Ready, Fire, Aim

With an attention-getting level of synchronicity that I am generally too smart to ignore, several newsletters that I have gotten recently are offering the same bit of wisdom: don't futz about polishing and tweaking your latest "baby" of a project until it's perfect - stop noodling and start selling it. Now. In fact, a few of these authors have made the point that you don't even need to be "pregnant" with that baby to begin sending out the marketing equivilent of birth announcements.

Instead, they suggest that you start selling your products beforehand, and then use the wave of sales to propel your otherwise interminably perfectionistic self into getting the pre-sold item out there into the waiting arms of your adoring fans. Scary? Hell yes. Effective? You better believe it.

The latest incarnation of this advice is an article in Early To Rise's newsletter by author and business expert Marc Charles, called Something Magical Happens After The First Sale (scroll down to the Today's Message section). In it, he describes several income-producing ideas he had and how he went about creating a market for them before delivering on the goods, in a process often referred to as "Ready, Fire, Aim".

As he explains, there's an inherent flaw in creating first, then selling: There's the rather uncomfortably large possibility that no one will want what you've got. And then what? You've just spent several weeks (if not months, or more) of your life invested in a product or service that no one wants, and you've missed the opportunity to use that time for something profitable and useful (which is, in fact, the main reason we keep polishing and fiddling until the idea dies of old age - if we don't put it out there, it can't get rejected).

Of course, sometimes we just have an idea that we need to get out of our heads before it frappes our brain with it's incessant whizzing about, market or no market. But for the most part, we tend to produce products and services with the dual intent to both share our wealth of wisdom, insight and experiences and keep the student loan guy off our backs for another few months. Thing is, unless you...

A) know for a cold, hard fact that there is an eager market out there pawing the ground to crack their wallets open at the sound of your starting gun, or

B) create that market yourself beforehand

C) get really lucky

...not only will you not be able to make nice with the friendly folks at the collection agency, you'll be unable to get your message out to those who may desperately need it, in a form that they are willing and able to receive it.

So set down that polishing cloth and pick up your thinking cap. Come up with a great product idea or grab up that cool project that you never got much more than started on and start putting out marketing copy. Take out an ad in the paper, send out some sales emails to your list, plug your latest "upcoming event" in your blog, your site and any online info-source that will take it and start generating some interest and, hopefully, some pre-paid orders (or at least some folks willing to take a number for when your offspring hits the shelves).

Because nothing motivates real action and live-or-die prioritizing like a hundred pre-paid folks standing around with presents waiting to see the baby pictures.

Soni Pitts, Personal and Spiritual Development Coach
Reclaiming the soul of living
http://www.sonipitts.com