Getting More Clients

2010-02-16T08:21:00.001-08:00

In Marketing and Sales, It Pays to Listen

by C.J. Hayden

We talk quite a bit in sales and marketing about, well, talking. We examine how to get our message across, what to say to potential clients, how to present our businesses, etc. But sometimes, listening can be considerably more productive than talking. Here are five ways you just might be able to get more clients by listening.

1. Listen for what prospects want. This is the most obvious kind of useful listening, but it's often the most overlooked.
Consider the life coach who tries to sell fulfillment to a prospect who is seeking security, the graphic designer who insists on selling an identity package to a prospect whose budget only extends to business cards, or the real estate agent who keeps showing single-family homes to a prospect who wants a condo.

Of course you should ask prospects about their needs, then propose the best solution for their problems. But this must be the best solution for THEM, not just the best for YOU. Once you land a new client, there can be many opportunities to sell them additional products and services. By then they will trust you and be more open to your suggestions. But when you are first trying to close the sale, you'll have much more success if you sell them what they are already looking for.

2. Listen to how prospects respond to your marketing messages.
Learning how your communications are perceived by the recipient is crucial to making them more effective. Your prospects are often quite different people than you are yourself. So a message that appeals to you may not have the same impact on your desired clients.

Think about the writer who introduces herself as a "communications consultant" because that's the label she and her colleagues prefer. If listeners respond by asking for help with their public speaking, she needs a new label that prospects will better understand. Or the chiropractor who says he delivers "optimal health," but discovers that prospects with back pain don't grasp that this includes pain relief. He needs to use language his prospects can connect with.

3. Listen for buying signals. When you're focused on presenting your business, it's easy to miss cues that prospects have already heard you and are considering your offer. Questions like "how much will that add up to," "have you done this for other clients like me," or "how long will this take" are all signals that your prospect is seriously considering working with you.

Don't make the mistake of thinking these expressions of interest are objections to moving forward. If you treat them as objections and keep trying to convince your prospect why you're the best, you could lose the sale. Instead, answer the question factually, then check in with your prospect on his reaction.
For example, "The total would be £2,500. Is that in your budget?" Or, "I could have this completed by 15th June . Would that date work for you?"

4. Listen for leads to new business. Stop tuning out comments by prospects, clients, and networking contacts that don't seem to apply to you, and listen carefully instead. There could be gold in those offhand remarks.

When a prospect says she doesn't have time to meet with you, find out what else she's working on that you might offer help with. If a client complains that an upcoming conference is delaying the project you're working on, ask if you could be one of the speakers. A networking contact's gossipy story about office politics could transform from boring to fascinating when you recognize the changes he is describing at his company might mean business for you.

5. Listen to sales and marketing success stories. When you're finding marketing to be somewhat of a struggle, it's often easier to engage with others' complaints than with their successes. But success stories can often do more to help you than commiserating about failures.

The next time friends or colleagues tell you that business is going well, listen carefully to what they've been doing. Get curious about what led to their success. What marketing approaches have they been using? How do they talk about their business? Where have they been networking? What helps them close their sales? You'll hear many valuable clues for how you might build your own business.

So don't think sales and marketing is all about talking. If you start lending an ear to what your prospects, clients, and colleagues have to say, you may discover all sorts of ways that it pays better to listen.

2010-01-12T03:58:00.001-08:00

Too Busy to Get Clients?
C.J. Hayden, MCC

"I don't have enough clients," one of my students told me. "I'd love to put more effort into marketing, but I'm so busy, I don't have the time."

This independent professional's dilemma might seem humorous, but it's no joke. I've heard this complaint repeatedly from professionals and small business owners. You'd think the solution would be easy - just drop whatever else you're doing and spend more time on getting clients. But making that adjustment is often not so simple.

Here are five too-busy-to-get-clients situations that you may encounter, and what you can do about them:

1. You're too busy serving existing clients.

This is probably the most common reason named by independent professionals for not spending time marketing. On the surface, it seems like a good excuse. If you're busy with paying work, why should you take time away to market? But the work eventually comes to an end, and there you are with no new clients lined up. Now you have time to market, but it always takes a while to land something new. Meanwhile, there's no money coming in.

The only way to break this feast-or-famine cycle is to go shopping before the cupboard is bare. Even when you have plenty of work, set aside time on a weekly basis to focus on marketing for new clients. When agreeing on project or appointment schedules with an existing client, factor in this set-aside time, just as you would if it was another client you were serving simultaneously. Your business deserves the same kind of care and attention you give to your clients' businesses.

2. You're too busy working for peanuts, or even for free.

One reason you might have trouble finding enough time to market is that you're working too much for too little. Perhaps your fees are too low, you are giving away too many free consultations or sample sessions, or you are doing too much work "on spec." Or perhaps you are spending a great deal of time volunteering for a professional association or nonprofit.

Try keeping a work diary for two weeks, where you record every hour you spend working for someone else and what you got paid for it. If you don't like what you see, start making some changes. Place a ceiling on the amount of time you give away for free. Set your rates based on the true cost of doing business, which includes unpaid time spent on marketing and management. Don't let under-earning rob you of the time you need to market your business.

