We've talked about what makes a ... ... plan ... today let's talk about the ... traits of ... ... And rest assured that you do not need to beborn with these trai We've talked about what makes a guerrilla marketing plan lastweek. today let's talk about the personality traits of aguerrilla marketer. And rest assured that you do not need to beborn with these traits. You can learn them. As one of myfavorite motivational writers of all time, Napoleon Hill, said:"There are no limitations to the mind except those weacknowledge...Both poverty and riches are the offspring ofthought."----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A side bar here: If you do not spend a little time every week,if not every day, doing some sort of motivational "reading,"then let me suggest that you start. Your subconscious mind is soinundated with "garbage" every day, you need to put some goodstuff in to counteract the negative. Like they say, "Garbage in,garbage out." You cannot be a great guerrilla marketer if youonly spout the same garbage that you soak up subconsciously------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The first and most important trait of a guerrilla marketer ispatience. As many of you probably know and have had repeated atyou many times, your prospects will not buy on the first visitor first contact. To be a great marketer, you must be patientwith your prospects. There are a number of studies on this subject. One of the mostinteresting says that for every three times your prospect seesyour message, they only actually pay attention two of thosethree times. Patience is tied in very closely with the second personalitytrait you must develop: commitment. You must make a commitmentto your prospects and customers. You must get involved withthem. They come first! Their dreams must be your dreams! Youmust help them realize those dreams! You must make a commitment to your marketing plan, no matterwhat your family, friends, employees tell you, no matter howbored you are with the daily routine of carrying out yourmarketing plan, stick with it. Be committed! Be patient! Therecan't be one without the other. The reason most people fail on the Internet - or in any business- is a lack of commitment and a lack of patience! But that patience and commitment must be matched by a strongimagination. Not just imaginative copy writing or imaginativeweb design, but you must be imaginative in everything you do. For instance, Jay Conrad Levinson, the man who developedguerrilla marketing into a true marketing system, tells thestory of a guerrilla marketer who mailed a letter requiring 32cents postage. He put 11 stamps on that letter: one 6 centstamp, three 4 cent stamps, a 3 cent stamp, and 6 two centstamps. No postage meter or Stamps.com for him! Which letterwould you open first? The metered one or the one with the elevenstamps on it? This imagination must include the ability to be flexible and"convenient." What I mean by that is, although you are committedto your strategy, you must be flexible in your tactics and theweapons you choose. A great guerrilla marketer is not locked inon how he implements his marketing strategy. Nor can she belocked in on how she handles her prospects and customers. Beflexible! Make it as convenient as you can for your prospects todo business with you! Make exceptions! Break the rules! Theprospect comes first always! In order to do that, you must have sensitivity. You must besensitive to what your prospect needs. Read between the lines.You must be sensitive to what your competition is doing. Anotherone of Jay's great stories involves a guerrilla furniture storeowner in a shopping mall. The stores to either side of him hadbig clearance sales going on. Each store had a huge banner overtheir respective entrances touting their sales. The guerrillaput a sign over his door that simply said, "Enter Here."-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Another side bar: Your sensitivity should not be limited just toyour prospects, customers, and competitors. Expand yoursensitivity to include your communities and the economy.Economic trends will help you determine which tactics andweapons will be most effective. And sensitivity to yourcommunities will help your identity as someone who is committedand involved. Some time I will do an article about the marketingbenefits that resulted from my commitment to the whole Spamissue!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------The next two characteristics of a guerrilla marketer go hand-in-hand. They are ego strength and aggressiveness. Egostrength is not egotism. Rather it is the quiet confidence thatcomes from knowing who you are really and living that self -having an identity rather than an image. It is this ego strengththat makes commitment possible. The aggressiveness of a guerrilla is not the stereotypeused-car salesman aggressiveness. Rather it is theaggressiveness that makes a marketer do the extra-ordinary toget and keep customers. It is the giving of more value than anyof your competitors. It is the willingness to "go the extramile" for your prospect. It is following up with your customersregularly, offering them more and more value - more and morereasons to stay loyal to you! This aggressiveness is best used in combination with the nextcharacteristic, which we've hinted at already. A guerrilla hasgenerosity. There is a testimonial on our web site that one ofyou sent to me which says, "Thank you for your time andgenerosity." It means we went beyond normal expectations andgave value beyond what the monetary compensation demanded.Testimonials like that are what keeps us going day to day!!! The next to last trait is my personal favorite. Don't everbelieve the old saw that "you can't teach an old dog newtricks." To be a great guerrilla marketer you have to be engagedin constant learning, especially on the Internet, where thingschange so rapidly. I'm 52 years old, have several degrees, butthese last six months have been more of an learning experiencethan all eight years I spent in college and graduate school.Just writing these articles has been an education. Never stoplearning. The last characteristic is probably the hardest for most of us.I know it is for me. As a guerrilla marketer, you must takeaction. All of the above characteristics are useless if you donot put them in action. Not only do you have to "talk the talk,"you must "walk the walk." One final note: a great guerrilla marketer is not necessarilyborn. She can be self-made! Do an honest self-analysis. Which ofthese characteristics are your strong points? Which are the weakpoints? Concentrate on improving those that need work. You canbe a great guerrilla. You just need to take action. If you need any help or morale boosting or advice, feel free towrite me at mailto:[email protected]. My in box is alwaysopen to you! Article Tags: Great Guerrilla Marketer, Guerrilla Marketer, Great Guerrilla Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com