At this time it is worth taking stock of what you have achieved in your marketing efforts this year. It is a good time to reflect on what you have learned, what you know now that you didn’t when you set out on this year’s marketing journey.

Perhaps you have met someone who influenced your efforts positively. Maybe it was a book that gave you particular insight, a new way forward or possibly you had one or more “marketing ah-ha” moments when you made a quantum leap forward.

Whatever it was, developing a mindset of getting better will certainly have thrown you some opportunities of which you took advantage. So take some time to take stock of what those things are (they are always there!) before looking forward to next year, which will be the subject we discuss next week!

Happy Holidays!

Your mind can betray you in subtle ways. There is the big picture stuff of course – fearing presentations leading to avoidance behavior for example, but there is also the small scale betrayals that can sabotage your efforts.

Here are a few examples:

1. It’s just a very rough draft – frequently heard (or seen) when presenting a piece of written marketing material. Often followed by something that has been rather hastily prepared. The “rough draft” statement comes across as “don’t be too critical” and/or implies that this isn’t your best work, i.e. it is subject to further development. Saying that, even to yourself, will lead you to fail to give of your best – after all, it’s only a rough draft

2. I’m going to try/am just trying this tactic – are you going to try it, or are you going to do it? A mindset of try gives you permission to fail – “well, at least I tried”. Avoid going into anything with an attitude of giving it a try – as the famous quote from Star Wars (Master Yoda specifically) tells us: “Do, or do not. There is no try.”

3. Hopefully – hoping isn’t a strategy. Entering a marketing plan hoping it will work, at least stated in those terms, will lead to a lack of concrete activity to make it happen. It is OK to be hopeful, but put a lot of planning and strategy around it and ensure you are taking action, not just hoping on a wing and a prayer.

4. Self-deprecation – a little humor is fine. Poking fun at yourself can also be fine, but it isn’t very effective as a marketing tactic. Putting yourself down all the time is annoying to others and they will quickly see through it for what it is – fishing for compliments and attention, and search for confidence boosting reassurance. You don’t need to do it. You don’t have to appear self-serving and arrogant to be confident in yourself.

There are others of course, but the key point is that you have what it takes to be successful in marketing your business. Beware of these mindset tricks that can easily creep in – keep your mindset working for you!

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Marketing your small business or practice is very similar. There are always going to be people with natural ability in certain areas of marketing – presentations maybe, internet tools and tactics, writing etc. However these are all skills that can be learned with application.

There is a potential danger inherent in this also – thinking it’s easy. Being good at something isn’t just about the skills you have. It’s about planning, anticipation, thinking ahead, having a fall back position, commitment and practice. This is no more evident than when starting a new marketing tactic that calls for skills you have, but haven’t been called upon to deploy in a live situation.

Many tools look simple, they may not be as straightforward as they first appear. This is especially true of technology! There is a huge choice available online, but also in offline situations. Let us take, as an example, using presentations as a marketing tactic.

Presentations can be a great marketing tool as they provide the opportunity to get your message out to a large number of people whilst giving real value to that audience. This is true in a live situation, but also on line in the form of webinars for example.

Usually at this point, certainly online, technology comes in. That webinar software looks cool doesn’t it? As you sit and rehearse in front of your screen, on your own, everything seems to be going smoothly. The projector you are planning to use to show your powerpoint slides works fine with your laptop – the guy in the shop said the bulb should last years and the software was compatible with most PCs. So, whichever mode you have chosen, minimal preparation appears necessary since it is all going smoothly – surely it will on the day too, right?

Well, hopefully it will. But do you really want to live on hopes, when your message is so important? It is worth spending extra time, sometimes considerable amounts of time, REALLY getting to know the tools you will be using and building contingency in there. What happens if that bulb DOES blow? What if your internet connection is flaky at webinar time. Are you sure you know what the participants on a webinar will see? It worked for 2 people, are you sure it will work for 50? What if the projector doesn’t work with the PC provided?