3. You're too busy networking.

Not all networking "counts" as marketing. Attending meetings and workshops, having coffee or lunch, and spending time on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn can have a worthwhile business purpose... or be an enormous waste of your precious marketing time. Be honest with yourself - when are you networking with important business contacts and when are you just socializing? Limit your networking to people who are either in your target market, or who come in frequent contact with your target market. Sure, anyone might refer you a client, but the point is to spend the majority of your time with those who are MOST likely to either become prospects or refer them. And limit the time you invest in networking to an amount on which you might reasonably expect to see a profitable return.

4. You're too busy marketing unproductively.

Networking isn't the only type of marketing that can consume more time than it's worth. Another common misuse of marketing time is putting all your effort into filling the pipeline with new prospects, but rarely following up with them after the initial contact. Or concentrating on making cold approaches by phone, mail, or email to people who have never heard of you, instead of using your network to ask for introductions and referrals.

If you feel like you're spending a lot of time on marketing already, but still don't have all the clients you need, you probably need to revisit your approach. What do you think are the three most effective ways for a business like yours to get clients? Now, are those three ways how you've been spending the majority of your marketing time? If not, change your strategy.

5. You're too busy with a day job, school, or family responsibilities.

Trying to squeeze a business into an already full life doesn't always work. It's a common mistake to consider only the time you'll need to serve clients, and not the time needed to get them in the first place. But to have a successful business, marketing has to be part of the picture.

It may be that your part-time business will need longer to get off the ground than you thought. If you don't like that option, perhaps you can negotiate fewer hours at your job, take some time off from work or school, or share family responsibilities with someone else. Don't get discouraged; most new business owners face this same issue. We like to believe that time is infinitely expandable, but it's not so. When you add time in one area of life, it must come from another.

So the next time you find yourself thinking you are too busy to get clients, think again. If you don't have enough time for marketing, something about your business needs to change. Stop what you're doing, and take the time to figure out what it is.

2009-11-06T02:11:00.000-08:00

Make Networking REALLY Work for You

Do you go to networking meetings hoping to meet potential clients? How many do you meet? Are you really getting a good return on your time spent networking? My guess is that you aren't. This approach is like walking into a clothes shop and trying to sell them your coat. Networkers aren't there to buy. Like me and you they are hoping to sell. So why bother?

Change your mindset. Don't look for clients - look for salespeople. Regard all of the people in the room as your sales force. Then seek out those who are SUCCESSFULLY selling a product or service to the kind of clients you are looking for. Then tell them about your business and what you do and talk about how you can co-operate to send each other clients. Want to know how? Contact me mike@getclientsnow.co.uk

2009-11-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Never underestimate the power of a thank you. Recently, I thanked someone for helping me solve a technical problem. She replied to my note of thanks by inviting me as a guest speaker for a group she chairs. I didn't even know she chaired this group and had never considered speaking there. This speaking opportunity would never have occurred if I hadn't taken a moment to say thanks. It started me thinking about how often saying thank you turns into paying business.

Here in the U.S., it's Thanksgiving month, when we often pause to reflect on our gratitude. So it's an excellent time to consider seven ways of saying thank you that can bring you more clients.

1. Thank those who refer clients. When you thank people for sending referrals your way, several positive results ensue.

Being thanked encourages them to send more referrals, as they know you appreciate them. Expressing thanks gives you a reason to get in touch with them, find out what they are up to, and let them know what you're doing these days, which is always good for business. It also shows them that you are a professional who follows up and follows through.

2. Thank those who refer prospects who never become clients.

Referrals that don't result in business may seem as if they don't warrant thanks. But it's essential that you thank people every time they refer. When a referral doesn't turn into a client because he or she chooses someone else, the two of you aren't a good fit, or you're too busy, the prospect frequently tells the referrer that "it didn't work out." As a result, that referrer is unlikely to send you any more business.

Instead, say thanks for every prospect, no matter what happens.

It you end up not working with that person, tell the referrer why. If the referral wasn't on target for your business, say more about who would be a good client for you. If you're too busy, explain that it's only temporary and future referrals would be welcome. And if the prospect chose someone else, express thanks for the great opportunity and that you'd appreciate more just like it.

3. Thank your clients. Even when you are interacting with clients daily, taking a moment to thank them for their continued trust will increase their respect for you, boost their loyalty, and encourage them to refer others. Thanking past clients for the work you did together is often a much more powerful and gracious way to stimulate repeat business or new referrals than asking for those outcomes directly.

4. Thank the leaders of groups you belong to. Association officers, program and membership chairs, and special interest group leaders deserve your thanks for the hard work they do.

And, these high-profile individuals are often asked to refer someone with a particular specialty for an interview, speaking engagement, or business opportunity. Expressing your thanks gives you a chance to get better acquainted with them so they'll think of you first.

5. Thank people who mention you in articles, blogs, and social networks. It has happened to me more times than I can count that I have thanked people for mentioning me or my work in an article or Facebook, Twitter, or blog post, and they have replied by asking me to speak for their group, be interviewed for an article, or contribute to their blog. Saying thank you increases the affinity between you and those you thank. It makes them want to find other ways to engage with you.

