Even the most brilliant ideas are worthless if you don't
act to implement them. Read this guide several times,
implement these steps in your business, and you too will
benefit from these money-making concepts!
Step #1 - Think Strategically
Dr. Stephen Covey said you have to "begin with the end in
mind." Thinking strategically is about deciding on where
you're going and identifying ways to get there.
This is perhaps the most important step but most business
owners skip it altogether. You can easily avoid making many
costly marketing mistakes if you just take the time to
think strategically about your business first.
There are 7 components to this step alone:
1) Marketing Mindset. The sooner you realize you can't
build a successful business without having an effective
marketing system in place. A system means you have a way to
consistently and predictably generate new leads and turn
them into clients at a profit.
2) Specific Market. You must identify an already existing
group of potential clients who are currently looking for
the type of solution you provide, have the means to make
the buying decision, and critically important - you must
be able to easily and affordably contact them. Please read
that last paragraph one more time NOW!
3) Specific Need. Understand what your clients are really
buying from you. Chances are you’re trying to sell
the WRONG THING! Clients DON’T buy what you do - they
buy solutions to their problems which is the RESULTS of
what you do!
STOP - read the last sentence one more time!
4) Positioning. The art of making clients come to you is
NOT using the “latest tricks” but in knowing
how to set yourself apart from others offering seemingly
the same product or service.
5) Monetization. Just because you have a good product or
service doesn't mean you will be profitable. You need to
identify and adapt a Winning Business Model proven to
generate profits.
6) Message. You must create a Marketing Message that
clearly and succinctly communicates your HUB - Hot
Undeniable Benefit of doing business with you.
7) Media. Identify the best ways to put your Marketing
Message in front of your Target Market.
Side Note: These are the most important concepts that make
your business a huge success. Before you jump to printing
fliers, creating websites, building blogs, or slaving over
publishing an ezine you must make those strategic decisions
about your business.
Can you see how having a step-by-step guide could help you
quickly gain the "marketing traction", develop a fresh
approach to promoting yourself, and get all the new
business you want? And this is just step 1!
Step #2 - Develop Your Marketing Assets
Communicate your HUB and your Magnetic Marketing Message
through client-focused promotional materials like websites,
sales letters, postcards, brochures, presentations, etc.
Good Marketing Assets should help you do three things:
- Attract Attention
- Build Credibility
- Stimulate Action
One of the most basic yet most underutilized - Marketing
Assets is client testimonial. Make it a point to ask each
client for a testimonial and then use it in all your other
marketing materials.
Step #3 - Generate Leads
Before you can have clients you must generate leads. Here
are seven online and offline approaches proven to work well
for promoting professional services:
1) Writing and publishing
2) Speaking, workshops and teleseminars
3) Networking (the 10x10x10 matrix)
4) Direct response advertising
5) FREE publicity
6) Joint ventures
7) Online marketing
Quick Note: These 7 lead generation tactics are just a tip
of the iceberg of all the available ways to generate a
massive "flood" of new leads for your business.
Still, effectively and systematically employing even just
two or three of these tactics will generate more leads than
you’ll ever need.
Step #4 - Follow Up and Educate
People make a buying decision when they are ready to invest
in a solution to their problem - NOT when you want to make
a sale.
That's why you need to develop, implement, and automate an
education-based, "drip” follow-up system to keep in
touch and achieve and sustain TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness)
The key to follow up without getting overwhelm is to do
things once and leverage them over and over again. And
automate as much as possible!
Step #5 - Master the Sales Process
Selling is an art and a science. You must quickly develop
rapport with your potential clients, gain understanding of
their problems and goals, coherently present and explain
your solution, and finally - ask for the business without
feeling guilty or pushy!
If you think you can build a business without mastering
this skill you might as well do yourself a favor now and
start looking for a job now.
The “trick” is to find and learn a sales
methodology that doesn’t rely on tricks. In my
training programs I teach a model I call "Q.U.E.S.T."
It’s ideal for service professionals because it
allows you to sell with integrity and become your client's
ultimate trusted advisor.
Step #6 - Implement Profit Multipliers
Most professionals never reach the level of profitability
easily available to them, because they don't understand the
lifetime value of each client and don't have a way to
effectively maximize it.
In simple terms, what it means to you, is that your clients
are constantly being bombarded by competing offers and you
must do all you can to turn one-time buyers into loyal
clients who will do business with you for years to come!
If you've been in business for a few years now, and have a
list of some current and past customers, understanding how
to implement Profit Multipliers could mean easily
orchestrating a 30% or 50% boost to your bottom line.
Heck, you could even double your business with no new
clients at all!
Step #7 - Clear Marketing Action Plan
This is the "Holly Grail" most professionals say they want.
And in fact - it's nearly impossible to build a successful
business without at least some sort of action-oriented list
of steps you need to implement to make your marketing work.
Here is what ultimately separates (at least in business)
the winners from the losers:
1) Winners evaluate each strategy, tactic and idea for its
profit potential vs. the required investment of time,
effort, and money.
2) Winners create and follow detailed, step-by-step action
plans for each marketing strategy they want to implement;
they are always conservative in their calculations and
evaluate the "worst case scenario."
3) Winners implement first and perfect later.
(c) 2003-2007 Adam Urbanski
----------------------------------------------------
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
No comments:
Post a Comment