Archive for the 'Client Magnet Archives' Category

Do this and your business will thrive…

Published on January 8, 2009 in Client Magnet Archives, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments Tags: clients, marketing bootcamp, profits, sales, seminar, workshop.

Einstein said that the definition of insanity was doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. So here’s my question for you…

What are you going to do differently in 2009?

I know that you are tired of guessing at how marketing works. I know it can be frustrating. I know that money is tight. I know that 98% of you need more business this year than you had in 2008–and I know you need it NOW.

And that’s exactly why I developed the Marketing Bootcamp.

The Marketing Bootcamp is an 90 day client attraction program for independent professionals and business owners that want to radically improve their ability to attract new business—without wasting a lot of time, energy or money in the process.

Take a minute to think about the following:

What’s the average yearly and lifetime value of ONE new client?
How much does it currently cost you to find and service each client?
How long does it take you to “close” a new client?
Why are some in your industry consistently more successful than you—when you know you are just as good, if not better?
Are you overly reliant on referrals for business?
How much time, energy and money have you invested in your own success?

Here are the direct benefits you’ll see as a result of participating in Marketing Bootcamp:

No More Guessing. This program will walk you though the proven steps you need to do to get more clients in your business.
Learn From The Guru. This Bootcamp is based on my 14+ years of experience advising companies like Adobe, The Salvation Army, Lexmark, Macromedia—not to mention all of the small businesses that I’ve helped. This is about the activities that I have used to build my business—and I had to learn them the hard way through trial and error.
Radical Improvement In 90 Days. There are no random tactics here. And this isn’t a soft & fuzzy coaching program. This is direct instruction on what works and how to do it.
“Feet To The Fire” Accountability. It can be lonely at the top of your organization or alone as an Independent Professional. I will personally hold your feet to the fire so that you will own the results for taking your business to new heights.

AND HERE’S THE BEST PART: The Marketing Bootcamp is backed by my 100% Money Back Guarantee. If you do not get at least one new client as a result of this program within 90 days of completion, I’ll give ALL of your money back—no questions asked. I simply ask that you participate fully and prove that you’ve implemented the steps.

Clients are out there. And they need your services. The Marketing Bootcamp is affordable, packed with valuable insider tips & tricks and will to show you the step-by-step quickest path to a full book of clients.

So, back to my question; what are you going to do to make 2009 your best year yet?

P.S. I will not let price be an issue or excuse for you not enrolling in this workshop. For the next FIVE BUSINESS DAYS, I’m offering the Marketing Bootcamp at a price my mentors have said was crazy! But I’m doing it to help as many people as possible kick 2009 off with a bang. Check out the special price and enrollment options at www.nick-rice.com/bootcamp. Act now because I’m raising the fee at midnight on January 14, 2009!

The Diet/Marketing Paradox

Published on January 6, 2009 in Client Magnet Archives and marketing. 0 Comments

We’ve all heard–and probably offered up our own–resolutions for the New Year.

Hearing a few friends talk about the desire to drop 15-20 lbs. got me thinking about how and why people struggle with weight loss and the similar struggles related to marketing a business.

At first blush, both dieting and marketing seem pretty simple to accomplish. With dieting you burn more calories than you consume while actively trying to build more muscle than fat. And to be successful with marketing is about communicating your value to prospective clients and helping them see why you are the best choice.

Ah, but it isn’t that simple is it? No, there’s an element to human nature that seemingly prevents us from doing what is obvious, but not easy. It’s clear to most people that losing a bit of weight would be beneficial; and it’s clear to business owners that they need to market their services. But why do most people fall short of their goal?

I see three core components to the dieting/marketing paradox:

Courage to take action now. It’s very easy to read and study the various ways to grow a business. It’s also easy to slip into a dreamy world of marketing theory where you can discuss everything until the cows come home. Unfortunately, business doesn’t work on theory alone. You must put the books and magazines down and start interacting with prospective clients. You MUST take action. The time for excuses and perfection are long gone. It’s much better to do something now than to wait for some non-existent perfect moment to arrive to officially launch everything. Take action NOW. Tweak and take action again.
Marketing is a game best played with a scalpel, not a shotgun. To take control of your business growth, you must have focus and a long term outlook. Random tactics executed at random times is a surefire way to waste a lot of precious time, energy and money. Most business owners and independent professionals will admit that marketing is a critical component of their business; yet most are also blindly cruising along and bouncing along without a plan of action. Pick two or three marketing strategies that you will enjoy implementing; build a solid plan of action around each plan; and work your plans. Do so with focus, clarity, consistency and purpose. Good marketing is about establishing and constantly reinforcing ONE key message. Any more than that and you’ll just confuse the audience.
Stop chasing fads. There are hundreds of thousands of advertising, PR, events, web, and sponsorship (and more) opportunities waiting to happily take your budget dollars. Some work; most leave a lot to be desired. If you are not an early adopter of marketing technology, stick with what works for you. Marketing via the internet is here to stay, but if you cannot get excited about incorporating a tool like Twitter into your daily regimen, don’t worry about it–as long as you’re working a couple of other strategies successfully. You owe it to yourself to keep up with trends; but you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck by becoming better and more efficient at proven strategies like networking and publishing.