6. Thank those who provide good service. A lovely way to thank people who serve you and your business is to offer a testimonial they can use in their own marketing. Making your thanks public can result in higher name recognition for you and your business, inbound links to your website or social networking profile, and sometimes even gains you priority service because the recipient of your testimonial wants to keep your goodwill.

7. Thank prominent people whose work inspires you. Those who generously give of their time to help and inspire others are seldom thanked enough for their efforts. When you go out of your way to give thanks, you'll stand out and be remembered, adding influential people like these to your personal network.

So many ways to give thanks may suggest that you could spend your whole day thanking people, and that's not a bad thought.

Saying thank you isn't just a nice thing to do, it's a practical approach to strengthening relationships, encouraging referrals, staying in touch with your network, and reminding people what your business is about. With thank yous leading to business in so many ways, perhaps they should become a significant part of your marketing strategy.

And by the way, thank YOU for reading this article, subscribing to my newsletter, buying my book, and sending referrals my way!

I appreciate your trust and look forward to serving you for another year.

2007-05-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

Five Steps to Turn Audiences into Clients by C.J. Hayden, MCC

Recently, a client of mine asked, "I do a lot of public speaking -- talks at association meetings, presentations at conferences, even workshops. My talks seem to be well-received, but I don't get many clients from them. Am I missing something?"

Public speaking can be one of the most powerful methods available for an independent professional, consultant, or coach to land new clients. But it doesn't always work out that way.
Before you book your next speaking engagement, ask yourself these five questions to make sure you're on the right track to turn your audience into clients:

1. Am I speaking to the right audience?

A common practice of many professionals is to speak at meetings of their professional association. In some cases, the members of your industry association may include prospective clients. If you are a computer systems consultant speaking for the Association of Information Technology Professionals, for example, there will be IT directors in the room who might hire you.

But with some associations, the only people in the room may be other independent professionals like you. For example, a professional organizer speaking at the National Association of Professional Organizers would typically not find potential clients there. With associations like these, speaking can build your credibility and stimulate referrals, both of which can ultimately result in clients. But you usually won't leave the room with people who want to hire you.

The best audiences for landing clients are those that match the profile of your ideal client as closely as possible. A leadership coach trying to reach human resources and training directors would have more success speaking for the American Society for Training and Development than for the Chamber of Commerce. While there certainly could be HR or training directors at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, they would only be a small percentage of that audience.

2. Do I have the right topic?

The topics you speak on should represent the core of your expertise -- the body of knowledge and skills that are the primary reason people will decide to work with you. It's not enough to choose a topic you happen to know something about. You need to speak on a subject that demonstrates you are an expert in the same issues you want to be hired to address.

3. How will the people in the room find out what I do?

At a typical speaking engagement, you'll have at least three chances to describe exactly what you do without being overly self-promotional. The first opportunity is when you are introduced. Be sure to write your own brief introduction and give a copy to the program chair or room host for them to read.
Don't let someone else decide what to say about you, as it may not be at all what you want people to know.

Your next opportunity will be in your audiovisual materials.
Your program handout and slides should include your professional specialty and the type of clients you serve. On a handout, this information can be in a one-line footer on each page or a longer bio slug at the bottom of the last page. On slides, you can include your occupation on the title page, and a brief description of what you do on the last page. Be sure to include your contact information on both handouts and slides.

Finally, when you conclude your talk, invite people to get in touch with you to explore the possibility of working together.
Be as specific as possible in your invitation. For example, a web designer might say, "If you need assistance with launching a new website or updating the look of your current site, I'd be happy to help. There's never any charge for an initial consultation, and here's how to contact me."

4. How can I make my work tangible through a demonstration or examples?

One of the challenges of marketing a service business is that people can't always grasp the tangible results of your work.
Whenever possible, don't just tell them about it, show it to them. A life coach could demonstrate expert coaching with a volunteer, an interior designer could show slides of her beautiful interiors, or a management consultant could share before-and-after statistics for productivity or employee retention.

The most effective way to use examples like these are by integrating them into a learning experience that improves the knowledge or skills of the audience. If all you do is say "This is what I did; isn't it great?" the audience isn't learning much from you. But if you share your examples in the context of "This is what I did, and here's how you can do it too," you'll be delivering value.

5. How will I follow up with the audience after I speak?

It's rare that someone will walk up to you at the end of your talk and say, "I'd like to hire you." To get the most from any speaking engagement, you'll want to follow up with the people who attend. If you'd like the opportunity to follow up with everyone, pass a basket to collect names for a drawing and give away a book or CD related to your topic. Or, offer to send people a free report, e-book, or newsletter subscription in return for their contact information.

For a successful speaking engagement, delivering a well-presented program filled with useful information is essential. But if you want to land clients from speaking, just giving a good talk may not be enough. Every time you get a speaking invitation, be sure to ask yourself the five questions above before you say yes, and you'll stand a much better chance of making it pay off.

2007-04-18T03:05:00.000-07:00

How Easy Can Marketing Be?

