MARKETING MADE SIMPLE

Marketing is telling people what you do, over and over. There are many ways of telling people—in person, by phone, in writing, on the Web, through the media—but you do have to tell them. You can’t just wait for the phone to start ringing. You have to tell them over and over. Studies estimate that the typical urban citizen is exposed to thousands of marketing messages per day. Where is your message in all that communication? What will make others remember you if they hear about you only once?

Getting prospective clients to pay attention to what you have to offer and remember you until they need your services can seem like an enormous challenge. So how do people in your line of work—consulting, coaching, and other professional services—get clients? Ask any successful businessperson that question, and this is what you will hear: “Referrals.” “Networking.” “Making contacts and following up.” “Word of mouth.”

It’s simple stuff; you probably already knew these answers. So why don’t you have all the clients you need? If you’re like most other first-time users of the Get Clients Now! system, one or all of the following reasons will sound familiar:

You can’t decide where to begin. Marketing your business seems like an overwhelming project. There are so many ideas to consider and so many choices to make, and you want to make sure you are doing it right. So you worry about how best to spend your time and money. Struck by “analysis paralysis,” you start and stop, sit and stew, or just do nothing.

You aren’t sure how to put the pieces together. You think you should be making phone calls but wonder if you need to finish your website first. You suspect it might be time to identify some new prospects, but what about those follow-up e-mails you’ve been meaning to send? You wonder if all the networking will ever pay off, and whether that speaking engagement will really generate any clients. You don’t have a system, a program, or a plan.

You can’t stay motivated. Even when you know exactly what you need to do, often you just don’t do it. With no boss looking over your shoulder, it’s too easy to avoid marketing and sales. When you don’t see immediate results, you get discouraged. When someone rejects your sales pitch, it’s hard not to take it personally. It’s so tempting just to wait for the phone to ring, and blame your lack of business on the economy, the competition, or the time of year.

If any or all of these obstacles have stopped you in your tracks, you are not alone. People who market professional services rarely fail due to lack of information about effective sales and marketing techniques. They fail because they don’t make use of the information that is right at their fingertips. This is why the Get Clients Now! system works; it provides both a structure and a tool kit to turn your marketing goals and ideas into productive action—and it helps eliminate the roadblocks.