When you compare the “feast and famine” approach to business and the “yo-yo” approach to dieting, you’ll see that there are a lot similarities. Ultimately, you’ll probably continue on that vicious cycle until you have a burning desire for improvement.

You can lose 20lbs AND you can grow your business; but you must zero in on why it’s important to you, what success looks like to you, and build/work the plan to get you there.

Here’s to a great New Year!

The Progress Formula

Published on December 2, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives. 3 Comments Tags: feelings, napoleon hill, planning, to do list, vision.

Success guru Napoleon Hill may be best known for the following statement, “What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”

If we can imagine it, feel it and see it, then the actions required to make it real become apparent. It still takes some work, but what you think about, you create. Therefore, the question isn’t: “What are you going to do next year?” The question is: “What do you really want in your business next year?”

When the New Year rolls around we typically think of resolutions. But the way we structure resolutions make them almost useless. They are either about things we want to stop doing (smoking, eating) or start doing (exercising, marketing). How many resolutions have you kept over the years?

When the focus is on not doing or doing, there isn’t enough emotional buy-in to propel us forward. There’s no vision in a To-Do list.

If you say, “This year I want to do more marketing; I’d like to get my web site up, start an eZine, network more, and do some teleclasses,” you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Either it’s not going to happen, or it’s going to be quite a struggle. Deep down inside you know it’s true, but heck it’s the New Year. Might as well be positive, right?

For 2009, I encourage you to create a vision to create progress.

Instead of focusing on what you’ll do, focus on how you want to “feel”. How do you want to feel about marketing this coming year? And wouldn’t it be smart to focus on some positive, uplifting feelings (instead of those feelings of dread that come up when you list the things to do)?

You might state it like this: “Next year I want to be excited when I do my marketing. I want to have fun and feel that I’m making a difference. I want my marketing activities to be inspiring, challenging and energizing!”

How does that feel? Say it out loud or write it down. Seriously, write yours down now…

Next, you want to focus on what you want to “have” in your marketing. What do you want things to actually look like? For example:

“I want to have an attractive, persuasive web site that excites people and gets them to take action when they visit it.”
“I want to have an email newsletter with subscribers from all over the country. I want it to showcase my expertise, build credibility and get people to call me about working together.”
“I want to develop a seminar that people walk away from energized with practical tips to improve their situation and afterwards they engage me to help them solve their challenges.”

Your turn; write a list of the main things you’d like to have in your marketing next year. And make sure every single thing on that list is what you really want, not something you think you have to do.

Do you see how different (and powerful) this is from creating a “Strategic To-Do list”? It makes all the difference in the world. Start with feelings, then focus on what you want to have. And only then do you give attention to the things you need to do to get there.

By doing this, you’ve set the groundwork for actually creating what you want in your business next year.

So many people struggle with marketing and attracting new clients because they look at marketing as a “necessary evil” that has to be done (but never enjoyed). When you create a compelling marketing vision, marketing becomes exciting, fun and effective.

This very simple approach to creating what you want might be called “living from your vision.” A whole lot more inspiring than “living from your to-do list,” don’t you think?

Golden Nugget or Lead Balloon

Published on November 4, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, business, marketing and strategy. 2 Comments

Golden Nuggets

One of the biggest mistakes I see consultative professionals make is to offer a solution during an initial conversation with a prospective client. You may not be aware of the damage you’re doing to your ability to be hired when you offer these “golden nuggets” of advice.

Let me explain. By a consultative professional I mean someone who offers customized advice, direction and solutions to a specific problem. Here are a few examples of consultative professionals: designer, physician, architect, engineer, business coach, consultant, ad agency, chiropractor, attorney, financial adviser, accountant, etc…

They people are very knowledgeable about their given trade. They typically have years of education and experience and often a few initials behind their name. They don’t just sell “what’s in their briefcase,” they uncover problems and issues for their clients and prescribe customized solutions to those problems. And they are very comfortable talking about their solutions. Herein lies the problem.