The marketing activities which produce the best results can also be scary, difficult, or distasteful. Placing follow-up calls exposes you to rejection. Going to networking meetings means talking to strangers. Public speaking may be outside your comfort zone. It feels so much easier and less confronting to mail a stack of letters, pay for a few directory listings or ads, or add a bunch of new email addresses to your list of subscribers.
But is this "easy way out" really so easy? Consider the potential consequences of continuing to use all the least effective ways to market yourself and none of the ones already known to work:
o Advertising, whether you choose to do it by mail, in print, or on the web, is typically the most expensive form of marketing available. To have any significant impact, your letter or ad must be powerfully written, well-designed, and reach your potential client more than once. If you don't get the mix of factors just right, your ad might have no response at all, or cost you much more than the few clients you ever get from it.
o Prospects who contact you as the result of a print or web ad, flyer, direct mail letter, or other anonymous solicitation will be more skeptical, harder to sell, and take longer to close than prospects who know you by name or reputation, or are referred by someone they trust. These strangers will also be much less inclined to pay what you ask, and often waste your time preparing bids or proposals while they shop around for the best price.
o When you stick with just a handful of proven strategies like networking, referral-building, speaking, or persistent follow-up, you can create a marketing plan that a solo professional can realistically accomplish. But if you try to implement simultaneously a dozen different "creative" ideas for advertising, promotion, and solicitation, you won't have enough time and energy to carry them off. Instead of doing a few effective things well, you'll end up doing a host of not-so-effective things poorly, and you'll also wear yourself out.
It seems that the easy way out may not be so easy after all. If it takes you more time, more money, and more work, and there's no guarantee you'll get clients as a result, that sounds pretty hard to me.
The next time you are tempted to spend your scarce marketing resources on an activity you're not so sure about, try asking yourself these questions:
How much time will this activity take?
How much money will it cost?
Do I have enough time and money available to do it well?
How many clients do I honestly think this activity will bring me?
Is there an easier way for me to produce the same result?
Judgments like "easy" and "hard" are relative. You may have a lot of time available to promote your business, and not much money. Or perhaps you have some money, but not much time. You may have an outgoing personality and enjoy attending networking mixers and calling strangers on the phone. Or you may prefer more intimate conversations with people you know better. Only you can decide what "an easier way" to market your business truly is.
But be sure when you make that choice, you think it all the way through. Instead of telling yourself, "It would be so easy to just place an ad," consider the cost, potential consequences, and likelihood of results. If it still seems like the easiest way for you to get clients with all those factors taken into consideration, by all means go ahead.
I suspect, though, that more often than not, you'll find that what you first thought would be the easy way to market will turn out to be hard... and what you thought was so hard may turn out to be easy after all.

With thanks to C J Hayden

2007-03-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

Do You Work Hard or Work Smart?

by Michael Smith on 22-Mar-07 11:20am

Last week I was with the chairman of a large professional association discussing how we could put together a marketing programme for his members. He is already running a one day training course, which by all accounts isn't working too well:

"By the end of the day their heads are spinning with talk of pay-per-click, blogs, web optimisation etc etc."

He was shocked when I proposed a half day seminar followed by coaching:

"How are you going to fit it all in?

"The truth is to be successful, you don't need all that much information. Two or three well chosen strategies, an action plan that works for you as well as your business and ACTION!

This is the secret of success and is the basis of the Get Clients Now! programme.

So what is he going to do? He wants to run a 4 day training course to fit it all in! Evidently it takes some of us a little longer to learn than others!

The lesson here? To be successful, you do need to work smart..but you also need to work hard!

Happy Marketing

Mike Smith - MCIM
Chartered Marketer
Strategy & Marketing Coach
mike@getclientsnow.co.uk
Tel: 07789 434184
www.getclientsnow.co.uk

2007-03-05T04:02:00.000-08:00

The Real 5 P's of Marketing

I reproduce this following article with kind permission of C.J. Hayden, MCC. The founder and author of the Get Clients Now! programme

In 1960, E. Jerome McCarthy introduced the 4 P's of Marketing as a way to describe the mix of factors required to successfully market a product. McCarthy labeled the 4 P's as Product, Price, Place (distribution), and Promotion. The idea was that if you could identify the right combination of these elements, your marketing would succeed. Since then, many have proposed that there are really 5 P's, suggesting Positioning, Packaging, or People as additions to the mix.

For consultants, coaches, and other professionals marketing their own services, I don't find that the classic 4 P's provide much guidance in making the right choices about marketing. Here are a different sort of 5 P's for the typical independent professional, who is both the product and the one marketing it at the same time.

1. People
In order to market effectively, people are an essential part of the equation. Some marketing experts have suggested that the "people" component represents the people who deliver the service you are marketing -- a critical factor for a service business.
But I think there are two other types of people important to your marketing: the people you are marketing to, and the people who help you spread the word about your business.

To make realistic decisions about marketing, you need to have a clear definition of your target market and understand their needs. Only then can you know who you should be delivering your marketing messages to, and what you need to communicate. With a solid definition of your target market and a well-defined message in hand, you can reach out directly to the people who might become your clients, and ask other people to pass your message along to those they know.

2. Positioning
Your marketplace is crowded with competitors, and your prospects are besieged with marketing messages. For your message to find its way through all this noise, it must be exactly on target. In any professional field, it's not enough to simply describe what you do. You must be able to tell your prospects exactly how your work helps them solve problems and reach goals, and the benefits and results they can expect to see from it.

