'I don’t want to force or manipulate anyone into becoming a client, so I am going to let my business grow organically by word of mouth.’

On the face of it, this statement looks like the words of a trusting, evolved soul, willing to ‘go with the flow’ and let the universe provide. Is this not the most ethical way of developing a business?

Yet in my experience, when I hear clients say this, more often than not it’s a cop out to avoid actively engaging in the process of marketing. If you have ever found yourself uttering, or even just thinking, anything like this, you need to get very honest with yourself, and determine whether this really is putting your trust in the universe or simply an excuse for remaining passive, and refusing to put yourself ‘out there’.

I am reminded of the joke about a man who suddenly found himself in the middle of a flood warning. His neighbours were hurriedly evacuating their homes and urged him to join them. He refused their offer of assistance, saying simply, ‘The Lord will provide’. As the water levels grew higher, he retreated to the upper floors of his home.

Soon enough a rescue boat came by. ‘Get in quick!’ called the rescuers. But the man refused, simply repeating, ‘The Lord will provide’. Soon enough the water levels were so high that the only safe place was the roof of his house. Suddenly a helicopter full of marines appeared. ‘Grab hold of the rope ladder!’ they called, but the man refused, saying ‘The Lord will provide’. Before too long, this man found himself in heaven face to face with God. ‘God! I put my faith in you and you let me down. Why didn’t you save me?’ he asked. To which God replied, ‘Well I sent your neighbours, I sent the rescue boat, I sent the marines….’

It’s all well and good saying that we will let the universe provide, but we need to be willing to act upon the opportunities that are being offered to us several times each and every day.

Time and time again I have discovered that people who claim that this is their preferred method of developing business are actually masking a deeper reluctance to market themselves, which can manifest as failing to respond to phone enquiries, avoiding following up leads or simply maximising opportunities that are presented to them on a plate.

Bob was a client of mine who wanted to grow his training business organically. He explained to me that he simply wanted to inform prospective clients of what he had to offer, and let them make up their own minds. On the surface this appeared a very ethical and respectful way of doing business, but I sensed Bob was avoiding something, so we delved deeper. Years previously he had worked in a ‘hard sell’ environment, where manipulative and coercive sales techniques were commonplace and actively encouraged. Whilst he was financially successful, Bob hated having to be dishonest with clients. Choosing integrity over money, Bob eventually resigned from his job vowing never to sacrifice his values in the pursuit of success.

Bob knew he had the ability to persuade and influence, yet his fear of pressurizing his prospective clients as he had in the past was holding him back. With my help, Bob came to recognize that his desire to ‘let the universe provide’ was simply a form of marketing reluctance masquerading as faith in the universe. With encouragement, he came to realize that he could market himself actively and ethically and did not have to choose between success and integrity.

Like Bob, you may have been reluctant to market yourself because 'selling' and 'ethically' aren't words you usually put in the same sentence. Perhaps you feel that if you became 'too commercial' you would somehow lose the heart and spirit of what you offer. Just about all of us have had the experience of being on the receiving end of pushy sales or advertising techniques and the last thing we want is for people to see us like that.

The trouble is, in our eagerness to avoid coming across as too 'salesy', many of us go to the other extreme and find it difficult to describe the genuine value we bring. Or we avoid selling and marketing activity altogether, telling ourselves that we would prefer to have our business grow by word of mouth and recommendation, even if it takes years.

Yes it's true that there is a lot of manipulative marketing in the world, but that doesn't mean that you have to market yourself that way. You can market yourself with integrity. The fact that there is manipulative marketing out there at the moment is precisely the reason why more of us need to get into the marketplace and be examples of integrity. But avoiding the marketplace, or considering yourself superior to it, does nobody any favours.