YoungWellNow.com

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Let’s face it.

Marketing is NOT exclusive to business. It plays a major part in everything we do. How well we “market ourselves” determines how far we get in life. We are always competing against someone and if you’ve been reading this blog consistently then you are the type of person who strives for the best. Maybe you haven’t thought about it yet but you can learn much about improving your personal life by implementing marketing techniques.

Here are three life areas that definitely need some marketing attention.

Appearance

People love to say that they don’t judge people. But they always do. Most don’t say it out loud, but your “look” will always determine how people “view” you. Have you ever seen a sloppy guy with a greasy, stained muscle shirt who you thought was rich? Probably not. Just like when you see a woman who is decked out in expensive brands, you think that she must have money to blow or that she is superficial.

What most people don’t realize is that they are MARKETING themselves with their appearance ALL THE TIME.

Have you ever seen someone with glasses and assumed that they were really intelligent until they started talking? Everything you wear, how you stand, how you walk, your facial expressions and your eyes, are aspects of the way you market yourself. The successful people know how to tailor their appearance to market themselves in all situations. Have you ever seen Donald Trump on TV wearing a velour sweatsuit while talking business? Nope! The reason why is because he is always marketing and if his image isn’t congruent with his brand then he will not be able to sell you on his vision. He combines his dress with the way he carries himself. He wants to been seen as powerful, so he has a strong posture, he looks at people with intensity, and uses his hands to exaggerate his words.

Pay attention to the messages that you are sending through the what you wear and how you act. It’s easy to be dressed according to your brand before a big meeting or event, but what about the rest of the week? People are always watching and if you look sloppy most of the time they will think you are sloppy even if you do get dressed up once in a while.

This is a powerful quote that I think sums it up.

“You teach people how to treat you. If you don’t value yourself, don’t expect other people to value you.” – Jonathan Sprinkles

Remember… appearance is more about you being congruent with your lifestyle, than what you wear. If you want to be seen in a certain light, then make sure that every part of your appearance is tight. Take some time to practice speaking in front of a mirror so that you get comfortable with your hand gestures and your facial expressions. Or even better to record yourself on video while practicing your walk, talk, stance, facial expressions and eye connections. The more comfortable you are with your appearance the more confident you will become.

Relationships

So have you ever had a friend who talks a big game but never comes through on any of her promises? Think about what that has done to the relationship… 9 times out of 10 you are probably NOT likely to believe anything that she says, right? Building successful relationships is all about marketing.

Think about when you go out to social events. The people who always have a crowd are the ones who seem to be talking the most, seem calm, and seem to be “naturals”, right? Wrong. The people who have a crowd are the ones who can effectively market themselves as a person of value. These people may have some natural talent, but you better believe that they have practiced for years (maybe without knowing it). A person who can easily build relationships is one who has gone through many wins and losses and has calibrated their message to what works best for them.

If you want to be a better networker and someone who builds relationships with ease, you need to learn to market yourself. You need to have your appearance marketing figured out, so you feel comfortable presenting yourself and don’t waste energy worrying about what the person is thinking about your appearance. Then you have to excute on your personal marketing message, which is how you communicate your value to others.

Also make sure that you execute on the things that you promised. Relationships are about trust and if people don’t trust you, you have no shot in hell of building lasting relationships.

Personal Goals

Lastly, I want to discuss personal goals. People set goals all the time. Most of the time when they set goals, they set them as if they are afraid that somebody will find out about them. Oooo scary!!! They are afraid that people will laugh at them for having “ridiculous” goals so they set them really low or they make them really generic.

Most people write “safe” goals that are so generic that they don’t seem very personal at all.

If a goal isn’t personal and compelling to you, then how can you possibly sell yourself on believing it’s possible to achieve.

Personal goals are about marketing as well. You have to throw some marketing sizzle on your goals so you can get excited about them and believe in them. They have to have so much sizzle that they light a fire inside and compel you to action. You must sell yourself on your goals.

Wrap-Up

There are a ton of other personal areas that you can work on improving your marketing.

Here are some articles that I highly recommend you check out:

Don’t Grow Up Too Fast by Juwon Melvin

How to Improve Your Social Skills by Henrik Edberg

20 Ways to Attack Shyness by Tina Su

Thrive or Die!

-Aaron Madonna