What this targeted messaging requires is that you become very specific about not only who your offer is for, but what it will help them do, and why your solution is the right one for them.
You must position your business in the mind of your prospective clients as the best possible choice for exactly what they need.
Broadcasting a muddy or generic marketing message won't be enough. Your clients need to understand "what's in it for me?"

3. Personal credibility
A professional service isn't like a pie or a pair of shoes. It can't be tasted or tried on before the customer decides to buy.
Clients are wary -- and justifiably so -- of committing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on something they haven't been able to experience in advance. Without tangible evidence to go by, they base their decision on how much they trust you. A significant portion of your marketing activities should be aimed at increasing your personal credibility.

Writing articles, giving talks, media interviews, and volunteering in your professional association or community will all contribute to your credibility. But one of the best ways to build trust is also the simplest. Allow clients to get to know you better before pushing for a sale. Casual phone or email conversations, having lunch or coffee, meeting at business or social events, and connecting at networking meetings will contribute to the know, like, and trust factor that makes people buy.

4. Push plus pull
In the classic marketing formula, the emphasis was on promotion -- pushing your message out to the world at large. But that's only one piece of the puzzle. You also need to include attraction -- pulling toward you exactly those clients you want.
For an independent professional, push-style marketing includes cold calling, unsolicited mail or email, paid advertising (online and off), promotional events like trade shows, and some forms of PR, like blasting out press releases.

Pull marketing, on the other hand, is focused on building affinity and connections. To attract clients in your niche, you might develop referral partnerships, become visible at networking events, get booked as a public speaker, have your articles published, land media interviews, or build a content-rich website. You'll find it much easier to make a sale when clients contact you as the result of hearing about you from someone else, or after sampling your expertise for free.

5. Persistence
The final element every professional needs in his or her marketing mix is persistence. Without this component, your best intentions with the other four will fail.

You have to connect with people over and over again before they will remember your message. Your positioning will only be established when prospects hear about you more than once.
Building your personal credibility depends on different types of exposure over a period of time. And both push marketing and pull marketing require repeat contacts in order to pay off.

Try putting these 5 P's together into a personal marketing mix of your own. As an independent professional, I think you'll find them much more pertinent, persuasive, and powerful then the classic four.

Mike Smith
Business Strategy & Marketing Coach
mike@getclientsnow.co.uk
Tel: 07789 434184

2007-02-19T04:21:00.000-08:00

Is Your Marketing in the Congestion Zone?

Like our roads, the marketing channels are becoming increasingly congested. Every day each of us is assailed with marketing messages: On the radio when we wake up, on the roads, on the train, even at work. So how do you compete with professional marketers with huge budgets to get your products or services noticed? Not by copying the big guys, that's for sure.

A paradox of the marketing world is that the most expensive form of promotion i.e. advertising is the least effective. Advertising can generally only be used to create awareness. Here's how it works: A financial advisor advertises every day in the local evening paper, on the same spot on the same page, month in, month out. Mrs G comes into an inheritance and needs financial advice; whose jumps into her head? Even if she can't remember his name, she knows exactly where to find it. Because she has seen that ad hundreds of times, the name seems familiar and safe to her. There is no logic to this, but she wouldn't look in the Yellow Pages and pick out the first financial advisor she came to. But...if she looked in the Yellow Pages and saw the name of the advisor who advertised every day in the local newspaper, it's him she would probably ring. So does a one-off ad work? No it has to be part of a continuous campaign.So don't advertise unless you are prepared to commit to a long term strategy. The exception is when the ad is creating awareness of another more effective marketing strategy such as a free seminar on avoiding Inheritance Tax.

The best strategy for the SME is referral building, generally through networking. This is usually very effective, but it does take time. Remember your strategy is NOT to sell your services to the people you meet at networking events. This is too limiting. The same people turn up to networking events week after week. You want them to introduce you to their own clients and contacts. Your objectives are:

1. To have impact and stand out from other people they meet.
2. To have a clear and memorable 10 second introduction that they can pass on to their contacts.
3. To form relationships with people so that they trust you.
4. To get them to pre-sell you to others.

After the meeting you must follow-up with a letter a call or email to reinforce your message. Then perhaps a meeting over coffee ot lunch to explore mutual benefits of referring one another.

Remember the basis for winning clients is KNOW, LIKE and TRUST. Advertising will only get you the "know" part. You have to meet them before they will "like" you and you need to have built a relationship to form the basis for "trust". So networking isn't all about exchanging business cards with everyone in the room. Most of them will end up in the bin or languishing in a drawer or entered into a database to become the (legitimate) target of the other person's direct mail.

However if you use networking to meet people to build relationships, you will develop know/like/trust relationships with others who will refer you as a trusted colleague to their own network of people who know, like and trust them. How does that sound? How many big organisations get beyond the know stage? There is your advantage as a small business.

Mike Smith
Marketing &Strategy Coach
email: mike@getclientsnow.co.uk
www.getclientsnow.co.uk
www.aldington-associates.co.uk

2007-02-13T05:41:00.000-08:00

How to get Clients More Easily!

