Archive for the 'management' Category

When Great Isn’t Enough

Published on July 2, 2009 in business, entrepreneur, management, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments Tags: .

Most entrepreneurs and owners of professional service firms risk so much for their business; yet never realize how much they risk by not mastering marketing. They spend years learning about and perfecting their chosen field (engineering, consulting, legal, creative services, medical, architecture, financial services, etc…); and more often than not they are accidentally successful in their business ventures.

If you ask these owners how they get new clients on a consistent basis, they typically shrug their shoulders and say, “We’re a word of mouth business” or “I’ve built this firm entirely on referrals.” But then re-ask the question with a focus on getting new clients on a consistent basis and that’s when they realize that word of mouth and referrals are strategies based on hope.

Now, let me be clear, both referrals and word of mouth are critical to your success, but you cannot control new business generation from either. It’s going to happen (or not) based on the quality of your work and the service you provide. If you run a successful business based solely on referrals, chances are you have been accidentally successful. And I say accidentally because you don’t know what to do to generate new clients other than working hard and doing a good job. It’s not a repeatable system.

Marketing doesn’t have to mystery. In fact, marketing is not rocket science; it’s just that most business owners have never been trained to be effective marketers. The top three proven marketing strategies for growing a professional firm are:

  1. Speaking
  2. Writing
  3. Networking

And here’s the best part; the future of the web is built to allow anyone to take advantage of these marketing strategies. Web technology like webinars and online video sites allow you to easily share your knowledge and expertise via speaking. Today, the barriers to publishing are virtually non-existent with blog platforms like Wordpress, Moveable Type and Typepad—not to mention online article distribution services like ezinearticles.com and isnare.com or self publishers like lulu.com if you want to pen a book. And it’s easy to expand your sphere of influence through social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s not enough to be great at what you do. To take your firm to the next level you must be recognized as an expert in your field. And to be recognized as an expert, you cannot be an accidental marketer.

NOTE: originally published as a chapter in Age of Conversation 2 – Why Don’t They Get It?

Get More Clients In 90 Days

Published on January 14, 2009 in management, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments Tags: .

I wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss my Marketing Bootcamp announcement late last week. Today is the last day to get my 5 Day Early Bird price. The fee will go up at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.

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

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?
If you’re ready to attract more clients and be more successful, yet don’t know where to start, the Marketing Bootcamp is purposefully built to set you on the path to success. I will help you implement the “greatest hits” marketing techniques that my clients have used to build their businesses.
So if you want more business, what will you do to make it happen?
P.S. I will not let price be an issue or excuse for you not enrolling in this workshop. UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, 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 before the fee goes up!
P.P.S. Don’t forget that the Marketing Bootcamp is covered by my 100% Money Back Guarantee. If you don’t get at least one new client as a result of this program, I’ll give you your money back. With no risk, what do you have to lose?
If this program isn’t for you, please forward this email to your friends and colleagues that need to win more business in 2009. It’s a tough economy out there, and they’ll thank you for it.

The Truth Is Constant

Published on November 11, 2008 in advertising, branding, management and marketing. 0 Comments

While I thoroughly love Tom Fishburne’s cartoon essays on the state of big brand marketing, I think he’s slightly off base on this one. Just to be clear, he’s not wrong; I think he’s missing an element of truth that has always been there, but hard for traditional consumer goods companies to see.

The internet has literally changed almost every aspect of our lives in one form or another. Consumer Advocates have ALWAYS been the true driving force behind product sales. Ask anyone with a limited marketing vocabulary and they’ll tell you that word of mouth is the best form of advertising–and they’re right.

Technology drives marketing strategy to a large degree. From the days of the “traveling doctor” in the Wild West, to Coney Island hawkers, to Saturday morning network television cartoons; advertisers used technology to their advantage because they could afford to do so. The modern internet, call it web 2.0 or social media or whatever, has allowed ALL of us to express our advocacy to the masses. Tools like Blogging, Twitter, Email, YouTube, etc… have given us the power to say what we like and dislike–especially what we dislike.

Big companies are worried about using social media as a marketing vehicle because it allows the unwashed masses to say something negative about their products or brand or name. Well guess what? People have always controlled the message; not corporations. Neighbors have always talked. Hairdressers have always gossiped. Today we live in a world where experiences are no longer contained to friends and family. Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, said it best, “the ants have megaphones.”

If you’re a marketing manager for a big company, you better get used to it because more and more power will continue to go to the customer. Pull your head out of the sand and participate in the conversation. Honesty, authenticity and real dialogue never go out of style.

Keep digging to find gold

Published on September 9, 2008 in management and strategy. 0 Comments

Every day I get an email from the Institute for Management Consultants (IMC) and I must say, they worth reading–everyday. Today’s email focused on keeping people on track without letting them ramble down a tangent during the conversation.

