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Are You Insane?
2010 ... has a great ring to it, doesn't it? It's a new year ... a new decade ... a fresh start!Many of us, although we want this year to be different from last 2009, are going to do little -- if anything -- different. That's so unfortunate. As Albert Einstein said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Some of things you can change include:
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Seven Ways to Quickly Attract More Clients
You might not be able to attract overnight all the clients you need, but you can immediately get yourself in a better position to do so. Implement these seven easy steps, and you're on your way.1. Your cell phone message voice-mail announcement
I've heard just about every kind of message that you can imagine -- from the quick to the humorous to the its-so-long-I-don't-want-to-wait-to-leave-a-message. To me, this is one of the prime opportunities for technology to work on your behalf.
A quick message such as, "This is Susan Smith, providing effective solutions for medical professionals. Please leave a message." is much more advantageous than, "Hi, this is Susan of Susan Smith Accounting. Please leave a message."
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How to Be an Expert in Your Field and Have Clients Coming to You
When it comes to marketing your services, two facts hold true. One is, when things are important to people, they buy -- or at least attempt to buy -- from a recognized expert. The other is, to be most profitable, you must differentiate yourself from your competition. One of the most effective ways to differentiate yourself is to be a recognized expert in your field. So why don't more people market themselves as experts?Click here to read the rest entire article.
How Self-Employed Professionals Can Flourish in the Recession
You’ve probably heard or read some of the nerve-wracking headlines that have been leading the financial news. The gloom and doom includes "Caterpillar, Inc. Joins Other Large Corps Warning of Recession." "Broad Profit Woes Spark Stock Plunge On Recession Fears." "Shares Tumble as Fears of Recession Cap Gloomy Week." "CEOs, Wall Street Warn of Recession." If these were warnings about an impending blizzard, milk and bread would be flying off the shelves.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Beating Your Competition Is a Piece of Cake
Small businesses have have a great opportunity when it comes to outmaneuvering the big box stores. A perfect example of this is on television. If you have ever seen "The Cake Boss" on TLC, you know exactly what I'm talking about.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Excuse Me, But Your Bucket Is Leaking
Sitting on the edge of a counter is a bucket. Only partially filled, it continues to let water escape -- drip by drip -- from a hole at the bottom. Scurrying back and forth is a team of people, trying in vain to add enough water to fill the bucket ... or at least keep it level. But the water leaks out faster than the people can add to it. So they work even harder, but again to no avail. Realizing that there is a problem, they call a meeting to discuss possible tactics for successfully adding even more water. Decisions are made -- add more people in the water-filling process, spend more money, work even harder and for longer hours. In the past, similar approaches proved to be futile, but they would be tried again. Surprisingly, it never occurs to anyone that it would make more sense to either stop the leak or at least slow the drip as much as possible.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Consistency Is the Key to Your Success
When speaking to business owners about marketing, I often ask them if they market. When they say yes, I ask how frequently and what they had done in the past month. All too often they respond by saying, "Well, I haven't done anything lately, but ...." What they are really saying (whether they know it or not) is that they aren't marketing.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Winning the Business Race Takes More Than Just Decals
It's not surprising that, when it comes to developing a new marketing plan or brand, everyone wants to get right to the sexy stuff -- the design work. We are all eager to see what out new look is going to be -- how the businesses cards look ... how proud we are of our glossy new marketing materials ... how this is going to be the thing that gets our prospects to beat a path to our door. No, it's not surprising, but it is definitely unfortunate.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Do Your Prospects Care?
Do your prospects care about you? Of course they do ... right?We all believe that our prospects care about what it is we do. But the truth is that they don't. Unless they already have a personal relationship with us, they really couldn't care less if we provide the service or someone else does, just as long as they get it.
I know, I know. Yours is better. It's a greater value. You provide more than your competitors do. You work harder. You throw in extras. Your prospects should know and understand all that. Funny thing is, your competitors feel the same way. And with that being the case, how do you think your prospects are supposed to tell the difference?
Here's a little exercise for you.
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Don't Jump!