A year or two ago I went to see an executive performance coach, who from the look of his expensive car, posh office and designer label suit, was obviously very successful. I was hoping to pick up some tips from him to improve my own performance! We were talking about how he got started in his profession and his achievements, when he said to me "The job is easy - It's getting the clients that's the hard part!" And I suppose it is the same for most of us. We spend years learning and gaining experience to become a top performer in our chosen profession, but little or nothing on how to get clients.

I think it was Emerson who said "If a man builds a better mousetrap, though he builds his home in the woods, the world will beat a path to his door". Well I've never tried to market mousetraps, but I doubt they are much easier than anything else...If the world doesn't know about your mousetrap, then the path to your door will remain overgrown! A client of mine said " I want to learn the secrets of marketing, because nothing seems to work for me". The good news and bad news is there are no secrets. The reality is customers are hard to find, but what I can do is to help you find better strategies.

So let's start with this premise "customers are hard to find" so what can you do to make it easier? I'll give you 3 simple rules:

1. Keep the clients you already have. Look after them. They are a rare and expensive commodity. Deliver great customer service.

2. Direct your marketing at previous clients. They have used your products and services before and should be happy to do so again. If yours is a "once only" product or service, think about related but complementary products or services you can offer them.

3. Get referrals from your satsified clients. These are "pre-sold" leads and are easily converted to clients.

Only when you are already doing the above to the best of your ability, direct your time, energy and money on looking for new clients...

Remember RETAIN, REGAIN AND REFER!

2007-01-25T02:54:00.000-08:00

The Daffodils

I received one of those inspirational emails yesterday. You know, the touching story illustrating a clear and morally worthy message. They usually end by imploring you to forward it to as many people as you can and good things will happen to you. I usually just delete them, like the chain letters of old - there is enough spam in the woorld without me adding to it, but this one illustrated a useful point. No I'm not going to tell you the warm and homely American story that came with it: Mom and the kids and the touching reunion etc. I'll just get to the point.

The story is about a huge field of daffodils, on a hillside in the middle of nowhere. So big and so beautiful it takes your breath away. It turns out that all 50,000 of them were planted by one woman over a period of 48 years. Now I don't know whether the story is true - It doesn't matter, it's clearly possible for one person to to plant 1000 daffodils a year. The point is she created something very impressive by doing one thing at a time without grand plan. She just got up one morning and started planting bulbs. One at a time.

Its the same with your marketing. Go out and plant a few bulbs today! Just get started. Don't wait until:

Your business cards are printed
Your website is ready
Your brochure is updated
Your Powerpoint presentation is done
You've moved into your new office

...or whatever excuse you are making for yourself. Just get on with it. And when you are ready to have strategy and a plan - call me!

If youknow what you should be doing, but aren't getting on with it, the Get Clients Now programme is ideal for you. Click on www.getclientsnow.co.uk

2006-09-12T02:11:00.000-07:00

Maverick Marketing

Recently a friend called me a "maverick". At first I was affronted, then I thought "A maverick is one that doesn't follow the herd". I thought about those people I see every morning when I'm driving my son to school, with their security passes dangling around their necks on a chain or clipped to their ties -Just like the ear tags farmers fix to their cows!Then I checked the dictionary 'A person of independent or unorthodox views'. That's me then Mike the Maverick. Now when I started out as a marketer, I followed the herd: Institute of Marketing Diploma, Chartered Marketer, Multi-national companies etc. and I'm still proud of those achievements. Then one day, I must've turned maverick. I left the herd behind. I started working with small businesses and independent professionals just like me. And I found classical marketing strategies don't work in small businesses. They are too expensive and largely ineffective.So here it is Maverick Marketing - effective low cost marketing strategies for indpendent professionals and SMEs. One day I'll write the book, or maybe not...There could be another way, effective and low cost. Let me know what you think. In the meantime if You are a maverick and need help with your marketing, don't try and follow the herd - Contact me mike@getclientsnow.co.uk

2006-09-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

Does Your Website Deliver Value?

Many business regard their website as a shop window or a selling tool. They want people to visit their website and then contact them to buy a product or service. But put yourself in the customer's place (always the right thing to do in marketing by the way!). Most people browse the internet looking for information and not primarily to buy immeidately. Retailers realised this about 40 years ago, when they moved from counter-service to self-service. They found that people liked to browse and collect information about what was on offer and then come back to buy hours, days or weeks later. In fact with the exception of food supermarkets, the majority of customers visiting stores leave without buying anything. They are just researching. But this strategy definitely increases sales in the long run, so successful retailers make their shops as enticing as possible to the casual visitor.

Now the very best retailers have staff on hand to answer questions, advise and give the customer enough information to make an informed choice. A successful website needs follow the same principles: Don't make it a sales pitch, or a simple list of products or services you have to offer. Provide lots of information of interest to the casual browser, so they'll bookmark it and visit again later when they are ready to buy. If you are a professional service provider, make your site the fount of all knowledge, so that when they want detailed advice that they are prepared to pay for then they'll naturally come to you. Don't fall into the trap of believing you'll lose business if you "give it all away" your rule should be "If it's available on the internet, make it available on your site". They'll find the information they are looking for anyway and they won't be coming back to your site!

