Competency, passion and clients

Can you practically link your passions, competencies and marketing success? If you would like to participate in a project to prove that you are most likely to succeed by doing work you enjoy, please email buckshon@cnrgp.com.

A few weeks ago, several readers responded to an informal three-question survey to see if you do what you love, and are good at, you will be most successful at your marketing. Here are the questions:

1. In you opinion, describe your greatest competency: That is, the element of your business/self where you truly are among the best in your field.

2.Now, describe your greatest enjoyment/passion: The interests or activities (either personal, business, or both, which give you the greatest pleasure and enjoyment.

Finally, I asked:

3. Have you combined your competency and passion in reaching out to your potential market (previous, current and potential future clients)?

Four of the 13 who responded said "yes", five said "no", three said "not sure" and one didn't answer the question.

The interesting thing, however, is the nature of the responses to the first two questions: Your competencies and passions are varied, ranging from practical, career-focused talents, to purely recreational interests. You are all unique, and I don't think any of you would like to be pigeon-holed into a specific 'category'. And, as marketing guru Seth Godin notes in a recent posting Maybe you can't make money doing what you love, competencies and passions don't necessarily relate practically to business success: Poets rarely make money at poetry, and if you are a poet (artist) and try to jam your passions into something 'appropriate' for business, you may sell your soul, and heart, for an unfathomable misery.

How can you translate these questions and insights into practical marketing success? I see the seeds of a highly individualized and truly effective career/marketing consultancy here. The consultants would use some of the testing resources currently available to measure/assess your strengths and competencies, and then look at your business/client base/potential and determine likely synergies and matches. You would then receive practical and individual suggestions on how to connect your interests and passions to your market.

This personal consulting would be far more useful than the cookie-cutter systems where you are pushed into some one's rule-book, and told to follow it. If you have a multi-person marketing department, everyone would participate, and your unique talents and abilities would then be correlated to the team effort, allowing for your individual strengths and interests.

But this is theory. Can it work in practice? The only way to find out is to test and prove the concept. And to do that, we'll need some volunteers. You won't be paid (directly) for your time, but neither will you be charged any consulting fees!

Ideally, to qualify, you should either be an entrepreneur/business owner, or marketing/sales/business development specialist in the construction industry. I anticipate the voluntary exercise will involve some simple written/online tests, and interviews (either in person if in Ottawa or by video conferees if outside this area). You would then gain insights into what could be the best approach for you, and we would follow-up over several months to see if you achieve success, both in your work enjoyment and income. I expect the amount of time you will need to dedicate to the consulting/evaluation will be a matter of a few hours, to (over time) a maximum of a business day or two.

If you are interested in volunteering, please email me at buckshon@cnrgp.com or phone 888-432-3555 ext 224.