Today I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 24 of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Lynn Serafinn whose book The 7 Graces of Marketing: how to heal humanity and the planet by changing the way we sell launched on Amazon Tuesday December 13, 2011.
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach and teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and bestselling author. Her eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. In her work as a promotional manager she has produced a long list of bestselling mind-body-spirit authors. Passionate about re-establishing our connection with the Earth, she supports the work of the Transition Town network in her hometown of Bedford, England.
Yesterday, Lynn visited Geoff Laughton at www.spiritedmusings.com , where she shared her recent interview with Lynn around the subject of How do you avoid Invasion in marketing?
Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Lynn when I got to ask her some questions around the purpose/inspiration of writing 7 Graces of Marketing. I hope you enjoy it.
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Andrea Hylen: How did you come up with the idea for the 7 Graces of Marketing?
Lynn Serafinn: Well, Andrea, like any good idea, I didn’t ‘come up with it’; it came to me.
One day in August 2010, I was scheduled to deliver a 90-minute workshop on ‘Spiritual Marketing’ at the One World Festival in Gloucestershire, here in the UK. At that time, I had been writing the book for about six months. I written and re-written the outline many times, and had drafted a handful of fledgling chapters, but I knew I still hadn’t really ‘landed’ the over-arching model for what I was trying to express. I sort of knew what I wanted to say intuitively, but hadn’t really managed to put it into words in such a way it was easily understandable to others, or that had much depth.
So about 20 minutes before I was due to give my talk, I sat down at my desk with pile of scribbled notes, and a blank piece of paper. I shut my eyes, and called out to the Universe, saying, ‘This is no good. What IS it?! What is the model?’
Almost immediately, I saw the number 7 and two columns. I picked up my pen, and without any conscious thought whatsoever, I drew two columns, labelled them ‘The 7 Deadly Sins’ and the ‘7 Graces’ of marketing. I numbered 1-7, and wrote down the ‘sins’ and ‘graces’ just like that. And with one exception, where I changed a word to fit the meaning more accurately, that list is exactly is it appeared on that afternoon.
When I delivered my workshop that day, it made a big impact, and several of the participants are still following my work and have bought my book. But what is more important is the fact that once I ‘received’ this paradigm, it made the structure and the message of my book much clearer not just for the audience, but for me as well. It enabled me to conduct my research, and bring depth to the topic, in such a way that I couldn’t have otherwise. The 7 Graces (and 7 Deadly Sins) proved not only to be a great way to communicate the message I wanted to convey, but a deep wellspring of reflection and a springboard for discussion. They were truly a gift from Universe.
Andrea Hylen: Why did you start the book out by saying, “This is a book of questions, not a manual of answers?”
Lynn Serafinn: That’s a great question, Andrea, and thanks for asking it because I believe it is what changed the entire intention and feel of the book.
It took me two years to complete this book from concept to launch. During that time, I must have spent at least 18 months in sheer terror at the thought of how it would be received. I was worried people would not take my ideas seriously, because I was not a ‘trained’ marketer. My professional background is in the music industry, the educational sector, coaching and writing. My degrees are in music and adult education, and my professional certifications are in teaching and coaching. Although I have done marketing for years as a small business owner, and am now also a marketer for authors and other small business owners, I don’t have a corporate background, nor do I have a degree in business or marketing.
One day, I realised that this fear was getting in the way of my making progress with the book. I sat down and had a long chat with myself to find out where this fear was coming from. I realised it was because I had made up the story in my head that I would need to prove I had all the answers to society’s problems in this book, which of course I certainly didn’t! That belief was what was holding me back. Once I released myself from the need to know the answers, the book became about asking questions. It became about opening the dialogue with people, and co-creating solutions together. It was no longer about ‘me’ but about ‘us’ and how all of us could collaborate to make a better future.
When I finally sat down to write the introduction, I was about 80% finished with the first draft of the book. As I wrote it, it brought tears to my eyes. When that happens, I know I’ve penned something powerful—something that has the ability to reach into people’s hearts so they will feel engaged and desirous to dive more deeply into the book. And based upon the feedback I am receiving, I believe these opening words are indeed engaging my readers, making them a vital part of the journey towards the 7 Graces. Had I posed as ‘the expert’ who had all the answers, this book would not have been able to create the intention I had hoped it would.
