While (and since) I first read The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch - a sociological description by Susan Fishkoff of Chabad shluchim ('emissaries') scattered around the world - several years ago, I asked (and have been asking) what contributes to their overwhelming success. More and more shluchim are sent to less and less Jewishly favorable places, and all of them are expected to become financially independent (and most of them do become financially independent) within a year or so.
They can be called ultimate marketers. What do they market? Authentic Judaism envisioned by the Lubavicher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Recently I reread the above mentioned book by focusing on the question about the possible factors contributing to their overwhelming success. This reading has been complemented by my personal encounters with a number of Chabad shluchim in their twenties, thirties or forties in the past few decades.
The first, and the most decisive, factor for their success must be their faith in their life mission to implement the vision developed and presented by the Lubavicher Rebbe - to spread the fountaions of Chassidus to the four corners of the world where Jews live however assimilated they are.
This faith of theirs leads to their devotion. They dedicate the lives of their own and their still young families to this life mission, fully knowing that they may have to spend the rest of their lives in distant locations from major centers of Judaism in general and Chabad Chassidus in particular.
This faith also leads to their confidence. They are fully certain that they will succeed in their life mission, so they have no fear of failure simply because the idea of failure doesn't seem to cross their mind. They are living manifestations of "Think good and it will be good" - a famous saying ascribed to the thirs Chabad rebbe, Tsemakh Tsedek - a grandson of the Alter Rebbe, the founder of Chabad.
This "ultimate marketing" of theirs is fundamentally different from the commonly accepted approach to marketing, which was also the common denominator among my four former teachers of marketing - a fear-based approach. The approach of these "ultimate marketers" are joy-based.
I had to spend a lot of time and money with their four former teachers who tried to teach me their fear-based approach in order to realize theis difference and start appreciating the joy-based approach of Chabad shluchim.
Their joy-based approach to marketing manifests itself most prominently in their love of fellow Jews (and probably other human beings as well) and their nonjudgementalism. As a student of Chabad Chassidus and a life coach anchored in it I'm better tuned to this joy-based approach. My present challenge is how to implement it in practice.