Time has a habit of speeding up under pressure. Have you ever noticed that? You are using a tactic with which you are not totally familiar – if anything unforeseen happens you can get into a panic very quickly as one thing presses in on another. There really is no substitute for practice so you know what to do.

This is potentially the danger of thinking something comes naturally. It can lead to lack of preparation as it all seems pretty easy and straightforward. Time spent learning how to apply a tool or tactic, developing plans in case you need to change direction is never wasted. It will hold you in good stead when you go live.

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Whilst there may be fleeting examples of “overnight success” these are relatively few and far between, once examined further. This is true of marketing a small business or professional practice. You have what it takes to be successful, as long as you are not out there looking for quick fixes or that elusive magic bullet.

Beware the temptations! You will have seen the variations on the snake oil salesmen, and those can be fairly easy to spot and avoid, but pay close attention to the natural tendency to go for the quick success. For example:

• Virtually all the marketing tools and tactics you can employ, rely on solid groundwork. Planning in other words. That headline may be beguiling, but most often you will still need to answer the fundamental questions – who is your target market? What is your uniqueness? Why would anyone hire you? There isn’t a one size fits all solution for every business. What works for them may not work for you and you need to understand the basics of your message and audience to figure that out.
• Some work is required – it’s tempting to think you can have a successful marketing play without putting in significant, dedicated effort. You can’t!
• You have to be the decision maker and the driver – there are many, many resources out there to help you with your marketing. In the final analysis however, it is down to YOU to make it happen. Hiring people to help is a great idea but you need to be in control. It is very common to think: “Phew – now someone is managing my (website – insert marketing tactic here!) I can let them get on with it and all will be well”. You can get close to that if you have the planning taken care of, but you still need to plan, review, tweak, discuss, amend etc. YOU need to – it is your business.

In so many things it is tempting to go for the quick solution. Losing weight is a classic example. The long term results come about from committing to changes in lifestyle and those are long term and take time. It is the same in marketing. That isn’t to say you won’t get some quick results; depending on your business you may well, but the point is you have set the appropriate context, know why those results came about and are in a position to repeat the effort.

Work hard at it, invest time, avoid the temptation to grab at the next unbeatable offer. Applying consistent effort to your marketing efforts will pay great dividends.

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Now probably isn’t the time for in depth marketing thoughts. It is a time to relax with family so this post will be short. The economy may be tough and has been for a while, but being in business for yourself is tremendously rewarding, and you have what it takes to succeed in your marketing efforts.

Personally I am thankful for the chance to do what I do, and work with the people I do – thank you to you all, especially Kevin.

Have a great weekend!

FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real. I know, told you it was a cliche. In marketing terms though, real fear may be in play for those terrified to give presentations or very anxious about meeting people in a large networking session. However the acronym in valid as well – how often does apparently conclusive “evidence” actually lead you astray?

Here are a few examples that come readily to mind:

1. “I didn’t do that well at all” – maybe you didn’t give a great talk, you failed to connect with people at a networking meeting, your logo came out rather lame. Remember that you are likely your own harshest critic. It is more than OK to review performance with a view to improving next time, but don’t beat yourself up about it. Treat each event as a learning process. The evidence here is likely much more damning in your eyes than anyone else’s.
2. Everyone is doing it – a specific marketing tactic that is! An example is Social Media. How often do you hear about people using Twitter, Facebook etc. and thought – “I need to do that”. Popularity and favors of the moment can turn into useful and long lasting benefits, but not always. Also, just because someone else is doing it, doesn’t automatically make it a good fit for your business. Pay attention to what is going on but evaluate the evidence closely – does it fit you marketing plan?
3. It’s all great – being positive is a good, actually essential character trait for success. However remember that people will often tell you how great things are as a default answer to an inquiry. Don’t worry that everyone else is doing better than you, get your plan together and work it, and the results will come.
4. Get rich quick – there are a myriad schemes out there (not just a rich Nigerian uncle leaving you all his money) that promise riches for no effort. Beware of these claims, investigate them as you would any marketing tactic and again, check them out to see if they fit your business.

