By Kathy Slusher-Haas Your marketing message is a crucial piece in your overall marketing plan.

Withou t it, you won't have a foundation for your marketing. Your marketing message is meant to elicit curiosity and stand out. Far too often, however, marketing messa ges are flat and gain no attention. Here are 10 marketing myths that can lead yo ur marketing message astray. Myth 1: Facts and Figures Sell. Wow Them With Numbers Unfortunately, too much emphasis is placed on showing facts and figures and not enough on the emotions behind what these facts and figures mean. People decide t hey want to buy based on emotional factors. Are you speaking to their values? Ar e you hitting on emotional triggers? Do you understand the thoughts, fears and d esires of the people to whom you are speaking? That is what makes people want to buy. The facts and figures help justify the purchase and will help demonstrate the value of the purchase. Value = Benefits-Cost. Myth 2: Find & Fill a Need While there has to be a need in order for people to buy into your product or pro gram, the need alone doesn't guarantee a sale. One of the biggest factors in peo ple choosing whom they will buy from is the genuine passion of the person they a re speaking to. You have to truly believe in what you are selling. If you're not bought in, they won't be bought in. Myth 3: Overcome Mental Chatter We get over 3,000 messages a day. That doesn't include the messages we are const antly telling ourselves. You may feel as though you have to overcome that mental chatter and chatter loader and longer to get the attention of your audience. Th e point is not to overcome that mental chatter, but rather to tap into it. Figur e out what your target audience is facing; what are the thoughts that are keepin g them up at night? This will demonstrate to your audience that you truly unders tand. Myth 4: Teach Them About Me and What I Do Your marketing message is not about you or what you do. Your marketing message i s about what your target audience is going through and what they desire to be, h ave, and/or do. What you do, whether it be coaching, massage therapy, intuitive readings, social media consulting etc. is the tool to help them achieve what the y desire. Myth 5: Get in Front of as Many People as Possible. It's All About the Numbers You can get in front of thousands of people and not get a single client. It's no t about how many people you talk to. It's about talking to the right people abou t the right thing. This is why it's so important to define your niche: target au dience + the challenge they are facing/solution you offer. Understanding your ni che will help you describe their world and what they are experiencing.