From Psychologist to Online Marketer - The Journey

When I received my license in 1977 to practice as a clinical psychologist in California, the last career move I would have considered possible was heading up the Soft Sell Internet Marketing community online.

Why? Because within the helping profession of psychotherapy, any suggestion of marketing, advertising, or selling was considered unethical. And it wasn't even just a "consideration" - it was punishable by the Board of Psychology - who issued and controlled my license to practice.

Later, after I married my husband Jim Sniechowski, PhD we worked together providing couples counseling and relationship workshops - still shackled by the forbiddance of never promoting, never selling.

So imagine the shock we felt when three years ago we got involved in Internet marketing and had to learn how to market and sell. And continue in your imagination to realize that all the sales and marketing models on the web were hard sell - combat driven lingo and pushy, pushy, pushy.

Well, the Universe has a great sense of humor because in fairly short order, we found ourselves not only teaching Soft Topic Copywriting to a hungry crowd of Soft Sell Marketers, we then realized that there were millions of people like us who needed support to expand their marketing mindset to include the heart, the relationship, the full exchange - rather than just "pay me, I'm worth it."

If you find yourself in our dilemma, wanting to expand your influence yet allergic to selling or marketing, rest assured you're not alone - far from it. So, first of all take comfort in that. Second, take heart from the fact that soft sell marketing embodies a new way to look at the sales experience - a way that rests on respect and care for your future buyer rather than the typical one-sided opportunistic thinking that has dominated business offline and online for years and years.

And then travel with me as we journey forward into the present moment - where Jim and I find ourselves the producers of the only Internet marketing conference for the soft sell community, "Bridging Heart and Marketing." It's been an awesome experience to put forth a new heart-based approach to marketing and be met with huge appreciation by an audience who has felt unsupported if not ignored by those teaching sales and marketing.

Our keynote was titled "Selling is Spiritual Service." Because when you have something of value that can help people, it's your spiritual obligation to get it out there - to market it so people know about it. And it's your spiritual obligation to take care of yourself - to not just give it away but rather create a self-respectful income and thriving business from your gifts.

I hope my story has given you some comfort and new insight into how you can experience your own soft sell marketing and sales so that you can stand in integrity while also growing your business.