant the world to me.
So today, I encourage you to be bold–give yourself a little kick
and know you'll get it done when the deadline approaches!