Andrea Hylen: How do you set a deadline when you are teaching a class with a start date without triggering feelings of scarcity?
Lynn Serafinn: It’s really all in how you communicate this to your audience, Andrea. We all need starts and ends of projects. If we leave them open-ended, we won’t get any work done, and we’ll never know if we’ve succeeded in doing what we set out to do.
However, some marketers will use deadlines to induce feelings of anxiety and panic: ‘Hurry before supplies run out!’ etc. Yesterday on Amazon, on the page for my own book they wrote, ‘Only 1 left in stock. Buy now!’ This is utterly ridiculous (and a lie) because my book is print-on-demand. That means there is not such thing as ‘only 1 more in stock’ because the books are printed only when an order is placed! I’m making a point of telling my readers that Amazon’s ‘scarcity’ message is simply not true.
When we set deadlines or limits for the sake of managing our business or marketing campaign, the first key is to be truthful, factual and consistent about it. The second key is to communicate it in a simple, direct and transparent way so as not to give a false impression as to your intentions. For example, if you simply cannot take enrolments on your course past a specific date because you have to book a room or other preparation, just say so. Explain the practical reasons why in a few words. And the third thing is to give your customers lots of space in which to make their decision. If you have a deadline, don’t spring it on them all at once. They might not take action right away (it seems so many people tend to leave things to the last minute!) but at least YOU should not be rushing them. They should have heard about the deadline well in advance, so they are not in anxiety, and you are not manipulating their anxieties.
We live in a busy world. Give your customers time, space, respect, clarity and truthfulness, and you won’t be creating scarcity when you set deadlines.
Andrea Hylen: What is a simple step a business owner could do to stop competing and start collaborating?
Lynn Serafinn: Competition comes into play when we feel disconnected from Self and others. When we are in good relationship with Self, we do not feel the need to compete; we only seek to increase our personal integrity. Hence, the very first step to shift away from competition (which is the seventh of the ‘Deadly Sins’ of marketing in the book) is to work on our relationship with Self.
Once we have a good relationship with Self, we will stop comparing ourselves to others, and stop feeling protective and vulnerable when we share our ideas. Our next step will be to work on our relationship with others. When we cease seeing others as a ‘threat’ because we are full within our Selves, we can start to build co-creative relationships with them, not only in business, but in life in general.
When we have the ability to forge these kinds of relationships with people, we are laying the groundwork for true Collaboration (the seventh of the ‘7 Graces’ of marketing in the book). True Collaboration is born when collaborators have two things: 1) a common ‘stake’ (a greater purpose, vision) and 2) the firm belief that what they can create together will always be greater than the sum of its parts. If you lack either of these two elements, you are unlikely to yield the fruits of genuine Collaboration.
Thanks for these questions today, Andrea. I hope people check out the radio interview you and I did on your show ‘Heal My Voice’, where we talked about all these things in much greater detail. And if this topic sparks their interest, I also hope they check out The 7 Graces of Marketing. It’s a subject very near and dear to my heart, and my entire focus in life is in helping plant the seeds of change in business and marketing, so children in my grandson’s generation will inherit a healthier, happier, more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
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Here’s why:
FREE GIFTS
When you purchase the book this week, you will also receive 7 free MP3s (over 10 hours of audio) from The 7 Graces of Marketing Telesummit, a dynamic online event with 24 bestselling authors and world-renowned speakers and media experts, including Dr. Joe Vitale (from The Secret) and Dr. Eric Pearl (author of The Reconnection) on society, business and marketing who came together to discuss how we can bring ethics and values back our business and marketing practices, and restore balance to our health, our economy and our natural environment.
AND
When you buy Lynn’s book this week, you can ALSO receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe.
To claim your FREE pass to the 7 Graces of Marketing Telesummit
and read about the free gifts, go to:
Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
