My 16-year-old daughter plays fast-pitch softball. It's her goal to earn a college scholarship and this is her year to market herself to colleges and make that dream happen.

Unfortunately, she found herself in a batting slump over the past few months. Not exactly what you want when you've invited college recruiters to come see you play!

We knew we had to do something so we hired a batting coach. And the other night as I was watching her coach work with her, I realized what she was doing to get out of her slump and reach her goals is no different from what we should do when we find ourselves in a marketing slump.

What is a Marketing Slump?

It's when your marketing isn't delivering the results you want. It's when you're working as hard as you possibly can and you still aren't attracting enough clients, generating enough sales or making enough money.

So what steps was my daughter taking to break out of her batting slump that we can also take to break out of our marketing slump?

(1) First, she's getting advice and coaching from an expert.

Someone who knows how to do what she wants to do and has a track record of producing great results.

The big "aha" here is she realized she couldn't do it on her own.

(2) She's learning a new technique.

Her old technique wasn't working anymore. It's going to take her some time to break the old habit, but she's committed because she wants to be successful.

(3) She's practicing the new technique consistently until she masters it.

Old habits die hard. By constantly practicing the new habit, she'll eventually be able to replace the old ineffective swing with the new swing.

(4) She receives constant feedback from her coach.

I was amazed as I watched them work together. After every single swing, he stopped her, told her what she was doing right, and provided additional instruction where she needed it.

It's a constant relay of practice, feedback and practice some more.

You can do the same to get out of your marketing slump.

(1) Seek expert advice from someone with proven results.

Subscribing to and reading this ezine is a great start. But ask yourself if that's enough to really turn your marketing around. Or would getting involved in a marketing program or getting private coaching get you where you want to go faster?

(2) Learn a new technique.

Is what you're doing bringing you the level of success you really want? If not, you may need to learn a new system.

(3) Practice this new technique consistently until you master it.

You don't just read a book or take a course and say "I learned how to market my business." It's a constant practice. You learn ways to market differently, techniques to help you be more successful and then you practice and fine-tune them until you master them.

(4) Solicit constant feedback.

Marketing your own business can be a challenge if you're working in a vacuum. It's tough to look at what you're doing objectively. Build in ways to get constant feedback. Hire a coach. Ask for feedback from your customers. Do a survey. Track your results.

I know it's only a matter of time before my daughter breaks out of her slump. How do I know? Because she's committed to success and she's doing whatever it takes to achieve it.

You can do the same with your business. Decide what you want to achieve. And commit to doing whatever it takes to achieve it. Who knows you may not only break out of your marketing slump, you may hit a home run!

(C) Copyright 2006 Debbie LaChusa