If Johnny jumped off a bridge, would you jump off too? I can't remember how many times my parents asked me that when I was a kid. So many times I told them that I did something because my friend Johnny did it first. I bet you remember similar times from your childhood. Perhaps you've done something similar more recently.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Eye of Newt and Leg of Frog, Wool of Bat and Tongue of Dog
The above title is actually a small part of the mixture created by the three witches in Shakespeare's "Macbeth." Of course, since they were successful witches, their mix was well thought out and consisted of the ingredients necessary to attain the results they desired.We can learn a lot from those witches. No, not about a lizard's leg or a howlet's wing, but about the fact that, to reach your goals, you must know which ingredients to use and in what amounts. This marketing mix includes the various components of the 4 P's (product, price, place a.k.a. distribution, and promotion). If any one of these is not right, or at least not close to being right, the likelihood of your company's success is not near what it should be.
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To Catch More Profitable Clients, Fish Where the Fish Are
If you had to survive solely on the fish you catch, you would do everything possible to give yourself the best opportunity to not only catch fish, but also catch those that taste good and provide bountiful portions. You would check reports about what kinds of fish are biting and where they are biting. You would make sure you had the appropriate bait and lures for both the fish and the conditions. If you didn't have the right kind, you would get them.You would also need to know if they could be caught from shore or if you had to use a boat. For best results, you would know all of this before ever dropping a line into the water. Of course, if you didn't have to survive on your results, you could pick up a pole and head off to the water whenever you wanted. It wouldn't matter if you caught anything, as long as you enjoyed yourself.
That, my friends, is the difference between a business and a hobby.
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Following Up Puts You Ahead of Your Competition
"Success comes from taking the initiative and following up."- Anthony Robbins
As a self-employed professional, you should always be looking for ways to meaningfully differentiate yourself. This can be an arduous task, but the benefits make doing so very worthwhile. However, being different and standing out does not necessarily require a radical change in your business or services. It can be as easy as simply following up and staying in contact.
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You Most Likely Already Guarantee Your Work, Tell People and Use It to Your Advantage
Referrals, past experiences, and testimonials are just a few of the things that help people decide whether or not to do business with you. When these either do not exist or are not persuasive, your prospects may not buy from you because there is a perceived risk. This may be the fear of losing money, not being satisfied, or not getting what they paid for. A strong guarantee helps to overcome this.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Get More Referrals with the Right Introduction
If you have ever given a speech or other presentation, the host or MC has probably asked you in advance for an introduction that he can read. At least I hope so. You want to be accurately introduced and in a manner that present you in a good light. The same holds true for much more intimate introductions.The next time one of your business associates introduces you at a networking or similar event, listen carefully to the words she uses.
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Jonathan Tisch, Loews Hotels CEO, Discusses Delivering Exceptional Customer Experiences
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Jonathan Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels and author of "Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing the Customer Experience." Published earlier this year, his book has been named as a finalist for the Quill Awards' Best Business Book of the Year.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Kill Them with Kindness and Reap the Rewards
So many people say they differentiate their companies from their competition by providing amazing customer service. The unfortunate thing is that many of these people do not have clients running around telling others about this service. This leads to the conclusion that the businesspeople think their customer service is wonderful, but it isn't necessarily true ... at least not in the minds of those who matter -- their clients.Click here to read the rest entire article.
The #1 Reason You Absolutely Must Have the Lowest Prices
Okay, you've got me; I can't think of a reason. But I can think of many reasons you shouldn't have the lowest prices. In fact, I can think of many reasons you shouldn't even have what would be considered low prices.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Mary Poppins' Words of Wisdom for Small Business Owners
For more than 15 years, I owned a publishing firm. I learned two valuable lessons during that time. One is that publishing is about deadline after deadline. The other is that you cannot be perfect.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Develop the Proper Mindset for Success
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be?- Marianne Williams
It is often said that attitude is the greatest predictor of success. How true ... how true! It very well could be that nothing is more important than your attitude. In fact, in my opinion, for you to realize your greatest potential and profitability, you must have the right mindset. Without it, the odds of reaching your goals are lower than they should be. I do not want to get into the psychological aspects of this, but our beliefs about what we can accomplish, what we are worthy of accomplishing, and how much money we should make are rooted in the deep recesses of our minds (or perhaps not-so-deep recesses).
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Attract More Clients Through Repetition
Most types of marketing require that you build on repetition -- the number of times a target audience repeatedly hears, sees, or experiences your message. The value of this cannot be understated.Click here to read the rest entire article.