When asked to offer advice, a consultative professional often jumps right to their solution. They mentally cull through years of experience and similar situations and offer an amazing nugget of insight. Most of the time, their advice is spot on. But often that amazing advice is never acted upon by the recipient.

One of two things usually happens; if the other party acts upon your advice they are typically missing a few key ingredients to make the solution a success on their own because they do not possess your wealth of experience and knowledge. If they DO succeed, they often wonder why people would pay you if the solution was so simple that it came out of a 20 minute conversation.

But most of the time, they will not take action on your advice. And when you check on their progress the next time you meet, there’s often an awkward moment where they feel like they have to explain why they sat on your golden nugget of wisdom. Here’s why; you never took the time to fully understand the problem behind their request for advice. Solutions, unto themselves, are devoid of value without a problem to fix.

I talk to consultative professionals every week that feel like they give away golden nuggets of information only see them turn into lead balloons, because the prospective client’s problem was never truly analyzed.

As a consultative professional, it feels good to offer advice. It’s comfortable. It feels valuable. In fact, it’s what we do best. But advice not tethered to a problem often causes more harm than good.

Offering solutions is an easy trap to fall into. In fact, almost everything a client asks of us begs for a solution. “Help us do…; We need a…; We want a better…” Most professionals respond to these questions by offering a solution. And we wouldn’t just offer any solution; we offer a golden nugget because we perceive this as our chance to shine.

Most clients would like to believe that there is a magic bullet solution to their problem; but in reality it’s often much more complicated than that. It’s easy to jump right in with a solution (even one that would work); but you must dig to uncover the real issues behind the request. If you let the client get away with the original question, it puts all the pressure on you to come up with the magic bullet. As a consultative professional, you must get the client to fully describe the issue and its implications on their business.

Here are a few questions that I use to uncover & quantify the real issue:

How do you know this a problem?
Why hasn’t this issue been addressed yet?
How much is this challenge currently costing you in both hard dollars & soft dollars?
What kind of results would occur after fixing this problem?
Why is the future state better for you? What’s it worth to you?

It’s been proven that people (and organizations) move away from pain faster than they move towards a gain. Forget about your experience and solutions for a minute and take the time to fully understand the pain caused by the issue; or at least what type of gain they are expecting to see by engaging you.

If you continue immediately offer a solution,you’ll continue to see your golden nuggets sink like lead balloons. In these initial conversations, you will garner more respect by uncovering the pain behind the request before offering a solution. I know it’s difficult to put your knowledge and experience on the back burner for a little while, but if you’re able to do so, you will move into bigger projects and bigger fees; and you’ll be able to make a bigger impact–which is ultimately what we all want.

Social Media Bandwagon

Published on September 2, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives and social media. 1 Comment

By now everyone’s heard of blogging, MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn; but I still see that a lot of my clients are hesitant to jump into the social marketing/media foray. They think it’s only a bunch of college kids chatting about frat parties and drinking games. And to be honest, social media’s beginnings aren’t too far from that.

But times have changed.

Social media tools are a global phenomenon that are happening in all markets regardless of social, economic and cultural boundaries. One of the primary drivers behind this shift is that “consumers” are no longer consuming what advertising agencies have thrown at them for years. In the old days, you could actually increase sales with TV and magazine advertising, but that’s when we all watched the same five TV channels and were glued to the nightly news to see what happened in the world.

Today, we have 500+ channels, satellite radio and access to immediate information on any topic you can imagine via the internet. Consumers are no longer consuming advertising, they are consuming content. And social media tools (like blogs, Twitter and Facebook) make it easy and free to create and distribute valuable content.

Just look at some of the latest stats:

73% of online users read a blog
57% join social networks
45% have started a blog
83% have viewed a video online
39% subscribe to RSS feeds
36% think more positively about companies that have blogs

Do you match up with any (or most) of these?

How many social media tools are you taking advantage of?

It’s not enough to simply have a website today. You must be engaged in social media to gain credibility and awareness for your brand, products and services.

There are 184 million bloggers worldwide. 34% of them post opinions about products and services on their blog. Are they talking about you; your products/services; your industry? Yes they are, but more importantly, what are they saying?