They suggest using a technique called the “5 Why’s.”

Here’s an excerpt from their email that I felt needed to be passed along:

One tactic that comes to mind is to introduce a process in your discussions to keep focus in a solution space. This is known as the “five whys.” When you start with a solution to an identified problem, accept the first solution and then ask a series of “why” questions.

For example, someone suggests they should sell more products in the marine market (which is one of your strongest markets). Why? Because the marine market is underserved. Why? Because the market is growing and no new suppliers are entering. Why? Because the margins are poor for this highest growth segment of the market. Why? Because the new segment cares about price more than quality, which is your company’s strength. Why? Because these new customers are young consumers early in their earning careers.

What started out as a “good idea” to expand into a market area your company is already in, then swerved into a potentially bad idea (poor margins), then back into a good idea (future potential) but for different reasons. Before you asked the “whys” you might have entered the market quickly, but now you know to pace yourself and cultivate this customer base as their spending abilities grow.

Tip: It may take more or less than five “whys” to get to the bottom of an issue, but you will get your client into the habit of becoming very precise with their suggestions.

Copyright (c) 2008, Institute for Management Consultants

I’m loving the Volume Fairy

Published on July 16, 2008 in management, marketing and strategy. 0 Comments

Tom Fishburne is a genius. His cartoons are always spot on.

I see this all too often with clients that are overly dependent on referrals & word of mouth. I’m beginning to believe that the old business adage, “feast or famine,” is simply a signal that the business is poor at marketing their services/product. I know there are seasonal/circular patterns to some businesses, but good marketing helps to offset these normal variances. And marketing done properly (ie. planned, tied to measurements, evaluated, tweaked and relaunched) can become a system to generate predictable results.

For instance, I know that everytime I publish a blog article on Fast Company I’ll get a spike in web traffic. Google Analytics shows me that ~10% of those people sign up for my email newsletter, Client Magnet. Once they are on my newsletter, it typically takes six to eight months for them to call/email me about working together. Publishing articles has become a system for me.

If you’re still counting on the volume fairy, you need to know that generating consistent sales isn’t rocket science. Consistent sales comes from consistent proactive marketing. Pure and simple. You cannot leave it solely up to your word of mouth stream which is too unpredictable from month to month. You may be great at what you (and probably are), but you need to become a better marketer to grow your business.

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.

  1. Clearly picture something you want to accomplish in your business and concisely articulate what it is.
  2. Notice how you feel (if it’s not more positive, repeat step 1).
  3. 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)

Free Marketing Breakthrough Webinar

Published on May 1, 2008 in entrepreneur, management and marketing. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Starting May 15th, I’m leading an advanced marketing workshop, entitled “The Fast Track to More Clients,” in Lexington, KY. There’s been a lot of interest in the program so I’m hosting a free one hour webinar to give more details on the structure, content and benefits of the Fast Track workshop.

This workshop is based on the 7 Principles of Marketing that I’ve historically only used with my One-on-One Marketing Mentoring clients. This is the first time that I’ve offered it in a group format.

Full program details are available at http://www.nick-rice.com/fasttrack

Even if you’re not in the greater Lexington area, you may be interested in the webinar. It will be a great (and free) way to get a better understanding of the unique marketing mentoring/coaching format that I offer. Here are the details for the webinar:

Free “Fast Track to More Clients” Intro Webinar

Join me for a Business Breakthrough Webinar on May 7 – Space is limited.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/911433377

If you’re tired of getting the same old results from your marketing, please join me on Wednesday, May 7 at 4:00pm Eastern and explore what it takes to have a marketing breakthrough.

In this complimentary one hour webinar, I’ll go into more detail about the topics I’m going to cover in my upcoming advanced marketing workshop, The Fast Track to More Clients.

The Fast Track program 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

During this webinar, I will personally cover the Seven Key Marketing Principles that will enable you to:

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

Title: Free Fast Track to More Clients Intro Webinar
Date: Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT
Cost: $0

System Requirements:
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows(r) 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh(r)-based attendees
Required: Mac OS(r) X 10.3.9 (Panther) or newer

I hope you see you there.

What’s the Game Plan?

Published on December 7, 2007 in Client Magnet Archives, business, management and marketing. 0 Comments

It’s funny how clearly you see in an emergency. Monday morning, after about four weeks of ear infections, our one year old son was vomiting and had a nasty bout of diarrhea. All of you parents know this can spell trouble for a little kid. We were worried enough to take him to the doctor, who promptly told us that either the antibiotics or a stomach bug had caused him to become dehydrated and that he was sending us to the hospital straight away.