Evidence is important, but think critically about it when it’s presented. It is essential that you look for evidence about your marketing performance, and make any changes necessary to your approach in the light of that feedback. However beware the siren calls of apparent evidence that sways you from your chosen path – treat it like any other feedback or input i.e. with careful evaluation.

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How long should you commit to a certain marketing tactic? Perfectly reasonable question, especially if the tool in question has a high cost associated with it! However it is also hazardous as an approach unless you tread with caution.

Why?

1. Commitment needs to be general, as well as specific – in other words you need to have a big picture commitment to your marketing success and how that plays into your overall business (and indeed your life) plan. This will underpin everything that you do and needs to be there.
2. Specific commitment to a task needs to be in that context – picking marketing tools and tactics is actually easy at a superficial level. There is a reason that we don’t cover this on the Get More Great Clients program until the last quarter of the course and it’s this: it is easy to pick an inappropriate tactic when you haven’t planned adequately. There are thousands of tools out there – choosing is the challenge.
3. Committing to the tactic itself can blinker your thinking. When you pick a marketing approach and start to implement it, measure the results in the overall context of your plan. Beware getting involved in it because it is fun, or staying with an ineffective tactic because you have already spent money on it. This is where commitment can be mis-placed. You are not using a tactic simply for its own sake – there is a much bigger picture
4. Use timeframes with care! Marketing is an ongoing commitment. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set a limit on the tactics you use, but nor does it mean blindly following a course for a specific duration, regardless of the results being achieved. Take time to review with your partners, service providers etc. how long to run a particular tactic and the likely cost before you embark on it, but make the higher commitment to continually review progress and adjust accordingly.

Commitment doesn’t mean there isn’t room for change and adjustment. On the contrary. However it is essential you have a sound base for all your marketing activities. In that way you will quickly know how things are going and be in a far better position to decide to a) keep going as you are, b) make some adjustments or c) stop doing the activity entirely.

That is a far sounder base than trying something because you like the sound of it, or saying to yourself: “I’ll give this a try”. That is far more like throwing darts than really having a marketing strategy to which you are committed.

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You might not think that you are a marketing and sales person. But, if you own or work in a small business then that’s exactly what you are. Whether you like it or not, feel like you’re good at it or not – you are a marketing and sales person.

Even if you don’t have all the maketing skills yet, most small business people have the keys to being great at marketing. It’s often a matter of being conscious and leveraging your two greatest marketing assets.

The two greatest assets you posses are your Attitude and Belief. When these are positive and show through your marketing and sales efforts, then your results will increase.

Let’s take a look at these two small business marketing assets more closely.

(1) Attitude: Be enthusiastic and passionate about your value proposition to the marketplace. You know that what you offer can make a difference and have an impact on your clients.

Make sure that positive attitude about making a difference comes through in your marketing. When it comes to marketing, if you feel good about yourself and you have self-confidence because you are doing everything for the benefit of your clients, you’ll become more attractive to prospective clients.

(2) Belief: You don’t have to have a degree in marketing to get great marketing results. But you do have to believe in yourself and your actions. I often refer to it as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What do you believe is possible through your marketing efforts? If you believe that can’t do something, you’re right. And, that’s because you won’t do it. On the other hand, if you believe that you can learn what it takes to get better marketing results you will.

Learn to embrace and leverage your two greatest marketing assets.

If you’re persistent in pursuing your business and your small business marketing with a positive attitude and belief that you can, sooner or later you’ll find what works for you. You’ll discover the marketing strategies and tactics that allow you to begin attracting attention and bringing in new clients consistently!

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Successful marketers believe they create their success and results. Struggling marketers believe that results happen to them.

