A book could be written on this topic, but I’m not going to write a book. So let’s get right to it.
You can fail your way to success by:
Managing the scope of your failures — never fail so big you can’t afford to move forward
Learning from each failure
And always taking the next step.
Rarely is everything about a failed marketing attempt wrong. Figure out what went right, do more of that. Figure out what went wrong, stop doing those things, learn from them, and take the next step. As long as you take the next step your failures won’t work against you. They’ll inform your next step – your success.
Managing the scope of your failures:
Large companies do this every day. They call it testing. They test a new product in Albuquerque before they roll it out nationally. Why? A newspaper or TV ad in New Mexico costs a fraction of similar ads in New York. Learn on a dime instead of a dollar.
If you want to start using direct mail, for example, test on a portion of your total universe of prospects, not the total number. Get the bugs out by sending to 1,000 two or three times, then mail to the entire 10,000 list once you’re profitable at 1,000.
Learning from each failure:
Be objective. If you cannot, find someone who can.
The key:
Always take the next step.
