As a follow up to my post, stay positive, don’t buy into the collective fear I wanted to continue the discussion on how one engages in marketing practices amidst the presence of negative influences like worry and scarcity thinking.

As I mentioned, I started asking businesses (some local, some national) the same question; “How is business and how are you feeling about the economy?” The answers varied, however, those who were fear-based were not doing so well and those focused on staying positive and flexible in changing times were doing much better, with sales on the rise.

I wanted to go a bit deeper, curious about the state of marketing practices among businesses and how that is changing. For me personally, I’ve always followed my intuition in all areas of my life including my business practices. Not that I haven’t made mistakes, but, when a path is shown to me, I’ll get very quiet, go within and when I trust my gut, I’m always successful.

I wondered, however, if was important to just stick with one’s intuitive business sense, remaining authentic and following an organic path and/or also listen to an outside authority (like a Marketing Consultant) who might provide some useful information on a future course of action.

I called my friend and marketing expert Cindy Aggson of Carpe Viam Group who, in her opinion and experience has found that not all professionals in the field of marketing have the correct answers and it actually depends on how the consultant aligns him/herself with the client’s vision. For example, Cindy likes to collaborate with businesses (and individuals) who are passionate and stay true to themselves despite the obstacles. She gets deeper into her clients’ psyches by asking more about their vision and where they see themselves in the future. She then uses that information to support and guide her clients in the appropriate direction.

I find that type of collaboration to be very powerful; bringing in intuition as a major piece in positioning oneself in the marketplace. I’m not the only one who thinks so. Here’s what Lara Merriken, the founder of LÄRABAR had to say on the subject:

Listening to my intuition has been a tremendous personal asset. It emanates from such a pure, true, reliable place— unlike logic or emotion, which are governed by the brain and thus subjected to all manner of contrary thoughts, feelings of uncertainty, and even fear.

Intuition, on the other hand, is the ability to know what’s right without reasoning. When I first decided to launch LÄRABAR, more than a few naysayers looked at the saturated energy-bar category and logically advised me not to move forward. My intuition, however, told me that the simple, pure, and delicious attributes of LÄRABAR actually made it unique in the marketplace, which was swiftly confirmed by our #1 ranking in natural foods.

The key thing is to trust your intuition, which can be difficult if your brain keeps getting in the way. But once you begin to temper the logical you, the sky is the limit for the intuitive you.

There are many others out there like Lara who have followed their intuition (despite the advice of some of the smartest consultants out there) and have found success. For example, Katrina Markoff, founder of Vosges Haut Chocolates, talks about following her intuition (prior to reaching success) by opening a store in New York City (for 20K a month in rent) against the advice of her accountant who thought she was crazy. She had to take loans to do it and admits that it was one of the best decisions she made and was what was was needed to put VHC on the map.

Interesting? I think so. Let’s keep our intuition and positive thoughts flowing, and the dialog open.