Whether you have jumped on the Enneagram fan train or you’re wondering if the hype is worth it, there is something for you in this conversation. Owning a business requires marketing and sales, but how those things are done within your business is just as unique as you are. In my recent conversation with Sarah Lynn Co. we talked about how the Enneagram is a resource for us personally, professionally, and relationally as well as our businesses. The best part? You don’t even need to know your number to glean the wisdom on Enneagram and marketing.

Sarah Lynn Co.’s Enneagram Story

Sarah spent years in sales and marketing before leaving the corporate world to help small business owners and personal brand businesses with their marketing and social strategy. She began noticing how even with strategies and content plans there were still things holding her clients back. It was a sense of feeling they weren’t ready, were under qualified, or could procrastinate in order to continue improving the quality of their content.

She knows the nitty gritty, tangible pieces of strategy are important. But she knows there’s another piece based on the beliefs and the stories we tell ourselves. And this mindset either lets us use what we put together and share it, or continue storing it while the dust piles up.

Sarah has gotten so much out of the Enneagram personally and seeing how it plays out in business. With self awareness she continues to see what she’s really good at, what patterns hold her back, and all the things she already has that she once thought were missing.

Take The Guesswork Out of The Enneagram and Marketing

When you’re learning new things, and you take what the experts are teaching and it doesn’t work the way you’re expecting it to, that’s frustrating. Not to mention a waste of time. We’ve all had the experience of implementing someone else’s strategy only to realize it doesn’t feel right. When that happens, the effort it takes to support this “correct” method simply isn’t sustainable. What we don’t realize is that we don’t have to stay in boxes we don’t fit in just because it works for someone else.

Breaking out of those boxes will help you to recognize the strengths you’ve been blind to. You begin to see how your strengths vary from someone else’s. On the other hand, we begin to better understand what we find most important is not a priority to someone else. The Enneagram is a great tool for seeing the bigger picture of how you naturally communicate and excel. Only then can you see how that serves others well and ways you can communicate this message so that no one is left out.

Think about this… what if The Home Edit believed everyone could already organize a closet or that every expert had already exhausted this service and expertise. Instead they capitalize on this service in a way that suits them and it led to organizing Reese Witherspoon’s closet on Netflix with millions (probably?) of viewers.

The Enneagram, Marketing, & Your Work Style

Sarah shared how she perceives herself as scattered with more ideas than follow through. She mentions the common business philosophy in benefitting from a sole focus. This left her with so much shame and guilt for “having 17 ideas and not wanting to choose just one”. Through understanding her Enneagram type and knowing this isn’t a deficiency, she now allows herself to ask “How can I pursue a couple different things and fulfill this itch instead of shoving more guru advice down my throat? ” There are ways to turn these struggles into opportunities once you can see strength alongside that struggle.

“How can I pursue a couple different things and fulfill this itch instead of shoving more guru advice down my throat? “

Sarah Lynn Co. on understanding her enneagram type 7

Understand that not everyone is looking at the world the same way you are. That includes your clients and sales calls. Maybe you’ve felt frustrated that others aren’t getting it the way you want them to and what you’re sharing feels like a no brainer to you. 

“Even if you don’t know their type or yours, the awareness lends compassion and acceptance to work and co-create with different perspectives. More productive and joyful, with less stress and frustration.

And then doing the same thing for yourself; quieting the voice and inner critic that keep you stuck. When you really dig into your specific type, you can figure out how to specifically grow through them.”

Your Enneagram Type and What This Means For You

Enneagram types are formed by groupings based on core desire and core fear. We find tremendous insight into how we operate from these groupings and types. We can also identify our natural conflict style. How we handle challenges, pain, and disappointment. Depending on your Enneagram type, there are three specific ways we deal with these things.

Within your business you’re likely solving some kind of customer problem and communicating that to your customers. This can be a challenge to business owners even though we are wired to talk about how we do this in one specific way more than the others. Sarah says to “become aware of your default mode for communicating this, and learn the other two, so you can bring them into your message and talk to everybody. You’re not leaving people out this way when you talk about what you do.”

The Three Enneagram Communication Types

The first type is the competency type. They are the most data driven. They focus on analytics, being objective and rational thinking. They want to gather and/or share all the information so someone can make an efficient decision.

The second type is the emotional and reactive type. They are known for easily pulling at the heart strings. They tap into the worry, hurt, anger, or some other big emotion. They’re excellent at “stirring the pain” and understanding what somebody is going through.

The third type is our positive outlook type. They’re constantly putting on their rose-colored glasses. Their philosophy is mostly that while there is a problem, it’s totally fixable and they’re here to help. They easily provide hope and enthusiasm with good intentions and excitement.

Step one is identifying how you tend to communicate. Step two is intentionally incorporating these other pieces into your marketing to create a more robust message that reaches and influences more people.

Creating Your Standout Marketing Message

Connecting to other types isn’t as hard or overwhelming as we imagine it to be. And overcomplicating it might actually drive qualified leads away. Sarah and I partnered together to provide a super helpful, easy to apply Enneagram and Marketing Resource Guide for you.

• See each of the 9 Enneagram types broken down with their natural strengths and areas of untapped opportunity
• Swap the “shoulds” and shame for marketing that feels great (and works)!!
• Follow the exercise in the guide to see which style is most naturally yours
• Then follow the prompts for how to recreate your existing marketing to include the other types you’ve been missing
• Understand the different lenses used by each Enneagram type to see the world around them
• Check out a list of all 9 types and their Sales Personas to see how you’re wired to sell in a way that doesn’t feel sleazy

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE ENNEAGRAM AND MARKETING RESOURCE GUIDE.

If you’re ready to claim an elevated marketing strategy that helps your business succeed, and brings more happiness into your days please reach out to me directly for a complimentary consultation call to discuss a marketing mentorship together.