You know that speech delivered by Donald Rumsfeld, former United States Secretary of Defense, about ‘unknown unknowns’? I’m going to help you get comfortable with accepting those times you don’t know something (and I’ll point out signs it might be time to ask for help).
If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, consult Wikipedia for a brief summary.
Rumsfeld’s speech may have been a cagey answer to a serious question about the Iraqi government supplying weapons of mass destruction to terrorists – thought I’d start this article on a light note! – but the concept of unknown unknowns is one that can be applied to virtually anything.
The sooner you can put your ego aside and let go, the easier it’ll be to run your business, collaborate with colleagues and put trust in others’ knowledge and expertise. I understand how difficult it can be to admit you don’t know something. The thing is, technology is developing at such a rapid pace – as is the way we do business – that it’s impossible for us mortals to know everything (and keep knowing everything).
How is business changing, you ask? Ten years ago, most businesses put 80% of their time and resources into sales, and 20% into marketing. Today, those numbers have flipped: now it’s marketing that’s seeing the most time and effort. But it’s not about neglecting sales. If your marketing activities run like a well-oiled machine, you only need to put 20% into sales.
Even if you swallowed a book every night and listened to audiobooks in your sleep, you’ll still never know everything. Chill out and get comfortable with searching out the answers when you need them. And know that asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness.
Blogs are great. That’s why I write one. They give everyone with an internet connection a platform to share their expertise. That said, it’s a blessing and a curse: not only are there just so many damn blogs out there, but a lot of them are sh*t. Plus, you can’t find everything in blogs. When that happens, a real person (a HubSpot coach) can help you solve your problem.
Things are changing mighty fast in the digital world. You think you’re all over the latest trends, but next month there’s a whole load of new ones piled up in your inbox you need to read about. As someone responsible for a business, you need to be au fait with marketing, sales, operations, HR, biz dev; the lot. It’s too much for one person to handle. So simplify life and call a HubSpot consultant to help you with the inbound marketing part.
Not all of us are tech-heads – and that’s cool. Unfortunately, no matter which industry you work in, technology will play a role. It’s awesome because we can do stuff now that we weren’t able to do in the past, but it also means that the technophobes out there will struggle from time to time. If you fall into this category, then getting help from a HubSpot consultant can let you concentrate on the things you’re great at.
So you are a tech-head and would jump at the chance to play with new software but just don’t have the time with the administrative part of implementing a new marketing strategy. Call a HubSpot consultant. They’ll deal with the nitty gritty for you, so you can focus on growing your business and keeping clients and employees happy. Batman had Robin – you need a HubSpot coach.
HubSpot has the potential to take your marketing game into the stratosphere. While it’s pretty user-friendly and their ongoing support is fantastic, navigating it as a first-time user can be tricky. Sure, you might get by, but are you using it to its full potential? A HubSpot consultant knows their stuff when it comes to harnessing the power of HubSpot, so let them work some magic for your marketing strategy.