Without a fearless attitude, you’ll often second-guess yourself and your decisions, holding yourself back from greatness.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Marketing Nation Summit with our Vice President of Marketing, Josh Stike. The conference was a whirlwind of information, and I quickly realized that the ideas had to be shared! That being said, once we got back to the office, we recorded a new episode of our podcast on what we learned, and how we plan on implementing this knowledge.

Fast forward, and fearless was not only the theme of the conference but also a theme that companies everywhere seem to be adopting. From news organizations to the “Fearless Girl” on Wall Street to healthcare companies, I simply cannot escape the word fearless. In fact, ReminderMedia even made that the acronym for our company values back in January!

So, what does it mean to be fearless as a marketer? The Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that more than 50% of businesses fail in their first four years. Fear of failure is something that people can’t avoid. No one wants to start something, only to fail at it. Yet, without a fearless attitude, all you end up doing is second-guessing your decisions and holding yourself back from greatness.

Keep in mind that I’m not saying to jump at every crazy opportunity or to throw caution to the wind. What you can do is take a page from what Marketo preached at their conference and set yourself up for success by following these simple steps.

Plan

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Whether you want to tackle a new vertical or increase your sales goals, planning is the core of your marketing strategy. Without a plan in place, you’re going to be running around thinking of ideas without any concept of how to achieve your business goals. The best plans have an audience, a set period, Key Performance Indictors (KPIs), and they’re achievable. Make sure you figure out how you are going to track your progress, be it a spreadsheet or an automation system. (You might recognize this as being similar to having SMART goals.)

Engage

Next is the actual implementation of your plan. Now that you know who you want to target and what you want to achieve, you need to figure out how to connect with them. It could be on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, email, or even print. The key is to figure out how to get your message out to your audience. Most people will quit if something isn’t working right away, but consistency is key. Also, don’t be afraid to think outside the box. After all, we’re talking about being fearless. Want to try generating leads with online ads? Do it! If it doesn’t work, you can always try something else.

Measure and track

This is the one area most people neglect, but measuring and tracking performance is the most important step in the process. If you don’t know what’s working and what isn’t, you’ll be hard-pressed to know what to double down on and what to change. Download our free KPI Tracking Sheet; it’ll help you monitor your progress.

Being a fearless marketer takes effort and time, but in the end it’s the difference between top producers and people who wind up falling short. Take action on your goals, and be fearless!