Lisa Nirell is chief energy officer of EnergizeGrowth, a consultancy that helps companies grow mind share and market share. Since 1983, Lisa has worked with Infor, Bozzuto, Zappos, BMC Software, Adobe, Microsoft, and hundreds of entrepreneurs in nine countries. She is the author of EnergizeGrowth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company.

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I invited Lisa to Marketing Smarts to talk about her latest book, The Mindful Marketer: How to Stay Present and Profitable in a Data-Driven World.

Here are just a few highlights from our conversation:

Becoming a better marketer starts with acceptance (04:52): "The first part is accepting where you're at in your own evolution as a marketer. Saying 'here are the strengths, here are places I can definitely improve.' Just being aware of that can be a tremendous breakthrough—and asking other people for feedback on where you can improve."

Using "intentional language" elevates your conversation (05:16): "How [do] you communicate? What's your language? I call it 'intentional language'—being able to look at what kind of language you're using in your day-to-day conversations with your customers and each other. [T]he language you use in all of your content can be a great place to look.... There are certain words...that I call 'low-energy language' that we need to eliminate to be mindful marketers. Words like 'target market.' We need to stop targeting people and start serving people. 'Serving' is a high-energy word. We have to stop using the word 'pitch' and start talking about conversing with others. We have to stop using military and sports metaphors.... Stop using words like 'attack' and instead use words like 'participate.' Stop using words like 'penetrate' and use the word 'expand.' Minor shifts in how we communicate with others change not only the peer-to-peer relationships we're having with them, but it also raises the vibrational frequency of the conversations you're having."

For marketers to get a seat at the board table, we need to stop talking like 'order takers'  (10:41): "It's not about doing more. It's about being more. One of the first places we can start to really be mindful marketers that are creating and innovating fresh ideas, better customer relationships, and better relationships with our internal peers is by the language we use. If we are 'order takers,' we are kind of like the McDonald's drive-through window. 'Oh, hi, this is the Marketing Department. May I take your order today? Sure, you can have it your way.' That is classic subservient kind of language that we have to stop using. We have to recognize that, in the boardroom, we are peers to the CFO, to the VP of sales, to the VP of customer service, and all of our contemporaries. Just by using words like 'creating value for our customers, designing stronger inbound marketing strategies that create a thought leadership platform for our company.' Those are the kind of words that market makers and innovators use, and we have to start practicing them."

To learn more about Lisa, visit EnergizeGrowth.com, or follow her on Twitter: @lisa_nirell.

Lisa and I talked about much more, so be sure to listen to the entire show, which you can do above, or download the mp3 and listen at your convenience. Of course, you can also subscribe to the Marketing Smarts podcast in iTunes or via RSS and never miss an episode!

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Music credit: Noam Weinstein.

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Published on October 29, 2014