(Clearwisdom.net)
I. Overcoming my fear of doing marketing.
I never thought I could do marketing or sell ads, nor did I have any interest in doing so. But this is what our paper needs. When Master first mentioned that the Epoch Times should gradually phase out accepting donations from our practitioners and the need for our paper to be operated like a normal business, I felt a lot of pressure. I was conflicted, because I know that people are needed to run the paper and I have the time, but it was necessary for me to invest in business attire, which was a big burden for me. Also, since I have never been interested in sales, I didn't feel that I could sell ads.
Months passed and I hadn't made any progress because I was afraid that I wouldn't do well. I lacked the skill and made excuses for myself. I had an attachment of losing face. With fear, I attended a 2007 European Fa Conference in Warsaw, where I had the opportunity to meet and share with practitioners in sales from other countries. Hearing about their experiences encouraged me to overcome my fear. Through experience sharing, I gained useful information regarding the sale of ads.
A few days later, I gathered up my courage, put on the only suit I owned and went out into the rain to sell ads. My suede shoes hurt my feet, the suit was uncomfortable and the rain was coming down hard. I walked into the first shop, which was a very luxurious and classy art gallery. When I talked to the shop manager, I was so nervous that I could barely speak. All I could do was introduce our paper briefly. I left my business card and left the shop quickly. I felt so ashamed because I didn't give a good introduction of our newspaper to the shop manager, but I felt I had faced my fear and felt encouraged.
I had taken a very important step toward losing the attachment of self. This little experience made me realize that nothing is impossible when I have a strong will and righteous thoughts. I visited a number of shops and with each visit, I felt more confident and calm. I learned something from each visit. One day I realized that I no longer had a fear of selling ads. I am grateful to Master for giving me a chance to save sentient beings and to give up my attachments.
II. Selling ads is a chance to identify and remove my attachments.
During the course of selling ads, I discovered many deeply-hidden attachments. Not long after I began to sell ads, I visited a district official who was in charge of advertisements. He told me that he had no interest since our paper had a strong political orientation. He was arrogant. His attitude irritated me and I fought back fiercely. He was so unhappy that he stopped our conversation. I felt quite upset. When I looked inward, I found my attachment of competitiveness and self-validation. I not only failed to sell ads, but more seriously, I failed to save that person.
Having learned from this lesson, I tried my best to be full of compassion and righteous thoughts when I contacted him a second time. I asked him if our paper could be put in the district government building. After a few telephone discussions, he finally agreed. I was able to thank him in person. Although my attachment of competitiveness has not been totally eliminated, I have identified it and have begun to clear it away.
Selling ads helped me to identify my attachments of zealotry, showing off, unwillingness to accept criticism, and being excessively worried. One of my big attachments is putting too much emphasis on achieving results.
III. Getting rid of the attachment of pursuing results
With the excuse of having a lot of other things to do for the paper, I stopped selling ads. The real reason was that I couldn't see immediate results. I discovered that this attachment had been deeply rooted in my heart for a long time.
In Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference in 2003, Master said,
"I often say that we don't seek to gain any worldly things, right? When it comes to doing things, I consider the process most important, because during the process you can have people see the truth, during the process you can save the world's people, and during the process you can reveal the truth."
"The key is to stress doing well with what you should do during the process, and the result will be whatever it will be."
Each time I did a Dafa project, I concentrated on the end result and gave little importance to the process.
When we set up an "advertisement promotion office" in a practitioner's clinic, everything changed. For months, there were a few of us in the office seeking out potential customers, making phone calls, or visiting clients. The office has become an environment of cultivation rather than work. We share ideas, work experiences and cultivation practice experiences. Although we have no clear work plan, we know what we need to do. Whenever a practitioner meets with difficulties, we offer encouragement, reminding each other not to be overly concerned about the end result. We encourage each other to go forward firmly with positive mentalities and strong righteous thoughts.
Some advertisements were sold very easily, some without even meeting with the client. Some were sold only after months of contact. We don't expect the results to be equally simple, but when we do not concentrate on the end result, the ads come easily.
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Selling ads for the Chinese Epoch Times in Europe
Even though the importance of selling ads for the Epoch Times Chinese version has been mentioned many times among practitioners, I found it difficult due to the limited circulation of the Chinese version. After discussing with Chinese practitioners, I came to know that our Chinese paper has unique advantages that other newspapers don't. Its mission and spirit are the most important. Our paper is the largest Chinese newspaper outside of China.
The first time I visited one of the airline companies, I only took along one copy of the paper and my business card. My mind was very clear and my righteous thoughts were very strong. I gave them a brief introduction to our paper and clarified the truth to them. They were preparing a new advertising campaign, so I showed them our business plan. Several days and a few phone calls later, they said that they had not come to a decision. I decided to stop calling them for a while. Three or four months later, I unexpectedly received a phone call from the manager in charge of ads. He said that his company had decided to put a full-page advertisement in our paper, as well as a one-month ad on our website.
Another example is that we had maintained contact with another company for months. One day, we submitted a new price list to them. They told us that they'd participate in an exhibition in Italy and were interested in putting an ad in our paper because our paper could be seen everywhere in Europe. After the exhibition closed, a practitioner reminded me to call them and ask how effective the ad was . They said that the ad was helpful since some Chinese people visited their booth with our paper in hand. I introduced our website and NTDTV to them. They were interested in both, as well as the Chinese paper in Argentina. They asked us to send them the relevant information.
We keep on going because we know that only with unremitting efforts, will we have success. Just like sowing seeds, they cannot bear fruit without hard work. I feel happy because we can clarify the truth to them. They also know our paper's mission and how great our paper is. The good results do not come from our sales ability, but from the power of our righteous thoughts and Master's help.
V. Cultivating ourselves well to achieve our historic mission
Before closing my speech, I would like to share Master's new article --To the Brazil Fa Conference:
"Dafa disciples are the hope for salvation of each ethnic group. If you are to do well at the task of saving sentient beings, you first must cultivate yourselves well. Only by studying the Fa more can your righteous thoughts be ample, and only by studying the Fa well can a Dafa disciple fulfill his or her historic mission."
We are the hope of salvation for each nation. As we currently do not have a large number of practitioners, how can we save the tens of millions of Spanish people as well as tens of millions of South Americans who speak Spanish? Fewer practitioners are there. We can never find enough time to save them only through face-to-face truth clarification or flyer distribution. Time does not wait for anyone. What shall we do? Our media is a very important way to achieve our goal.
In order to realize this goal required by Master, we must cultivate ourselves well first. We have to study the Fa more. Only in this way can we maintain strong righteous thoughts. Just as Master mentioned, only when we cooperate as well as a fist rather than like outstretched fingers, can we overcome all difficulties, and can we become mature while saving all sentient beings.
Thank you, Master!
Thank you, my fellow practitioners!
