For those of you unfamiliar with Brian Halligan, he is the CEO of Hubspot and author of Inbound Marketing. I got to see him present and actually have a brief conversation with him on Tuesday at the HUG event. It is easy to see why Hubspot is so successful, beyond having a great product, they have dynamic and intelligent leaders that are on the verge of genius.
So the best tip I picked up in Brian’s presentation was how to best do inbound marketing. The funny thing is this has confirmed what I have seen in my own business and a lot of the clients I work with doing inbound marketing.
The tips is this:
When starting inbound marketing, do not just stick a foot or toe in to test the waters. In order to be successful you need to jump in and be waist deep in the inbound marketing waters.
I have found that some clients are not ready to or not able to take that leap of faith and just dabble on the outskirts of what inbound marketing really is. These clients make some progress, but very little and at a very high cost.
The clients on the other hand that jump right in and commit to this stuff are seeing great results early on.
Here is my advice, if you have been kicking this stuff around, jump in full force and don’t look back. If you keep sticking a toe in every once in a while things are not going to work and you might as well look for another avenue.
Legend has it that when Cortes landed in Mexico in the 1500s, he ordered his men to burn the ships that had brought them there to remove the possibility of doing anything other than going forward into the unknown.
You to must burn the boats! If you plow forward and have no way to go back than you can do nothing but succeed. Fear and failure are not an option.
Although, Brian might not have gotten this radical with this thought, he was leaning in this direction. The other thing that is great about Brian is he is drinking the kool-aid Hubspot is using their software and leading by example and are hugely successful because of it.
So what do you think? Have you or are you willing to burn the ships?
For inbound experts reading this, what advice would you give new inbound marketers?
Please share your thoughts below.
“All In” should be the montra, Dale. No doubt. Up to your waist not waste (garbage) though. Dabbling in inbound marketing is a waste of time because it takes a wide net to get it done. So tell your clients it’s like Texas Hold’em; “all in or nothing” to be successful.
“All In” should be the montra, Dale. No doubt. Up to your waist not waste (garbage) though. Dabbling in inbound marketing is a waste of time because it takes a wide net to get it done. So tell your clients it’s like Texas Hold’em; “all in or nothing” to be successful.
Hi Dale! Great post, do i sense a little passion behind your words? Easily understood. We too share the cup that is Hubspot, and the wine is fine! There is work to be done with inbound marketing, but it’s fun, (at least we think it is) and the results come in. Speaking of fun, I hope you’ll check out our blog next week, we’re going to have something a little funny and different.
Inbound marketing is a process not an event, as you have clearly stated here, going “all in” is the way to make the process work best!
Have a great inbound day!
Hi Dale! Great post, do i sense a little passion behind your words? Easily understood. We too share the cup that is Hubspot, and the wine is fine! There is work to be done with inbound marketing, but it’s fun, (at least we think it is) and the results come in. Speaking of fun, I hope you’ll check out our blog next week, we’re going to have something a little funny and different.
Inbound marketing is a process not an event, as you have clearly stated here, going “all in” is the way to make the process work best!
Have a great inbound day!
Thanks for the texas hold ’em tip Chuck. It is so true. “All in” is the key.
Andy, yes, we are very passionate about this stuff. It is hard to tolerate not being “All in” on inbound marketing since it guarantees results as long as you apply the methodology. I guess the other item that makes this tough is I too find this stuff fun, but not just because I enjoy doing all this work, but mostly because you really get proven results.
Thanks for sharing you thoughts Andy and I hope to catch your article this week.
Thanks for the texas hold ’em tip Chuck. It is so true. “All in” is the key.
Andy, yes, we are very passionate about this stuff. It is hard to tolerate not being “All in” on inbound marketing since it guarantees results as long as you apply the methodology. I guess the other item that makes this tough is I too find this stuff fun, but not just because I enjoy doing all this work, but mostly because you really get proven results.
Thanks for sharing you thoughts Andy and I hope to catch your article this week.