Did you know most solo-professionals hire the Cheshire Cat
as their marketing consultant? And because of it they end
up overwhelmed by too much information and frustrated by
their lack of good results. Let me explain...
Remember Alice in the Wonderland facing a fork in the road
and asking the Cheshire Cat for directions? Do you recall
the cat's answer? "If you don't know where you are going
what does it matter which road you take?" I call this lack
of clarity and not having a master marketing action plan a
"hop and drop" strategy.
What the heck is "hop and drop"?
Have you ever seen a rabbit running away? Those creatures
can't seem to run straight. They change directions with
every hop! But what does it have to do with your business?
See if this sounds familiar:
** Monday you read an article about attracting more
clients with info-products. So off you go, spending
most of the day brainstorming ideas and planning your
first ebook or audio CD.
** Tuesday you remember that submitting articles is a
great way to build visibility. After a few hours of
searching the net you've got a great list of article
submission sites. Now you are ready to write your
first few articles. But it's late in the day so you
set your intentions to start fresh the next morning.
** Wednesday you wake up with a brilliant idea to put
together a new training program. Oh, this is going to
be so great! People will be lining up to sign up.
Maybe you could sell a license to others who could
teach it. Yep! Easy money. You can already taste it.
So you get busy developing a curriculum for your program,
but mid-day you realize it going to take a bit more effort
than you initially thought...
Thursday and Friday don't look much different as you find
yourself chasing even more really good ideas...
A whole week of perfect "hop and drop" and at the end
you've accomplished… NOTHING! NADA! ZIP!
Each of the tasks you began could have paid off handsomely
if you stayed with it. But you didn't. So all you've got is
a bunch of started projects, a lot frustration, feeling
overwhelmed, and a massive headache!
How to get more done in less time
Fortunately, outlining and following a master strategy
before jumping into action can save you from wasting time
and effort, and eliminate of lot of frustration.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
1) Develop clear objectives.
What exactly do you want to accomplish? Set clear goals,
time-frames, investment of time and many required to
implement your strategy, and the implementation model
you'll follow. Calculate your possible maximum and minimum
return on investment of time, money and effort.
2) Understand the difference between strategy, tactic,
and action steps.
For example, driving new business through networking is a
strategy. Putting together your own networking group or
attending meetings of other groups are tactics. Making a
list of local groups, developing a good Audio Business
Card™, writing a "pleasure meeting you" card or sending out
an article or audio CD afterwards are all action steps.
These are critical steps and skipping just one of them may
send you on a never-ending chase after a white elephant!
For example, one simple exercise I reveal in my Marketing
Action Plan reveals if your existing model can even support
your desired financial results.
Most people never stop to take a look at this and end up
beating their heads against the wall – wondering why they
can't generate better results.
3) Identify your ideal tactics.
There are thousands of things you could be doing right now.
You probably already have more ideas than you can
implement. That's why you often end up overwhelmed.
Make a list of things you could be doing, than select your
top three to five things and IMPLEMENT THEM COMPLETELY -
ONE AT A TIME!
OK, STOP HERE for a moment and re-read this last sentence.
Read it a few times until it sinks in how vital it is to
your success.
** FINISH ONE THING AT A TIME! **
4) Take action. One mediocre and poorly implemented idea
is better than 100 brilliant ideas still locked in
your head! Implementation beats perfection any day of
the week.
Based on your desired results identify specific action
steps that will be most effective in achieving your goals.
Look for activities that will bring the biggest payoff for
the least amount of effort. Start small and focus on quick
implementation and completion!
Set milestones and measure your progress. How will you know
you are getting closer to your goal? How will you know you
are there when you arrive?
In your plan identify ways to measure your progress then
check the reality against your plan at least weekly. If you
are not moving forward as fast as planned – go back and re-
evaluate your tactics and action steps. Then refocus on
taking DIFFERENT action.
So stop this "hop and drop" nonsense. Tell the Cheshire Cat
to "take a hike", and quickly get the results you want
following your own personal marketing action plan.
----------------------------------------------------
The author, Adam Urbanski, teaches service professionals
and business owners how to develop better marketing
strategies to increase sales and profits. His website
offers more how-to articles and free tips to create a
winning marketing action plan at
http://www.themarketingmentors.com
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