I heard it countless times, quiet but clear: if I start marketing, I compromise my honesty. That’s simply not true – tailoring your approach to fit the client’s perspective is not being deceitful or “selling out”, it’s being considerate.
In the same way that wearing glasses while driving is the responsible use of tools and not”cheating, “bending” the client’s perception helps them to understand the real situation.
In both cases, the “corrective lens” doesn’t change the truth, it just clarifies it to people who are not trained to spot it with the naked eye.
You spent many years studying, reading, and practicing your craft – your value to the client will be immediately obvious to you. But the clients? They are often as myopic about it as you were as you just finished high school. They may know what result they can roughly expect, and if people doing it are expected to charge a lot or not. That about sums it up.
Here are some ‘lenses’ you can use, none of which are “pay for ads”:
– Testimonials, case studies
– Content creation, social media engagement
– Live webinars, referral programs
– Public speaking, networking
If you want the client’s trust, you owe them an explanation of what you can do in a way they can really see it. Using the right ‘lenses’ of marketing is not distorting the truth; it’s letting your light shine through the everyday grime of information overload.