Social media is all about authenticity and transparency. Since the barriers to publishing content are virtually nil, people do not pay attention to or respect overly glossy corporate messages. They no longer have to. Before we were basically forced to watch the final episode of M.A.S.H.–not any longer. In fact, right now, Millenials are watching more video online than traditional television.

Times have changed. Where are you in relation to adopting and participating in social media?

If you’re not sure where to start, let me throw out a couple of suggestions:

Add a blog to your website. But make sure you host it on your website to take advantage of all of the search engine goodness that comes with a blog. When you sign up with Blogger or another hosted service, they get all of the search engine benefits. Make a new directory on your website called “blog” and install it there. If you’re confused by doing this give me a call–or your web person–to help. Wordpress makes this very easy. BUT YOU CANNOT INSTALL IT AND NOT USE IT. You have to start publishing content to leverage social media for business growth.
Sign up for a free Facebook account. It’s easy and you’ll be surprised how many people you know are already on there. Start making connections. Add me as a “friend”. Start using social media to cultivate relationships. After all that’s what it’s all about.

Publishing valuable content is the #1 way to be recognized as an expert in your field. When you combine publishing with an expanding network of connections, your business is sure to grow.

Social media is here to stay. Will the tools change and evolve over time, sure, but as a communications and business platform, it’s here to stay. Are you coming with us?

Just Do It?

Published on July 2, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, entrepreneur, management and strategy. 0 Comments

We live in a very action-oriented society.

Getting things done, accomplishment, success and winning are valued above almost everything else. When you meet someone new, they first ask you what you do. And we love to tell them.

And I’m no exception. In fact, I feel guilty when I take it easy and am not doing something productive.

What’s wrong with this picture?

What’s wrong is that this primary focus on action is ultimately doomed to failure. It’s a strategy that will not consistently get us what we want. In fact, it can contribute to huge amounts of wasted time, spent energy and unfulfilled dreams.

I’m not saying that action is bad. No, it’s quite essential – in its place. What doesn’t work, what actually hurts us, is a focus on action above all else.

Nike’s iconic motto “Just Do It” is a lie.

Now, I’m not saying that taking it easy is the answer either. This article has nothing to do with finding balance and reducing stress. Although useful, they are not the key to making your dreams come true.

Have you ever noticed that two people can be equally busy in their lives – in their business – and yet one is a lot more successful, more accomplished than the other? I’ve certainly seen this with my clients.

Similar businesses, similar levels of intelligence, but very different results. One consistently produces superior results and the other struggles valiantly only to see their efforts fall short. Both are equally action focused. So why do they get different results (even when using similar methods)?

This really is the proverbial $64,000 question!

The answer to this question is both powerful and elusive. It’s powerful because, if you understand and apply it, it can change your life. It’s elusive because, like the air we breathe, it’s easy to miss.

So let me demonstrate how it works.

I’m going to ask you to do a little exercise: I want you to picture something that you want to accomplish in your business but haven’t yet. Make this as clear as you possibly can. See it, feel it, touch it. Make it completely real.

Then say these words to yourself: “I want….” and then describe what you want as clearly and as concisely as possible. Focus only on this, on nothing else. Take your time until you are clear and specific.

Notice how you feel once you have a higher level of clarity about what you want in your business. Are you more (even if a little) excited, enthusiastic and confident than before? If not, go back and clarify your “want” a little more. Don’t cheat yourself by being vague–get very specific and clear.

Next, take a minute and write down 3 things you can do to make your “want” happen. It could be anything, but again, like your intended result, make your action steps very specific.

Do these action steps seems doable, achievable? Can you easily see yourself doing them and having them lead to your ultimate accomplishment? Are you ready to get started?

OK, that’s the exercise.

If you only read through this exercise quickly, I urge you to go back and actually do it. It only takes a minute or two and can kick start major changes in your business.

Clearly picture something you want to accomplish in your business and concisely articulate what it is.
Notice how you feel (if it’s not more positive, repeat step 1).
Write down three specific action steps.

The secret to effective action is “Clear Intention.” Without clear intention, you’re just going through the motions. You’re putting a plan into action with no direction. And more often than not, you don’t get the results you desire.

I have a pretty good understanding of what you’re going through right now. I’ve noticed that when you tell someone that they haven’t created a strong clear intention, they usually won’t agree with you!

But the proof is in the pudding. When the intention is clear, your feelings are in alignment and the steps you need to take seem both obvious and simple. You automatically move towards realizing the intention you created.

Take a few moments to create a clear intention for your business – what is something you really want to accomplish? Set a clear intention for money – how much do you want to earn and what will you do with it? Set a clear intention for marketing and selling – what projects and clients would you love to have?