On your website you can go a step further and collect the email addresses of people who visit your site, so that you can send them newsletters, updates and items of interest, which will encourage them back to your site. Follow the same rules with your emails. They shouldn't be a sales pitch but they must deliver value - otherwise they are just "junk-mail"

If you need help with your marketing contact Mike Smith on 07789 434184 or email mike@getclientsnow.co.uk

2006-08-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

FREE Marketing!!

Does it exist? Can it work?

I received an email today offering me the chance to receive information on effective marketing strategies that will cost me nothing. Was I interested - Of course! We all like something for nothing. But of course its a fallacy. It's like offering you a free house. I don't doubt it - You can have a free house if you scrounge up the materials from skips and build it yourself - But there's the rub. It's only free if you don't value your own time and unless you are a skilled bricklayer, carpenter, plumber, electrician, plasterer, roofer, tiler etc etc , it won't be a very good house!It's the same with marketing. Yes anyone can do it - but without guidance how well? And is this the best use of your time and skills? Some years ago I joined a start-up business. A sort of franchise - but it was new to the UK and there was no central marketing activity. Each franchisee had to do their own. Well I battled away going to networking meetings, phoning contacts, writing emails, sending mailshots burning the midnight oil to get appointments. I was working so many hours my wife suspected me of having an affair! Especially as there was no income coming in for all this work. I was spending all my time on sales and marketing and none on delivering. So what had it cost me? More than ten thousand in lost income over a few months! How much marketing could I buy for that? So I teamed up with another franchisee and we paid a professional telemarketer £1000 per month (thats £500 each). He generated enough appointments to keep us both busy and within a few weeks we both had a healthy book of clients. Incidentally we found out he was ripping us off. - He only needed to work one day per week to keep us busy! Did we care? Not a bit, he generated over a £100K worth of business in few months. Now that's what I call leverage! To get some expert guidance and support with YOUR marketing visit www.getclientsnow.co.uk

2006-08-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

Is the Media YOUR Message?

Many clients I meet think that they have to do certain marketing activities. One client told me "We have to be in Yellow Pages". They had a special Freephone number that was only published in Yellow Pages so it was easy to track the calls that came in. I asked the receptionist to log all of the calls for a month. There were plently of calls that month - All of them from people trying to sell them something! Not only were they receiving these unsoilicited calls - they were paying through the nose for the call charges as well! I advised him that he could use the £15000 per annum he was spending on Yellow Pages more effectively...

There are no rules in marketing. it's like war: every campaign is different.So choose your media carefully and spend your money wisely. How do you prefer to receive enquiries? By phone - or are you never in? Or would you prefer them to go to your website for information first? And then what - do you want them to purchase on-line or visit you? Do you prefer to sell on the phone?

Plan the "commitment chain" and the buying process carefully to get the best results. If your enquiries come from your website, structure your site so that they will stay on the site until the final "click to purchase". If you are 'phone based business, grab their attention and then push them to a 'phone call to get more information - Use a "Call Me" button on your website. If you need them to come to your premises make sure they can find you easliy!Work out the best route for your clients from enquiry to purchase and continually direct them allong that route. This will make your marketing more successful and could save you money too!I

f you need help with your marketing Call Me on 07789 434184

2006-08-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

Making Time to Make Time by Michael Smith on 11-Aug-06 5:04pm

Too Busy to Develop your Business?

I was so busy yesterday. I only stepped out to buy some lunch, otherwise I was at my desk all day. My wife arrived home from work "Busy Day?" she said "Yes" said I "Get much done?". Then I realised I didn't feel like I had achieved anything at all? Do you have days like that? It is normally because we are trying to make progress on several fronts at the same time.

Then I remembered Paul. Years ago, I used to be a director of a small business of about 30 people. We were always busy, but things never seemed to get done. Except for Paul. He was a part-time director, older and more experienced, who came in to help us one or 2 days a week. When Paul came in things always moved on. Paul's formula was simple "One day, one topic". That was it. A whole day on Marketing a whole day on Production etc. No distractions. It works.

Take one day a week or fortnight to work on your Marketing. Do nothing else on that day. Then you'll see things happen. Give me a call. I'll be your Paul. email me mike@motivationamarketing.co.uk

2006-08-10T04:04:00.000-07:00

FTI - What's that?

I was talking to the Mayor of Bournemouth a while back and on learning my profession, he said "Getting advice is all very well but the biggest problem I see is the dreaded FTI!". I gave him a blank look "Failure To Implement" he said. "Ah yes" said I, "You need a coach!". Well I didn't end up coaching the Mayor, but he had a point, which was brought home to me last week, when a client was bemoaning the fact that the advice he had received from various quarters hadn't really shown up in improved results. I went through all of his plans for the business "Very impressive" I said "Why do you think it's not working?" It turned out that he hadn't actually implemented any of the great ideas that had come out of the work he had done with his professional advisors. Of course he had good reasons, - Not quite finished, Just need to do this, Waiting for that, Not the right time and so on. The fact is that doing something would have made a difference, just one thing, any of the ideas would have improved his business.. You don't have to wait until you have the perfect brochure to start sending information out. Improve it by all means but don't use it as an excuse for prevarication. Send out what you have. Coaching helps of course, but even as a coach, I am only in the business one or two days a month. You are there 20 days - SO ACT NOW! A good start would be to join my Autumn Get Clients Now! programme. Check out www.getclientsnow.co.uk .