Any time you check into a hospital they run a barrage of tests, they put in an IV (which let me tell you, it is a nightmare holding your infant son down so a nurse can stick him in both arms, both hands and finally a foot to get a vein), and in general people are just running around doing a lot of stuff.

My wife hates it when I do this, but I always ask, “So, what’s the game plan for our kid? What are you looking for and what does he need to do in order to go home.” I just want to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, it’s frightening how many times I was told, “The doctor knows what to do.” That’s great; I fully expect that he/she does, but can someone kindly tell me?!?!

Then for whatever reason I connected the dots between a few unrelated client and prospective clients’ conversations. For most small businesses, marketing is no different than dealing with these medical professionals. Most of the time there is no marketing game plan in a small business. If you have a written marketing plan, chances are it’s collecting dust on the shelf. Not to mention that if there is a plan, most of the time the people responsible for executing and tracking the activities don’t understand how to build individual campaigns or programs that support the grand plan or strategy. But the reality is that most small to medium sized businesses do not even have a marketing plan.

When a business owner begins to feel the pain of an economy slowing down or the referral stream starting to trickle, they always try something. They may send out a direct mail postcard to a group of clients or to a particular zip code. They may pick up the phone and start dialing for projects. They may attend a networking event and try to close everyone for an appointment. They always try something.

But guess what; that’s not a plan. That’s a one-off activity – done in desperation – that results in nothing most of the time. And then a funny thing happens, the owner will look up and say, “Well, it’s obvious that marketing doesn’t work! I tried a postcard and I went to two Chamber networking events and didn’t get a single phone call. I just wasted a few hundred bucks and a couple of evenings with my family that I can never get back.”

It didn’t work because it wasn’t done strategically. It wasn’t done as part of a greater plan to purposefully grow business. And 95% of the time, it doesn’t work because it was half-arsed. There’s no follow up; there’s no call to action; there’s nothing that tells the prospective client how you will solve their problems. It doesn’t work because it’s all about you and the desperation you feel.

Until you totally understand and internalize the principles of marketing, stop wasting your time, energy and money with tactics. There is an entire industry of promotional shops, mailing houses, and ad agencies that love to “get your name in front of your audience.” You might as well throw your money out of the window. I’m not saying that promotional items, direct mail and marketing communications won’t work. They work great when used strategically as part of your overall marketing game plan. But YOU have to own that. You cannot expect an outside agency to give you a plan for your business.

You have to understand who you are, what your strengths are, where you’re going, what your client’s struggle with, what it would be like for them to solve their issues, and how you’re best equipped to do so.

There are thousands, if not millions, of marketing tactics that you can employee to grow your business. But if those tactics are not founded in Seven Marketing Principles AND if they are not aligned with your marketing game plan, you’re putting success at risk.

By the way, you can download the Seven Principles of Marketing article by filling out the form in the right hand sidebar (sorry, all you RSS readers will need to click here).

Your biggest obstacle

Published on October 2, 2007 in Client Magnet Archives, entrepreneur, management and social media. 0 Comments

Regardless of your role within your firm, you have goals. You may have set them yourself or you may have a boss that walked in and laid them out for you. Either way, there are things that need to be accomplished before year’s end or within a few years.

Reaching some goals is pretty easy so I’m not going to talk about low hanging fruit here. I’m going to talk about the goal that either scares you to death or exhilarates you. Take a moment to think about that big goal and answer these
questions:

  • What would it mean to you if you actually achieved it?
  • How would you act differently after achieving it?
  • What would you take on that you’re not currently?
  • What would you leave behind?
  • Why is the goal truly important to you?
  • What’s standing in your way of achieving it?

Good. Those aren’t always easy questions to answer. It’s always better to think about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It helps to put everything in perspective.

Now, let’s focus on what’s standing in your way.

Do you have the skills necessary to reach your goal? Do you have the time? Do you have the energy? Think about what’s holding you back. If nothing is standing in your way, I’d contend that your goal isn’t big enough. Think bigger – dream a little. If you have an income goal that seems well within reach, go a little deeper. You want your big goal to be attainable, but just out of reach. More often than not, we have a mental block around what we can achieve. For some people, there’s never enough time. For others, they’ll never be educated enough or experienced enough. The psychological barrier stops them from moving forward. The attainable goal becomes unreachable and they decide to focus on something else like cleaning their office or tweaking their website.

More often than not, we have a mental block around what we can achieve. For some people, there’s never enough time. For others, they’ll never be educated enough or experienced enough. The psychological barrier stops them from moving forward. The attainable goal becomes unreachable and they decide to focus on something else like cleaning their office or tweaking their website.

We’ve all heard the stories of the uneducated kid that went on to be the top salesman. Or the working mother raising four children while making a six figure income from two jobs. For these people, failure is not an option. It’s not in their vocabulary. They don’t let those limiting thoughts enter their mind. They have a vision for their future and nothing is going to hold them back.