To succeed in marketing to build and grow your business, you have to believe that you are the one who creates your results. That means you’re the one creating great success. Or, it means that you are the one creating mediocre success, or continuous struggle.

Struggling business owners tend to believe that they have little control over the results of their marketing. They tend to think that results are just something that happen because there are so many factors outside of their control. And because they choose to believe those outside factors are causing results to happen to them they end up blaming, complaining, denying, and justifying.

• They blame the economy.
• They complain about the people who don’t respond or return their calls or emails in a timely manner.
• They deny that they haven’t spent any time to narrow down their ideal target market.
• They justify spending too much non-value added time responding to emails and voice mails that aren’t a priority.

There are a million reasons why your marketing is not working out. But it’s always something else, not you that might be one of those reasons. It’s a “poor me, what else am I supposed to do” attitude.

Successful marketers believe that they create the exact level of their business success. They believe that marketing results are an exact reflection of their efforts.

And that’s why successful small business marketers don’t waste loads of time and energy playing the blame, complain, deny, and justify game. They understand that if something is not working, it is most likely because there is something that they don’t know yet.

Successful small business marketers think about their marketing constantly. They understand that marketing is the engine that gives their business life by generating a consistent supply of leads and opportunities.

You chose your marketing mindset and how you respond to the level of your results and success. Any time you catch yourself blaming, denying, justifying or complaining, stop and instead look for where you can make adjustments in your approach.

You’ll find that you determine the level of your success and results.

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At the risk of generalizing and oversimplifying a complex business landscape, here are the two types of business referred to in the title:

1. Familiar businesses/Lots of competition. These are the companies you always see and hear from when you go to a networking event. Banks, Financial Planning/Advisors, Insurance Brokers, Accountants, Chiropractors, Promotional Product Providers are good examples. There is a reason they are so well represented – most people currently use the services they provide, or need to use them if not currently doing so.
2. Unfamiliar businesses/Less competition. These are businesses you come across less frequently, maybe you have never heard of them before. You may be unaware that you even need what they provide. There is less competition in these areas for that reason.

So what are the challenges for these types of service providers? In a familiar business everyone thinks they have a good understanding of what you do. This allows you to introduce yourself with a label (”I am a Financial Planner”) and you won’t likely be faced with a blank stare. However this is a two edged sword. Because they think they know what you do, and probably use a competitor of yours, they are unaware of any particular niche in which you operate and THEY WON’T TAKE THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MIGHT BE.

In other words it is easier to think: “Ah, OK, I get that. Well, I already have a guy who does that for me” and the mental conversation is closed. The other issue is the risk of familiarity. It is safe to label yourself with a well recognized tag, but guess what? Your competition do that too. Therefore you all sound the same (or at least similar). This further allows your prospect off the hook in terms of critically thinking about whether you are a good fit for them.

OK, so what about the unfamiliar business? A label is not particularly effective here. Why? Because it will not be understood, or perhaps misunderstood. Remember your business is not something your prospect sees every day. It is asking too much to expect them to understand what you do AND relate that to issues they may be dealing with or know to be challenges for others.

There is a very real danger of the blank stare here. Confusion isn’t something you want to engender in your prospects.

What is the common solution?

Relate to your prospects challenges – understanding your ideal client is key here. Particularly the problems issues and challenges they are struggling with. When your marketing message addresses those challenges, you are speaking a language that they understand.

In a familiar business you will stand out from the masses by addressing these issues. You will force your prospect to think about what you said as it relates to them even if they are currently using the services of a competitor. They will be keen to hear what you have to say because you seem to get them.

When your services are less familiar, couching your message in these terms avoids confusing jargon and labels and cuts straight to their challenges. They will be intrigued but not confused. This is especially true when you address areas they may not even perceive to be a problem.

In summary, the solution to both challenges is essentially the same. Figure out you ideal client profile and the challenges they typically struggle to resolve. Make that the centerpiece of your marketing message.

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