Action without clear intention is like a race car without big sticky tires; you’ll feel like you’re moving forward only to look back and realize you’ve been spinning your wheels.

(originally published by Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing)

Finding Your Niche

Published on June 9, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, business and marketing. 0 Comments Tags: marketing, niche.

I hear variations on the following comment all the time from prospective clients & colleagues:

“I can’t really market my business until I know what my niche is. Until I know who my ideal clients are, I can’t start with my marketing; so I really can’t afford to spend anything on marketing until I’m clear about this.”

Feel free to substitute your own concern: “I don’t know what my services are yet,” or “I don’t really know what value I provide for my clients,” or “I don’t know what makes me unique.”

And with this declaration of what you don’t know, your marketing grinds to a screeching halt.

My answer is typically the following:

“You don’t find your niche. Your niche finds you. And this goes for your services, ultimate outcome, uniqueness, etc.”

What I mean by this is that you can’t really figure it out in your head. You need to discover it. And the way you discover it is to jump into the process of marketing.

I know this might not makes sense to you, but stick with me here, because this is really one of the biggest issues service professionals face.

I’ve seen it hundreds of times. I’ve seen people completely stuck because they can’t figure out their elevator pitch or perfect marketing message. And they “know” that when they figure it out, all their marketing will fall magically into place

Utter nonsense, I’m afraid.

Here’s the big secret that nobody has told you:

You take your best guess, give it a shot and see what response you get. That’s all, really. You don’t get it right. You get it wrong – maybe for a long time – until it finally falls into place.

Here’s an example, a prospective client is confused about which clients she should go after. But she doesn’t have to decide-not just yet. All she has to do is take a mad stab at it and say, for the time being: “These are the clients I’ll work with for now.” And then build a marketing message around that.

She’ll discover soon enough if it’s the right niche or not.

She’ll talk to a lot of people. She’ll use her newly created message, ultimate outcome, etc. She’ll get responses or not. If not, no problem, back to the drawing board.

If she gets a few clients in this niche, she’ll soon discover if they are ideal or not. She’ll learn as she goes, and fine tune her message along the way. After a while the niche will find her. She’ll stumble upon it. And ah ha! That’s it! And her next version of her marketing message will be right on target.

Let me give you an analogy in another field.

A new music student says: “I can’t learn music until I know what composers I’m going to play. I’m really conflicted. Will I play Mozart and Bach, or Beethoven and Brahms? Difficult choice. But when I’m clear on who, then I’ll start to learn music.

Wouldn’t we roll our eyes if we heard this? Then why do we take the declaration so seriously that someone can’t find their niche? It’s nuts.

Sadly, the chance of the above person ever becoming a musician is pretty slim. And the with this approach, the chance of my customer ever becoming a successful entrepreneur is pretty slim as well. The good news is she’s willing to try.

And starting is easy.

Get a book, manual, or tape program, or attend a course. Start with the first lesson. Do the homework. Apply it the best you can to your business.

You won’t be a marketing genius right out of the gates, but you’ll be way beyond where you are now. So get out of your head, let go of the need to have things perfect, be willing to fail fast and most importantly, just do it! Nike would be proud.

(originally published by Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing)

Ideal Client Mix

Published on April 8, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, advertising, marketing and strategy. 4 Comments

The more I learn about small business, the more I’m surprised about the shaky foundation on which they build their businesses. Owners risk so for their business, yet they often put themselves at greater risk because they choose not to market consistently.

Overwhelmingly, when people discover that I’m a marketing coach they proudly state, “I’ve built my entire business on referrals. I’ve never had to spend a penny on advertising.” And my response is typically, “That’s great, advertising rarely works for service businesses anyway. And I applaud you for providing a service valuable enough to get people talking. So tell me, how do you get referrals on a consistent basis?” That’s when they usually stop dead in their tracks. They realize that referrals are not predictable; they realize that they are not in full control of their own business.

Now let me be clear; referrals are great! They are vital to your firm’s growth. They are the easiest business to close and they are typically less price sensitive than other buyers. You should ALWAYS strive to do your job well enough to get people talking about you and your services to friends and colleagues.

That said, the ideal client mix for a service business is 50% referrals and 50% new business. And by new business, I mean clients that would not have otherwise come to you without stumbling across one (or more) of your marketing tactics. So what’s your percentage? How much of your business do you ultimately control?

