“Welcome to Costco, I love you.” (get angry, stop playing small, and serve your people):
“I'm the Secretary of State, brought to you by Carl's Jr.”
In the 2006 dystopian-comedy Idiocracy, the main character is an average-Joe who's been projected hundreds of years into the future, where he's now the smartest guy in the world.
There's a scene where he quickly realizes that the people running the country in the future are deeply unqualified:
The President was only elected because he was famous.
His goons automatically pepper-spray anyone who ask questions.
The White House has been partially destroyed.
The Cabinet members have been chosen because of corporate-sponsorships, family connections or plastic-surgery-enhanced looks. (But they all believe that they deserve to be there).
What a relief to know that it's only a movie, and could never happen here, right??
I thought of that scene after a recent conversation with a client who was afraid of coming across as “braggy” or arrogant if her marketing reflected her incredibly deep well of expertise, training and skills.
I told her: “I know you're not used to this, but you need to let yourself be a Big Deal. Not only because you ARE one, but because you have to save your people from the doofuses."
[or as I like to call them, the “Doofae”].
It was an appeal to anger.
*Yes, this is the second email in my series on anger & business.
I don't normally use denigrating/insulting language toward others, but I was trying to make a point –and as I said last week, anger is motivating.
I reminded my client: “Somewhere out there is a doofus with barely any experience but who's willing to brag about how amazing they are while charging twice as much as you, and your ideal client may find them first. At worst, they could cause harm. At best, they could do a bad job and your client won't get the help they need. This is bad. Save them from the doofus!”
At the risk of sounding like a Mean Girl, I'm going to ask you to think of the "Doofae" in your field who tick you off.
Some versions I've heard in recent conversations:
*Spiritual leaders/coaches who can use shame-based approaches & “spiritual bypass” language to try to help people cope with (but actually avoid) dealing with their feelings, and leaving them feeling worse about themselves.
*Bro-dudes selling hot sauce and stealing marketing-copy (!) from a female-owned sauce company to try to elbow their way into her market share. (The nerve!)
*Wine-writers who make the field so unbelievably pretentious & snooty that people miss out on truly enjoying the history, taste, conviviality and connection that can surround wine-culture. (If only there were an unpretentious wine-guy).
So many more examples I could give… (don't even get me started on some of the smarmy-shenanigans that can happen in the Business Coaching “space”, detracting from the good ones)…
But here's the real point I'm trying to make as I tap into your indignation:
Marketing is service. Showing up and owning your authority is service.
When you stop “playing small” and start owning your expertise, uniqueness, and care for your clients, and really putting it out there,
You're helping your future clients find what they need (and avoid wasting time/money/effort with the “doofae”).
(But what if I'm one of the Bad Ones? You may be asking.
Listen. I know my “peeps”: if you're reading this, you're probably someone who falls more on the “hiding your light” end of the scale. The fact that you're even asking the question points to your lack of arrogance ;).
So: now your job is to tap into your anger, then put yourself out there, market yourself, bravely do the things you're putting off, and save your people from the ding-dongs. (Protect them from the doofae!)
Did this hit a nerve with you? Hit reply and tell me about it. What or who is grinding your gears in your particular field?
You've got this.
You're amazing.
You've got what plants crave. (Seriously, if you haven't seen Idiocracy, it's a classic),
-Jane
p.s. Feeling scrappy, and want to learn more about how you can “play bigger” and serve those who need you? Schedule a Clarity Call now and we’ll talk about what’s possible for you.