A Wonderful Experience Creates Raving Fan and Great Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Jeanne (my wife), Sophie (my basset hound) and I just got back from a vacation in the North Conway, New Hampshire area. We had a wonderful time, and it began when we arrived at the Village House, a bed and breakfast in the village of Jackson.We selected the Village House because it is listed as a dog-friendly facility. It was that and more.
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You Can Learn a Lot from Santa and His Customer Relationship Management
You would think that, in December, Santa’s work is just getting started. But Santa, being the world’s greatest marketer, begins working on the upcoming year on December 26. I suppose he gets a good night’s sleep after he gets back from his ride around the world; he may even have slept in the next morning. But you can be sure that once he gets up, he gets right to work. And if he can’t take time off from his marketing efforts, how can anyone of us?Click here to read the rest entire article.
Satisfaction Surveys Mask Customers' Reasons for Defecting
I see it all the time -- companies using the terms "customer experience" and "customer satisfaction" as if they are synonymous. They're not. The former is based on emotion that is derived from a process. The latter is based on an outcome at a particular moment in time.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Sell the Benefits and Increase Your Sales
Most of us tell prospects about the features of our services and expect them to bridge those features to solutions for their problems. Most people do not make that bridge. They usually stand there and think, "So what?"Click here to read the rest entire article.
Size Doesn't Matter
I was recently reading an article on FoxSmallBusinessCenter.com that discussed how small businesses can compete with the large box stores. I found its advice to be on target as well as ironic.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Have a Breakout Year by Setting SMART Goals
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" Alice speaks to the Cheshire Cat."That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where," said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
It's that time of year again -- time to look back on how your numbers and accomplishments stack up against the goals you had set for the year. Of course, it's also time for setting goals for the upcoming year, as well as revising your three, five and ten year goals. But to get where you want to go depends on more than just setting goals. The kind of goals you set also have a bearing on when and if you achieve your goals.
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So What?
Well that certainly is a direct -- if not offensive -- title, isn't it? Stay with me a little while longer, and you will understand its significance.Many of us realize that, to get a buyer's attention, we have to tell them about benefits. As Jack Trout and Al Reis wrote in their best-seller, "Positioning," everyone listens to the same radio station, WII-FM (What's In It For Me?). No one really cares about us as businesspeople; they care about how our businesses can help them achieve their objectives.
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Successful Marketing for Self-Employed Professionals
Self-employed professionals did not go into business so they could be marketers. They started their own companies so they could provide accounting, bookkeeping, legal, design, healthcare, and other services. However, without consistently implementing effective marketing strategies and tactics, these business owners are likely to regularly experience fits and stops. While working with their current clients, they stop marketing, leading to their pipeline running dry.Click here to read the rest entire article.
The One Sure-Fire Way to Attract More Clients and Make More Profits
As self-employed professionals, we are often looking for a brilliant marketing strategy to implement ... searching for the remarkable tactic that results in tremendous returns ... the latest and the greatest of these that give us all the business we can handle. Well, you can stop! There are no brilliant, remarkable, or even new strategies and tactics that will keep a steady stream of clients flocking to your door.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Don't Make Things Difficult - Most Often Simple Is Best
Taglines are a necessity, but don't waste your time over-thinking things. Keep it simple and you'll do just fine. In fact, you may do even better.Click here to read the rest entire article.
You're Wasting Time with Time Management
I recently read an article by Jim Rohn, the business philosopher who passed away last month. The article concerned time management -- one of the things many small business owners list as an obstacle to their success. In this article, he says that the idea of time management is a myth, if not detrimental ... and he's right.Click here to read the rest entire article.
The Four-Letter Word that Will Kill Your Marketing Efforts
Comedian George Carlin has an infamous routine where he discusses the seven words you cannot say on broadcast television. Not surprisingly, five of the seven consist of four letters, enforcing the dubious connotation of something referred to as "a four-letter word." Other words such as "work" also have four letters, yet they have a good meaning ... that is until we are overstressed or thinking about a vacation. Then the fact that it is a "four-letter word" becomes very evident.Click here to read the rest entire article.
Getting Your Message Through Is Difficult, And That's Your Advantage
I recently read an article by Jim Rohn, the business philosopher who passed away last month. The article concerned time management -- one of the things many small business owners list as an obstacle to their success. In this article, he says that the idea of time management is a myth, if not detrimental ... and he's right.Click here to read the rest entire article.
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