Referrals are going to happen (or not) when you provide good service and deliver value. Referrals are next to impossible to control. You can’t magically turn on the referral switch and get new business when you need it. So while they are great business; you shouldn’t let referrals totally control your business. You need to proactively grow your business in addition to working with referrals.

You need a reliable system in place for generating new leads and attracting new clients. By balancing referrals with proven marketing strategies, you can potentially double your business if your current mix is 100% referral-based.

Just for a minute, assume you keep your current level of referrals and you elevate your new business marketing efforts to attain the ideal 50/50 split. What would that mean for your business? What would that mean for your personal goals? Having a marketing engine that consistently creates more opportunity than capacity allows you to choose better clients and better projects.

What I’ve discovered is that most people don’t understand how to market their business. They’ve never had any training or they simply get distracted by the details leaving their big plans to collect dust. In addition to referrals and advertising, there are many more marketing options.

BNI is the world’s largest “lead referral group.” Each week millions of businessmen and women around the world get together to proactively drum up referrals for their business. Earlier this year, they asked their members about their marketing strategies. Here are the results (in order of weight as of March 2008):

BNI Marketing Strategies

Referral Marketing – 41.6%
Direct Marketing – 17.6%
Web Marketing – 9.9%
Direct Mail Marketing – 5.8%
Email Marketing – 5.5%
Print Ads – 4.8%
Other – 4.2%
Public Relations – 3.8%
Telemarketing – 3.1%
TV/Radio – 2.8%

So even in a group that purposefully built to generate referrals, members are still spending over 50% of marketing efforts on other strategies. But here’s the kicker, BNI members are missing out on some of the most effective marketing strategies available for professional service businesses.

Just look at the focus on direct marketing, direct mail, print ads, and tv/radio; those strategies are basically marketing number games. The response rate for those strategies is so low you need tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of contact names on your prospect list to make it worth your time and effort. We’re talking about a ~0.5% response rate on those strategies.

If you’re in a service business, you are selling your knowledge, expertise and ability to solve client problems. Chances are you have hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in your contact list or address book–no where near enough to play marketing number games. Not to mention, it’s very difficult to explain the value of your intangible service offering with traditional advertising. You need a different approach; you need different options.

I help my clients pick between 11 proven marketing strategies. We select the top three to five strategies that are best suited for their unique goals and personality. These are “big bucket” strategies that can have hundreds of different tactical executions apiece. The 11 strategies include (in alphabetical order not effectiveness):

1. Advertising (paid placement of message, incl. sponsorship)
2. Articles & Publishing
3. Direct Outreach (one-to-one direct mail, email, phone calls)
4. Keep in Touch (newsletters, auto-responder email)
5. Networking (events, lunches, committees, Board of Directors
6. Online (SEO, banner ads, webinar, registration forms, blog)
7. PR (earned media/press mention)
8. Referral (Word of mouth, viral marketing)
9. Speaking, Presentations, Workshops
10. Special Events (host seminars, open house, customer events)
11. Strategic Alliance / Joint Venture

For instance, take Networking. As an overarching strategy, you can network at local Chamber events, professional groups, church, alumni clubs, civic organizations, and online networking sites like LinkedIn. You can join boards, country clubs, mastermind groups. In order to take advantage of networking (or any of these strategies), you need a plan.

Each of these marketing strategies has been proven to work. But some are more effective than others. Notice that advertising and referrals are both solid strategies, but they’re not the only options. And I like I said before, advertising only works with businesses with mass market appeal. The very nature of a service business has a targeted audience.

The small business owners I talk to want a tangible return on their investment of time, money and energy into marketing. Everyone has unique goals, but one of the most common goals that I encounter in professional service partners is the desire to be seen as an “expert” in their field. They want to elevate above their competition and be recognized as a leader. If this goal resonates with you, one of the most potent combination of marketing strategies you can employee is Writing, Speaking, and Networking.

Think about who you look to as leaders. How do you tap into their knowledge? Where do you find them? Chances are you buy their books; or read their articles/white papers; or see them talk at a conference. Experts purposefully select marketing strategies that allow them to capitalize on their knowledge and “thought leadership.” Now, this is just one example. You have to pick strategies that excite you and are best suited to reaching your specific goals. If you can’t get excited about speaking, for instance, chances are you won’t actively work your speaking plan.

In closing, I want you to think about your business and your goals. If you have a business built 100% on referrals and you’re completely happy, I congratulate you. But if you have a business dependent on referrals and the stream is dwindling down or you yearn to take the business to the next level, you must become a better marketer. You need to balance your referral stream with new clients. Building action plans around a couple of the marketing strategies listed above is a great way to reach the 50/50 client mix.

—–

If you’re in the greater Lexington, KY area, mark your calendar. Starting May 15th, I’m leading an 8 week marketing workshop for Independent Professionals and Partners in professional service businesses who want to attract more clients. This program, entitled the Fast Track to More Clients, will be a business “tipping point” for owners who are:

Tired of struggling with marketing and getting minimal results
Resistant to engaging in marketing activities
Committed to growing their business to a whole new level

Learn more at http://www.nick-rice.com/fasttrack

Discover the 7 Secrets to Marketing Success – Press Release

Published on March 27, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, business and marketing. 0 Comments Tags: bluegrass, business growth, coaching, fast track to more clients, Kentucky, lexington KY, marketing plan, nick rice, strategies.

I am leading an eight week workshop in Lexington, KY for professional service business owners and Independent Professionals who want to attract more clients. Don’t miss this rare and practical hands-on workshop. My program, entitled the Fast Track to More Clients, will be a business “tipping point” for owners who are:

Tired of struggling with marketing and getting minimal results
Resistant to engaging in marketing activities
Committed to growing their business to a whole new level

For many service firms, developing a reliable system for consistently attracting new clients is an elusive quest. Many more have no system whatsoever and marketing remains a mystery. This inability to market effectively costs many of us over a hundred thousand dollars a year. Are you leaving money on the table?

I will personally cover the Seven Key Marketing Principles that will enable you to:

Understand marketing as a game you can play to win
Let go of the resistance and fear of promoting yourself
Speak the “language of marketing” to generate immediate attention
Articulate a marketing message that makes you stand out in a crowd
Develop marketing materials that build credibility and trust
Implement marketing tactics that get consistent results
Develop marketing action plans that ensure your success
FREE BONUS SESSION–Effective closing and selling techniques

But hurry, to keep one-on-one interaction high, I’m limiting the seating for the Fast Track to More Clients program to the first 20 that enroll.

Dates:
8 sessions held weekly (Thursdays, May 15 – July 3, 2008)

Location:
First Southern National Bank Community Room, Lexington, KY
(free parking – see map)

If you’re struggling to attract more clients and need a marketing plan that works, the Fast Track to More Clients program is purposefully built to get you on the road to success—and quickly.

SPECIAL PROMOTION: When you pay in full before May 2nd, 2008, you will receive a free one hour 1-on-1 coaching session with me during the Fast Track program. This additional personal session will be totally focused on you, your business, and ensuring your success.

LEARN MORE & ENROLL at: http://www.nick-rice.com/fasttrack

About Me:
Nick Rice has been working with business owners and other Independent Professionals since 1994. Through his coaching and consulting, workshops, and speaking events, Nick helps business people become better marketers of their services—often resulting in more profit and less work. He is an Expert Blogger for Fast Company Magazine, Certified Marketing Coach and Certified Project Manager.

9 Branding Tips for Small Biz

Published on March 8, 2008 in Client Magnet Archives, branding and marketing. 16 Comments

Think branding is only for large multi-national corporations? Think again. Here are 9 easy tips you can use to grow your brand with your client or customers.

The design of your logo really doesn’t matter in the end. Would you choose MSN as your search engine over Google because of their logo? No. How about Dell over Apple? Audi over BMW? Delta over Southwest? Nope. Nope. Nope. Having a nice professionally designed logo is great, but it very rarely increases sales by itself. Now, before you freak out, I’m all for a professional logo. If you’re using some crappy Microsoft clipart style logo, that definitely won’t cut it. Professional logos are cheap today. It’s more important to include your logo on every piece of communication. Put it on business cards, letterhead, envelopes, invoices, yellow page ads, building signage, newsletters, etc… It’s more important to be consistent and for it to visually represent what you want your company to stand for. If you value creativity, don’t have a logo that looks like everyone else. If you value stability, don’t have a logo that looks too fluffy and airy. Don’t “boil the ocean” trying to get it perfect. Your logo is one minor element of branding.
Have a professional website. It’s not just good enough to just have a website, you must reflect your desired brand image. If your known as a top notch photographer, the last thing you want is a website designed 10 years ago. It doesn’t reflect well on you. Everyone, yes everyone, uses the web today to check references and gauge credibility. If someone recommends your service, you can almost guarantee that the prospect will go online to look for you. Your website design should be updated at least every two years to stay current. Your website is your #1 piece marketing material. Done right, it can become your best sales person–and always focus on what your client gets from working with you, not what you do.
Blogs are good. Blogs help your business on multiple levels. First off, publishing valuable content on a consistent basis will make you look like an expert. People are looking for experts, not apprentices. The software that powers blogs has multiple advantages. It’s very easy to publish without technical knowledge. It’s a database driven environment where style is separate from content so you will not need to go back to your web design agency for every little change. And use of tags and sitemaps make basic search engine optimization easy. But the real reason blogs are great is that they enable conversation. Two-way dialog is much more valuable than a company that just dumps messaging and collateral on their customers.
Blogs are good, but they’re just one tool. A blog should not be your sole marketing strategy. You should have a comprehensive multi-touch marketing plan to get your value proposition in front of your target audience. This can take many forms. You can launch a direct mail campaign, email campaign, host a webinar, sponsor a local event, attend a trade show, attend networking events, host seminars, cold call prospects, win awards, etc… There are a thousand different ways for you to be noticed. You need to be working at least three different marketing strategies to grow your business – referrals alone won’t get you where you want to go. Data shows that people need to be exposed to a brand at least seven times before they buy. If you simply do one touch and stop, you’re wasting valuable budget dollars and probably wondering why your efforts are not successful. There are 11 different marketing strategies that professional service firms can employ successfully. I recommend working a minimum of three separate marketing strategies all the time (more to come on this next month); this way you ensure that your audience is exposed to your message in multiple formats. It’s naive to think that a prospect will jump after seeing your marketing materials/efforts once. It typically takes 3-7 “touches” for a prospect to take action.
Prepare a one page corporate overview. This one pager will be vital as a leave behind when you meet a prospect. Use short sentences in short paragraphs – people like to read quickly. Also make it very conversational; it’s not a white paper. Your one page overview should highlight that you understand the pain points of your target audience, how those pain points affect their business, the benefits gained by addressing those pains and a mini-case study – and don’t forget your contact information.
Participate in local business groups/events. And by participate, I mean be on a committee. Just showing up at events is great, but you’re just a face in the crowd. Ask to be on one of the committees. Believe it or not, it’s as simple as just asking most of time. Groups are looking for volunteer help and it’s a great way to elevate your status and visibility among the entire organization.
Do what you say you’re going to do. I know it may sound like common sense, but one of the primary drivers of brand loyalty is a consistent experience. If you say you’re going to have the deliverable ready on a set day, be sure its ready. Nothing leaves a bad taste in someone’s mouth like unmet expectations. Positive experiences lead to good feelings which lead to telling their friends. But don’t forget that bad experiences spread much faster and are harder to overcome – if you get a chance at all.
Stand for something. People latch on to something they can understand and appreciate. If you’re trying to be everything to everybody, chances are you’ll attract no one. If you think it’s too controversial or risky choosing a niche, remember the power of being seen as an expert. Experts are not good at every thing, they’re awesome at one thing. This allows you to better position yourself and charge more for your services. People seek out (and pay more for) experts, not generalists.
Realize that you’re not in control of your brand. That’s right, you only set the direction for your brand. Your actual brand image is determined by your audience. You can use these tips to ensure alignment between your desired brand image and your actual brand image in the minds of your customers. Branding isn’t a one shot deal, it’s an on-going juggling act of marketing, research and conversation. If you’re not tapping into those conversations with your audience, how do you know what their real impression of you is? How will you know how to address it? Brand growth comes from alignment. You have to ensure that your actions and marketing efforts put out the image you desire. But you cannot stop there–those are pre-sales activities that get you noticed–and hopefully bought. You also have to ensure that all actions during the sale and post-sale are positive and in line with your desired brand image. If your audience has a different view of you than you’d like, then your brand is out of alignment and you need to address it.
BONUS TIP: Branding is as much about your people as anything else. Never forget that the best chances for positive brand reinforcement comes from one-on-one conversations between executives, employees, suppliers, customers and prospects. Every interaction is a chance to create, reinforce or erode brand equity. All it takes is one stupid mistake or harsh word to send it all crashing to the ground.

Unfortunately, branding is one of the most over-used and misunderstood words in business today–strategy is a close second. But, proper branding is critical to your long term success.

Effective branding is all about ensuring that your target audience feels what you want them to feel about your company and offerings. When you’re able to evoke the emotions that you want them to feel, your brand will grow and you’ll create more loyal and profitable customers. It’s not easy, but it’s what separates everyday firms from world-class firms.