For a lot of business owners, they have a goal in mind, but they’re not sure how to get here. One thing is for sure, what got you where you are today probably won’t get you here you need to be to reach your goal. If business growth is your goal, you have to become a better marketer. You know you should promote your services, but there’s always something better to do. There’s always billable work that pops up; and of course, the office could always use a little cleaning. A lot of business owners are mentally blocked then it comes to marketing their own services. And it seems easy to justify. After all, a steady stream of referrals isn’t a bad thing. No, it’s not a bad thing; but let’s go back to your goals – your vision for your business. Is it performing the way you want it to? To quote Michael Gerber, “are you working on your business or in your business?”

The good thing about mental barriers is that they can be broken down. I spend a lot of time with clients determining their barriers to marketing and helping them turn it around. The process isn’t difficult, but it does require you be honest with yourself.

Your goals mean something. They’re the future of your business. They are your hopes and dreams for your firm. And there are consequences for not achieving them. It may come in the form of lost opportunity. It may seem like your goals are unquantifiable. Yet in my experience, you can quantify almost every aspect of your goals; you just have to keep digging. When you start looking at the lost opportunities that result from burying your head in the sand when it’s time to market, you realize that your business could be completely different. You begin to realize that you’re leaving a lot of money on the table by staying in your comfort zone. If you could no longer think those negative thoughts about marketing, you’d generate more opportunities for growth and profit.

If your biggest obstacle is mental, don’t let that slow you down. Whether it’s getting more training to develop the skills you need or simply changing the way you think about marketing, you control your own destiny. The key is to take action now. Just do something. When you dream big about your business and imagine living the life you’ve always wanted, you’re not going to let a little thing like a limiting mindset hold you back.

Apple COO on Apple

Published on March 17, 2007 in management and strategy. 1 Comment

Here are some snippets from Tim Cook’s speech at the Goldman Sach’s Technology Investment Syposium from late Feb. (from Mac Rumors)

How do you keep innovating?

…I would say is our corporate culture is a very simple culture. We hire people who want to make the best products in the world and provide an atmosphere to challenge each other to make the best products. And that’s deeply embedded in the DNA of the company. …. I can tell you this is why people come to work at Apple.

How do you view the market for the iPhone?

The traditional way that all of us were taught in business school to look at a market was you look at the products you are selling, you look at the price bands that are in the market, you think of the price band that you product is in and assume you can get a percentage of it, and that’s how you get this addressable market. That kind of analysis doesn’t make really great products. The iPod would not have been brought to market if we had looked it that way. How many $399 music players were being sold at that time? Today the cell phone industry, a lot of people pay $0 for the cell phone. Guess why? That’s what its worth! If we offer something that has tremendous value that is sort of this thing that people didn’t have in their consciousness, it was not imaginable… I think there are a bunch of people that will pay $499 or $599 and our target is clearly to hit 10 million and I would guess some of those people are paying $0 because its worth $0 and willing to pay a bit more because its worth more.

How do you handle the loss of a senior exec?

Apple is an amazing company, and I didn’t fully understand until I got there, how amazing it was. And the feeling of not getting weighed down by bureaucracy, and politics and all the ancillary things that any businesses are. So this atmosphere is a very very unique kind of atmosphere and frankly, we don’t have an issue attracting people to work there, and we have so many things going on and innovation is so deeply embedded in this place. While you may see 5-6 or 10 people being most visible, the company is full of off-the-charts smart people. We’ve had some executive departures, but as a grown-up company does, we planned good succession, and I think you can see from our results, the products have kept coming.

It’s obvious how much Apple respects their customer (or should I say legions of mac addicts) and their employees. I’m continually amazed, given their formula of success, how other large companies scoff at Apple. In today’s world cost-cutting is viewed as an innovation. It’s bad enough to focus your efforts internally for growth (as compared to what really drives top line growth – delivering what customers desire on top of an outstanding experience), but when you skip right past your people and only look for cost targets how do you ever expect to right the ship.

I know there’s not an easy or a quick fix. But today’s executives have to actively evolve their corporate culture, their internal DNA, to focus on real long term growth strategies. You only need to focus on two things – your customers and your employees. And by stating that “our employees are our greatest asset” in your mission statement doesn’t cut it. You have to prove you mean it. Set your employees free to innovate, let them really converse with customers. Then you’ll see loyalty and growth from both parties.

If you don’t believe me, look at the Fortune 500 list from 1995. How many of those companies are still on there? How many are still in existence? Einstein said it best, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

Do something different or accept your fate as the dinosaur grazing while a meteor is barreling down with you in it’s crosshairs.