2006-08-01T05:23:00.000-07:00

The best leads are "pre-sold". What does that mean? I means people that have already decided to buy from you before they contact you. Who could argue with that? So how do you get them? - It's easy for established businesses - Just deliver a great product and fantastic service and your clients will recommend you all over town! But what if you've just started or don't have a large customer base? I can show you how to kick-start your business with pre-sold leads. Come along to my FREE presentation this Friday 4th August at Springfield Meetings (1/2 mile from the M4/M5 junction) and learn how. Phone Olivia on 01454 610088 or email breakfast@springfield.co.uk

2006-07-19T04:42:00.000-07:00

People don't believe what you say to them...
...But they DO believe what you say about them! "You've done a great job John" How does the John feel? Was the boss just buttering him up -or had he been reading a book on motivation? Take another scenario John is walking past the office and hears the boss on the 'phone "John did a fantastic job on the Jackson account" Now how does John feel?Selling is the same. I can tell you what a great marketing coach I am - and you won't believe me! Well I would say that wouldn't I? But if someone else says to you "Mike is a fantastic Marketing Coach - He's made a huge difference to my business", then you'll think differently! You are your own worst salesperson. Very few people can sell themselves credibly -even professional salespeople struggle with this. So partner with someone you respect, who shares you target market offering a complementary product or service and go out and sell each other! It really works.Want to find out how? Attend my FREE seminar in Bristol on August 4th visit http://www.springfieldmeetings.co.uk or email mike@getclientsnow.co.uk

2006-07-07T01:25:00.000-07:00

Make Networking REALLY Work for You

Do you go to networking meetings hoping to meet potential clients? How many do you meet? Are you really getting a good return on your time spent networking? My guess is that you aren't. This approach is like walking into a clothes shop and trying to sell them your coat. Networkers aren't there to buy. Like me and you they are hoping to sell. So why bother?

Change your mindset. Don't look for clients - look for salespeople. Regard all of the people in the room as your sales force. Then seek out those who are SUCCESSFULLY selling a product or service to the kind of clients you are looking for. Then tell them about your business and what you do and talk about how you can co-operate to send each other clients. Want to know how? Contact me mike@getclientsnow.co.uk

2006-06-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Take Your Mistress for a short break this Summer!

When I first started in business, I was working long hours to such little effect that my wife thought I must have a mistress! Now I work smart and not so hard and have have plenty of time to lavish on my wife and family. So if you have a mistress that takes up all your time and spends your money, bring her on my Motivational Marketing Summer School in beautiful Bournemouth this August and teach her how to work for you and give you back the time and the money you have invested in her. Just email mike@motivationalmarketing.co.uk

2006-06-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Marketing Summer School

Not so much a marketing Boot Camp more a Health Spa for your business!

Are you expecting a quiet August? Does business drop off in the summertime? If so what are you going to do - Join the rest of them on the beach...or take your business to a health spa? Why not join a group of like-minded individuals at Marketing Summer School in sunny Dorset this August? Not too heavy going but a real tonic for your business and your own motivation. We have some fantastic guest speakers who are keen to attend. So you'll have a great time and leave with your marketing plan in your pocket and ready to take on the world this autumn. if you're interested contact me now as we want to keep it small, elite and focussed! mailto:mike@motivationalmentoring.com

2006-06-15T02:07:00.000-07:00

Successful Networking
Or
Why Traditional Networking Doesn’t Work!

Networking is an essential component of many businesses’ marketing strategy. But for many it just doesn’t seem to bring the results they expect. A business owner said to me recently “I’m getting a bit tired of networking meetings – the clients I need just don’t seem to be there” and then gazing at his ample stomach “and there are only so many breakfasts you can eat in a week!”.

Marketing expert Mike Smith will show you a completely different approach to networking that does work as an integrated part of your marketing strategy. Mike will show you:

How to prepare
Who to talk to
How to follow up and …
How to keep on getting referrals

So if networking isn’t bringing you the results you need or you’d just like to learn how to do it better. Then come to the Springfield Breakfast Club in Bristol on August 4th and learn the secrets of successful networking. And we supply a healthy option for breakfast so you can keep your figure in shape too. Call Olivia on 01454 610088

2006-06-12T01:37:00.000-07:00

So often clients tell me that "nothing happens over the summer". If they are selling to businesses, they tell me "we can't get meetings -everyone is on holiday" or if they are selling to consumers "people are saving their money for their summer holidays". It's true, unless you are in the leisure industry. summer can be a quieter time - So what can you do except take a holiday yourself? Why not take advantage of the extra time to revitalise your marketing?

For many businesses Autumn is a peak trading period, so why not steal a march on the competition by getting your Autumn campaign planned and ready to go now? It's no good trying to book autumn advertising and events in September, the best positions have already gone. Book early and you may even get a discount.

If you need the impetus to get started with your marketing campaign, enrol on the Get Clients Now! programme see www.getclientsnow.co.uk .This is a 28 day programme guaranteed to increase your sales and is a snip at only £200. Get started on your new marketing campaign now and make enough money in the next 12 months so that You can be the one on the beach all next summer.