The secret to catching fish

by | Nov 6, 2015 | More business

FishAs I sat on a rocking boat the other day with the wind howling around me and the rain pelting in my face and I awaited the arrival of the splendid fish (pictured) I was about to catch, I was reminded of an article I wrote for a women’s magazine many years ago. They had asked me as a marketer to help women find the man they wanted. So I apologise in advance for any chauvinism you think I exhibit and publish it as it was written. The point is, however, that with some minor alteration to the words, this could be all about how to find the right prospects for you.

So, please take it with a grain of salt, which I added to the beautiful fish I caught. Understand my motives and think how you could adapt and adopt it to work for you.

“How to hook the right man for you! Many women are saying that there don’t seem to be as many of the right kind of guys around these days. Sure, there are guys but none of them seem to be the type with whom you’d plan to start a long term relationship. So, before being so emotionally smitten by some fella that you can’t make a rational decision, how do you land the one you really want? Marketing guru Winston Marsh reveals the secrets.

It’s pretty simple really. All you have to do is remember the rules of fishing. The time tested tips that haul in great fish can work equally well for getting the man of your dreams. After all, they are exactly the same steps you would take if you were trying to attract potential customers to your business and get them to buy.

So whether you are catching fish, customers or men you need to decide firstly what you want to catch. Seasoned anglers know that the various kinds of fish need different sorts of approaches.

So ask yourself a few questions about the sort of man you really want.

What age range will he be? What will his education be? What type of occupation (blue collar, white collar, professional)? What sort of business or organisation will he work for? What will be his hobbies, interests, sporting interests and leisure time pursuits? Where, and on what, will he spend his spare time? To what clubs and associations (business, service and sporting) will he belong?

They say that, to catch a fish, the best anglers try and think like a fish. That’s what you have to do. Try and think like your ideal person. What’s in his mind and how does he indulge it? Does he, for instance, get his kicks out of being a member of a service club or spend his spare time at a sporting club, either watching or playing. Maybe, because he’s heavily wrapped up in his business, he gets actively involved in a business group or professional organisation. An interest in wine and food may well see him involved in a wine and food club, for example.

They reckon that the amateur angler always grabs the first bit of gear, baits it with anything they can find and then casts the hook into the nearest convenient water. Not so the seasoned, always catch fish angler. They study their prey until they know exactly how they think, how they feel, what they want and where they want to be.

Then and only then do they go after them. And to do so they ask the next question. Where would the fish I want most likely be? When the angler has that answer he drops his bait exactly where the fish he wants are most likely to be. And where there is least competition for that fish from other anglers. After all, if there are too many lures the fish will probably take none of them

That’s what you need to do. Go where the man you have identified as being ideal is most likely to be. You’ll do your fishing where the fish are.

So, now that you know the man you want, where is he most likely to be? And where will the competition be least?

Here’s where you learn another lesson from those piscatorial professionals. They don’t go where they want to go. They go where the fish want to go. Not for them the easy access, sheltered bays, calm waters and comfort of other fisherfolk. Although socially attractive, they aren’t the things of which successful fishing excursions are made.

So it will be for you too. When you have thought about the most likely places in which your prey may lurk you’ll discover that going to them is a pretty lonely task. You’ll soon realise that the places you go to cast your bait are not ones that your girlfriends will see as places for a good time. They’re probably right, well at least initially anyway.

But remember you’re not going for a good time, well not at first. You are going fishing, cold heartedly determined to land the fish that will give you long term delight and expose you to the green eyed envy of your friends. Throughout history the biggest prizes and greatest achievements have gone to single minded, eyes-firmly-fixed-on-the- target monomaniacs with a mission!

When you get to the right spot you’ll thus find an amazing thing. There aren’t a lot of other anglers there! You will be in waters teaming with lots of likely catches and there will be very little competition. All your competitors are some place comfortable and easy hoping that the fish will swim their way. And they may do so but it’ll be after you’ve won yourself a prize winning catch.

So where is that man of your dreams likely to be? Is he so committed to building his career that he is at a night school class, an industry meeting or professional interest group? Does he go to a service club to develop his networking (the right Rotary Clubs team with shoals of great catches), or maybe he is involved in a charitable, political or other cause? Come on woman think, where is this elusive quarry going to be?

Now that you have found that answer you are getting pretty close to landing a big one. To do that you have to ask yourself the question an angler would ask themselves when they know the fish they want to catch and where they are. The question? What sort of bait should I use?

Once again you have to think like the angler thinks. The angler doesn’t use bait that he likes, he uses bait that the fish likes. If the angler was looking after their own interests they’d probably want French Champagne and caviar but that’s not what the fish likes. The fish craves rotten meat, wriggling worms and other (fish) attractants. So that’s what the angler uses, confident that the result is worth the means.

So that’s the question you now have to ask yourself. You know the sort of man you want and where he is likely to be, now what do you use to get his interest?

Well, if you have done your homework sufficiently well enough, you’ll know exactly and precisely the sorts of things you need to do and say in order to attract that special man’s interest. You’ll be aware that, if you want to gain the attention and interest of any person you need to think in their terms rather than yours. You need to understand where they are coming from and have a genuine interest in them and their aims, aspirations, desires and beliefs. Most importantly you need to show a genuine interest in them.

Now this doesn’t mean that you have to subjugate your personality to wholly reflect their interests. To the contrary, once this man starts to get to know you and unravel the mystery that is you, he will find the joy of discovering you adds a new dimension to his life and activities.

But beware, remember the cunning angler. They let the fish eye the bait, sniff it and generally check it out to assure themselves that it’s to their liking. Only when the fish makes the effort to take the bait do they pull the line tight, hook the fish and then take the time to play it into their net.

So too should it be for you. Let the man who is your quarry have plenty of time to check out the bait, never rushing him or coming on too strong. When he comes close, back off a bit to keep the line tight. When he backs away, let the bait drift past his nose so that you get his attention again. Let him observe you, watch you, listen to you and study you. Above all, possess plenty of that old anglers’ commodity that guarantees huge success. Patience. You have all the time in the world to land that big one.

Successful anglers love to show their trophies to the world. They never eat them. They stuff and mount them for the envious eyes of their less skilled colleagues. Or they tag them and let them go if they are not a trophy fish.

When you adopt the angler’s approach to catching the man you want, the outcome and your options are exactly the same.

Oh, and by the way, if you are looking to capture more clients for your business wouldn’t the way you went about the task be exactly the same as this?”
Untangling The Social Media Maze – Great mates of mine from the US, Terry Brock and Gina Carr, authors of the book Klout Matters, will be in Australia and have a couple of social media workshops around Australia that I would thoroughly recommend (I’ll be attending in Melbourne). If you want to get on top of all this social media stuff make a point of being there!

Details and dates are: