…or maybe just a tweaking of the old plan would be a good start.

It’s definitely that time of year when we review our lives, loves and business, although to some people they are all one and the same thing. However, that aside, January is a good time to review your plans for the year and your marketing plan for the business deserves a review along with the rest of it. In an ideal world we should be looking at it in December so that, come January 1^st, we are ready to go…

Admittedly in tough economic times it is more difficult to be strategic, and think beyond the next year, but that’s no excuse for not keeping the short term tactical planning on track. This is true for some sectors more than others. Even companies that were renowned and revered for their sales and marketing savvy came unstuck at the end of last year. Supermarket giant, Tesco, recently had to admit that they misjudged their markets and got the planning wrong for December.

So how can we help to ensure we don’t do a Tesco? Regular planning and review. Develop a marketing plan so that you, and anyone else in the business, know what you are doing, why you are doing it and what you expect to get in return over the year.

Set some objectives

Ask yourself where you want the business to be by the end of the year and try to be as specific as possible in terms of things like units sold/new customers won/increased turnover/raised profile in your sector.

Whether you are dealing in cupcakes, engineering projects, or hair dos, you will need to have a good idea of how many you need to make, or complete, each month, quarter or by year-end, to keep the business running and growing. So before you do anything else, set yourself some realistic objectives for the business so that you know what you are working towards.

Review

The review is usually done at the end of the planning period but there’s no harm in also doing it now. Consider where the business is now in relation to where it needs to be over the next 12 months. How big is the gap? Are you on target with regards to last year’s plan? If not, why not? What did you do last year that worked well that you might want to repeat? What did you do that you really shouldn’t do again?

If something didn’t work make sure you are clear which elements went awry – for example was it:

• the target market (were you talking to the right people – the buyers, decision-makers, end-users?),
• the promotional messages (were you saying the right things in a way that the target market appreciated and understood?),
• the product (was it the right product or service offered at the right price for your customers?),
• and how easy was it for customers to get hold of your product, or service, and could you improve the customer experience?

There are many reasons why promotional activity might not have quite the effect that you were expecting so it is always worth reviewing what you did previously so that you can learn from experience and use it to inform your planning for the year.

Plan of action

Once you have a clearer picture of where you want to be, deciding what you will need to do to get the business there should be relatively straightforward – especially if you already have a year or more of trading under your belt that you can learn from.

Consider every potential opportunity to get the business out there. Keep the ideas that work for your business and discard the rest – or park them for another time.

The next step is to put together a campaign, or a plan of action, which outlines the marketing activities month-by-month that will help you achieve your objectives.

If your products are seasonal then plan your marketing activities around that. For example, set up your email broadcasts and/or postal mailings, and sales calls, so that they hit the market during the decision-making process. Arrange your activities so that they work together over a sustained period of time – in a drip-drip effect over months rather than one big splash –  for maximum impact.

Planning ahead will make it easier to ensure that you don’t miss out on opportunities simply because you didn’t have time to consider them properly further down the road. Get in early on activities like speaking at key events, or getting editorial into key media. If you are buying advertising space make sure that you do so far enough in advance so that it hits the market at the right time.

Whatever you plan to do with your marketing, write it all down. Get a big wall chart and emblazon your plan across it. If it’s on the plan you can see when it needs action, who will be responsible for making it happen, and how much it will cost. If you haven’t even thought about it that could result in an opportunity lost or things done in a rush at the last minute. Planning keeps you in control of your time, your money and your business.

As the months go by, review and revise your plan where necessary and don’t forget to celebrate the successes.

About the author: Deborah Rowe, Consultant, Sheba Marketing

Deborah is a chartered marketer, member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and fellow of both the Institute of Direct Marketing and the RSA. She has more than 20 years of solid marketing and communications experience which she puts to good use as principal consultant of Sheba Marketing.  Sheba Marketing provides no-nonsense business-to-business marketing support to small and medium-sized organisations that want to achieve great things. www.shebamarketing.co.uk

If I get another chain email from my mother I’ll block her email address. There. I’ve said it and I’ve said it out loud. I don’t like them but I can see why some people do, and I can see why these styles of emails are passed on.

Let’s see if we can get that share-ability factor working for you…

In this post I am writing about those things that speak directly to my mother:
If you know what motivates potential customers to pass your content on, you have a much better chance of getting them to keep doing so in the future.
This means more traffic, a higher profile and more chance of reaching your ideal customer.
And we all want that, right?

Why is it that people are willing to continually pass on content from certain sites to friends, while not at all for other sites?

Here are 3 of the main factors that come into play when it comes to why people pass on (or share) certain pieces of content and not others.

1. Thinking with their hearts rather than their heads

Really great marketing gets people to take action by having them think emotionally rather than logically.

Let’s take a look at the Fenton video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the video a dog owner loses control of his dog, a Labrador called Fenton. The dog starts to chase the deer and the owner is getting frustrated. Fenton’s owner gets so annoyed he says “Jesus Christ” quite loudly a few times.

If a video gets someone really shocked and outraged about something, they will post that video on their Facebook wall. Again if people found it funny -  a strangely named Labrador getting yelled at as it herded deer across Richmond park… they’ll share it on Twitter.

It wasn’t necessarily that the video presented anything shocking, but the fact it managed to get the watcher in an emotional state and they shared the video with their friends and colleagues.

If you can get your content to really get people fired up, they’ll often be more likely to share it via their network.

How do you know when it’s the right kind of emotionally charged content?
…When people start creating video responses to the original video.

Did you see the  JK Wedding Dance video?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lots of views and shares, it was uplifting to see such dancing down the aisles! 70 million other people thought so too.

And then came the Divorce.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The video response to JK Wedding Dance was the JK Divorce by a video production company, and so far that has achieved over 9 million views. Why? Because people are cynics? No,  because the response was emotionally charged and connected to the first video.  If you don’t have a dog willing to chase the deer, you can create a video response to a viral video or a parody. We have all seen variations of the Downfall excerpt of Hitler in his bunker.

Even Fenton has video responses

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you do decided a video response or parody style response is for you do check out the legal options first.

2. Wanting Their Friends to Have a Good Experience

When was the last time you saw a really great film? What did you do as you come out of the cinema? The chances are you were talking about the film and that so-and-so would also love to see the film. You are already mentally rehearsing how you will share the great film with friends who have yet to see it.

This marketing principle is very basic. It’s the same reason why we recommend restaurants and contractors to friends: we want them to have a good experience.

If you create a website that helps people in a niche industry do things faster and cheaper, there’s a good chance your content will get passed around simply because people want their friends to save money.

To make this process easier, it often helps to have “bite sized” chunks of information.

For example, if your garage has a website filled with blog posts about how to repair your car, instead of having someone just pass on your website url (which is not emotionally charged), it’s much easier for them to pass on an infographic specifically about “how to repair your car”.

Some people fear sharing too much information but the truth is you cannot share too much information – it’s what demonstrates your expertise, it’s what makes you stand out from the crowd.

The key thing to remember is that sharing information not only helps identify you as an expert but also builds the customers confidence in your service. How many Haynes manuals do you have? Yet you still take the car to your local, highly recommended garage.

3. Reciprocal marketing: You Helped Them; They Want to Help You

Have you ever had the experience of getting such great customer service that you wanted to return the favour? For example, you go to a restaurant whose service is so great that you feel like you want to bring more people to their establishment just because you want to help them out. A warm welcome, great food, attentive staff and you are already thinking of family and friends that you could bring along to sample their culinary delights.

If your clients get the sense that you’re really looking out for them and that you really care about them and their experience, they’ll often be willing to return the”favour”.

Ordinary service doesn’t elicit this kind of loyalty: being extraordinary does.   If you provide exceptional service, this kind of marketing can be one of the most powerful marketing weapons in your arsenal.

Many viral campaigns work just based on using one of these principles.
Few campaigns activate all three principles, but those that do really take off.

The next time your mother passes along one those emails, think about why she did and what you can take from the subject. Is it because it’s

• Emotionally charged?
• Makes you want to share a good experience?
• Reciprocal?

How can you take the content and adapt it for your business?

About the Author: Sarah Arrow is a UK based business blog coach http://www.saraharrow.co.uk  and managing editor of Women’s Business magazine, Birds on the Blog http://www.birdsontheblog.co.uk.

Whether on the phone or in person having a great sales conversation with a potential client is a vital step in creating the rapport and the trust required to turn a prospect into a business partnership.

I am a great believer in taking time to strengthen a relationship with your future client before delivering the sales pitch. You need to be in a position where the client is comfortable to share with you their aspirations and any challenges they may be facing.

It is about putting yourself in a position of trust.

With the opportunity to showcase your skills and expertise you become the “go-to” person when a similar problem arises that fits your experience. What you need is to be able to take that initial discussion to the next level, turning a conversation into a business relationship. In this the fifth in our series of articles about attracting the right type of clients we review the practical steps to take to ensure that all your conversations are successful and are leading you towards a flourishing and profitable relationship with your new client.

Knowing what to say

We can all get a little bit nervous when we are about to have a sales conversation with a potential client  but if you prepare for the conversation and keep in mind that you want to make a sincere connection you will be one step closer to closing the deal.  The components of great sales conversations normally consist of the following:

• Make time to have the conversation, don’t be a clock watcher, appearing rushed or hurried.
• Asking powerful questions (see my third article in the series on Communication).
• Accepting different views and new opinions.
• Listening (also covered in my third article on Communication).
• Trust.

When having a sales conversation bear in mind the following:

• It is important to come across as genuine; the key is to be yourself. However, you need to remember that you are having a sales conversation, not a nice chat, so it is important to move the conversation along through a sales process.
• Be warm and friendly. A firm handshake, smiling and eye contact will get a positive reaction from your client.  If you are on the phone check the tone of your voice, make sure it’s relaxed and smile even though they can’t see you.
• A conversation means learning about the other person, finding common ground or interests. It could be hobbies, inspirations, school or families. You never know where you might find a connection but remember not to be too intrusive or personal – striking the right balance is really important.

Talking yourself into the sales call

There are some people that are naturally gifted when it comes to having a sales conversation. It is like a switch they can turn on and off. With little preparation they can be witty and charming, relaxed and making jokes so the prospective client feels at ease. The rest of us listen in awe. However, not everyone has that natural ability but everyone can have a successful sales conversation. Think about some of the most successful stand-up comedians we have in this country. They don’t just turn up and start talking hoping it will be funny. They write down everything they are going to say in a script, and then they rehearse and rehearse – perfect practice makes perfect delivery.  Successful entreprenures do not leave it to chance and hope things will run smoothly, they stack the odds in their favour by doing the following:

• They enlist the help of business colleagues, their coach or friends to practice their sales conversations.
• They think about the questions the client might ask and prepare responses and they also think about the questions they don’t want to be asked and prepare responses.
• They are clear about their offer and know why they are worth it.
• They speak with passion about their business. If you speak from your head, you will come across very business-like and rationale. There is nothing wrong with this but you have to be careful you don’t appear cold and detached. If you speak from the heart you take the rapport and trust to a deeper level and your client will most likely speak from the heart as well. Speaking from the heart means being more attuned to your intuition and letting it guide the conversation.

Choosing a style that suits you

There are many sales processes on the market you need to find the one that works for you. Below is the process I use which has provided me with many a profitable client.

1. Understand their reality. Step into their world and see through their eyes the challenges they are facing. Let the client talk but make sure that you ask powerful questions to open up the conversation.
2. Awaken their problems. If you client has some issues facing their business there is a strong possibility that they have already been living with the pain of these problems. So you need to dig around a bit to really get the pain out so you can understand it better. Some questions to consider asking are: What will it mean if you haven’t change in two years? What will it look like? How will you feel about that?’ The aim here is to get your prospective client in touch with what they are really living with.
3. Find out what their commitment to change is. For example, “On a scale of 1-10 how committed are you to making a change?”  Ask, “Is there anything that could get in the way of you making this change?”
4. Deal with objections.  These are like potatoes hidden under ground.
5. Get your client to build a compelling future, if it lends itself ask them to visualise their future with this change that you can help them make.
6. Present the client with the solution to their problem – it’s you. Use their words when presenting the solution, provide certainty, be confident, address any issues that are important to the client, use social proof.
7. Don’t be afraid to talk about the money, you can do this at the beginning or the end of your sales conversation.  The best times is at the end, so hopefully your pitch has ensured the only answer they have is ‘yes’.  My personal view is if you talk about the money too soon it might end the conversation abruptly. You may get to the end of the conversation and the answer may still be no but the prospective client will know a lot more about you and your business and you will know a lot more about them.
8. Finally  the close – this is where you need to ask for the business but first ascertain if there is anyone else involved in the decision making process. Once you have established that then express how you feel about working with them. Clients like to hear that their job is exciting and something you would love to work on and then take that brave step and ask how they would like to commence work with you.

Turning a sales conversation into a business transaction is about building a relationship. Understanding a client’s needs and expectations helps shape your understanding of how you can match your expertise and experience to them. In my view no sales conversation is a wasted opportunity providing you have qualified the lead before you invest your time; even when the answer is ‘no’ and the contract is awarded to someone else, no doesn’t mean never it just means not now. Keep in contact with your prospect and at some point they will do one of two things, recommend you to someone else or buy your services at a later date.  Put in the groundwork and build a relationship. It might not bear fruit from the very beginning but if the roots are in place it will last a lifetime.

See Step 1 here

See Step 2 here

See Step 3 here

See Step 4 here

“Marketing is hard.” That’s what we independent professionals tell each other, anyway. At meetings, workshops, and online, wherever entrepreneurs gather, the difficulty of getting clients is a frequent topic.

There’s certainly some truth to this statement. Marketing your services can be one of the most challenging elements of being in business for yourself. But does marketing have to be as hard as we seem to think it is? Maybe not.

In fact, I’ve noticed that professionals often make marketing much harder than it needs to be. Here are six ways that entrepreneurs frequently turn marketing into much more of a struggle than necessary.

1. Refuse to choose a target market.

If you don’t limit your marketing to a specific category of likely clients, the alternative is marketing to anyone and everyone. That makes everything about marketing harder. You have to network more often, in more places, with more people, to run across enough prospects who might hire you. Building referral relationships is rarely possible, as you can neither identify who might be most likely to refer you a client, nor describe to them who they should refer.

Without a defined target market, you can’t even talk about your business effectively, because there’s no way to get specific about the benefits and results you produce. Whether you market yourself online, in person, by mail, or on the phone, trying to reach an undefined audience with a generic marketing message will wear you out before it produces results.

2. Spend time on your approach without tailoring your message.

I’m often asked to supply a universally effective cold calling script or sales letter, as if it were possible to craft such an item without explicit details about what is being sold, to whom, and for what purpose. No matter what marketing approach you choose, it’s not going to work without a message that’s tailored to your business and your audience.

But I see countless professionals fall into the trap of thinking marketing success is all about the technique — social media, let’s say, or public speaking, or pay-per-click ads, or a leads group — while giving little thought to what they wish to communicate with these approaches.

3. Do what’s easiest instead of what works best.

Most professionals already know what works best to market their services. When I ask them, they answer with “networking,” “word of mouth,” “referrals,” and other strategies involving direct contact or personal connections. But when I ask those same professionals where they are spending the majority of their networking time, many of them sheepishly admit they are avoiding these strategies and instead sending out email, running ads, or trying to attract web traffic.

It may seem easier and less confronting to sit at the keyboard, buy an ad, or hire website help than to spend time connecting with people personally. But is it really “easy” to put money and effort into the least effective ways to market yourself, instead of doing what you already know works better?

4. Change marketing approaches every week.

Successful marketing is an ongoing process, not a collection of unrelated events. Whether you are blogging, networking in your community, writing a newsletter, or building referral relationships, persistence and consistency pay off while one-time or occasional attempts fall flat. Letting go of a marketing tactic after a handful of tries, only to pursue a different approach, is a guaranteed recipe for struggle and failure.

5. Avoid follow-up.

Similarly, any marketing strategy requires follow-up to produce results. Exhibiting at a trade show will do nothing for you unless you follow up with the people who stopped by. Public speaking won’t produce results until you follow up with those who attended. Attending networking events won’t bring you clients unless you follow up with the people you meet.

Yes, follow-up can seem difficult or confronting, but consider the alternative. Expending all that effort on exhibiting or speaking or networking without landing any business because you neglected to follow up — now that’s hard.

6. Continue to search for hidden marketing secrets instead of doing what’s in front of you.

One of the hardest ways to go about marketing is spinning your wheels in analysis paralysis, second-guessing, or perfectionism. “Should I do this? Maybe I should do that. Perhaps something else might work better. I wonder what else I could do? Maybe I need more information. I’m not sure I’m ready.” You can wear yourself out this way just thinking about marketing, without taking a single step.

Make it easy on yourself instead. Choose a few simple, effective things to do about marketing, using the suggestions above as a guide. Then get going. And keep going. You’ll find that marketing won’t seem so hard once it really starts to work.

Want to stand out from the crowd and impress customers and contacts in 2012?  A simple investment of your time to listen could just do the trick.

One thing I’ve observed with the rise in media channels, web and social media is that more people are broadcasting than listening.  We now reside in a loud din of thoughts, comments, sales pitches, ideas, tweets, social network updates and the like. Such is the volume of noise that people of all ages are developing selective hearing.  We have become adept at screening things out rather than listening.

In fact I think we’ve begun to accept that we rarely listened to.  We think nothing of people not replying to emails straight away.  We are pleasantly surprised when a tweet is retweeted, a blog posting commented on and social media updates acknowledged. We don’t expect people to call us back when we leave a voice message and we don’t expect them to remember what we told them the last time we met.  We assume everyone is busy and so we naturally let them off listening to us.  Interestingly though, we still carry on broadcasting.

Stand out from the crowd

This means that when someone does listen to you, responds to an email, voicemail, letter, tweet etc – they really stand out.  You’re grateful, you’re impressed and they certainly rise in your estimation.

Secretly, people like being listened to.  It makes us feel valued, it makes us feel heard and in a noisy world such as ours that’s becoming a rarity.  We remember and value those who listen to us and seem interested in what we have to say.

The competitive advantages listening bring in business

Put in a business context, if you take time out to listen to your customers or contacts, you are in a much better position to understand what’s going on with their life and current situation.  With this knowledge you can:

• Offer help and solutions that resonate 100% with them rather than miss the mark.
• Spot opportunities to add more value or sell other products/services, which you wouldn’t have otherwise discovered
• Improve your existing product/service provision to better reflect your market’s changing needs and wants
• Find ways to enable others in your network help this contact – benefitting and adding value to them in the process
• Impress them so they recommend you to others

Take Jane, a law firm associate, who was having coffee with a friend.  During the conversation Jane’s friend mentioned she was bogged down in a research project assessing the viability of the Boston market, as her company was thinking of opening a branch there.  Jane knew that her firm had an office in the City and suggested setting up a conference call between her friend, her friend’s boss and Jane’s Boston office managing partner.  The call went well with Jane’s colleague giving valuable insight and tips to her friend’s boss.  In the end her friend’s company engaged Jane’s Boston office for legal advice when establishing their US branch. Jane was awarded a bonus for initiating this business.

What is listening?

Listening is not looking for what you want to hear so you can pounce and say your bit or deliver your sales pitch.

In fact good listening is hard to master.  Often we struggle to concentrate and let our minds wander off when someone is talking to us at length.

John Timperley of the Results Consultancy says, “Many pretend they are listening whilst going through the motions. They think they can get by without really ‘tuning in’. They develop the habitual nod of acknowledgement, the look of concern and the ‘front’ of understanding. Feigning interest is obvious and fatal to establishing a relationship with a customer or contact.”

John goes on to explain, “Listening is often confused with hearing. Hearing uses just one of our 5 senses to convey information received by the ears to the brain. Listening involves the process of analysing, interpreting, understanding and giving meaning to what has been heard”.

Good listening starts with the mindset I am genuinely interested in you and what you have to say.  I can only add value to you or contribute well to this conversation if I listen to you.  And you will only open up to me if you feel I am listening to you.

Of course it doesn’t help that we think up to four times more quickly than people speak. The consequence is that when we try and listen we can get ahead of the speaker. We try to think up solutions and ideas which we are keen to put to them to contribute to the conversation.  This may cause us to interrupt them in our pressing desire to reveal how clever we are or to solve their issues. Interruptions are likely to put off a client or contact participating in the conversation.

How do you show you’re listening?

In meetings and phone conversations it pays to consider the physical messages you are sending as your contact talks to you.  Whilst talking, your customer or contact is assessing these messages to gauge if you’re interested in what they have to say.  They will stop talking if they sense you’re not listening or look bored.

John Timperley has a number of ‘active listening’ tips which encourage a contact to keep talking.  These are:

• Smile and make eye contact if you’re in a meeting – show that your attention is focused on them.
• Nod, to encourage them to keep talking.
• Agree with their comments, so that they know that your views are in alignment with theirs.
• Play back their words or particular phrases they have used, to show that you are listening.
• Adopt a genuinely engaged posture and disposition

Listening electronically

Of course we don’t always interact with people face to face. With our heavy reliance on digital media, listening electronically can really help you stand out from the crowd.

So consider monitoring and commenting positively on your valued contact and client’s blogs, social media posts and updates.  Show you’re listening and interested in what they’ve said and, if possible, contribute encouraging comments or helpful insight to the debate or discussion.

After any dialogue with them, diarise dates to go back to them on a particular issue they mentioned.  For example, if you’re the client’s accountant and they’ve said their AGM is in three months time, giving them a call a month before to check they have all the financials ready will impress them.  It may even secure you some additional work opportunities.

Another way to show you’re listening is getting a client or contact to share a positive story/experience to others in your network – perhaps in a case study format.  The intention here is to show them off in a good light and let others learn from their wisdom/experience. This also enables you to put them in contact with others in your network who may help.  This will add value not just to this contact but the others you refer them to.

In Summary

It’s likely that our world will get even noisier in 2012.  So consider using the power of listening to show to customers and contacts that you’re different.  It only costs your time and can really help you build a competitive advantage over your rivals.  Finally, if you are going to adopt selective hearing, make sure it’s not your customers’ and contacts’ broadcasts you screen out.

Wishing you all a very prosperous 2012.

About the author:  Michelle Daniels,  Managing Director – Extended Thinking.
An experienced and effective business development and marketing strategist, Michelle has built a successful career increasing top line growth for service businesses and organisations. She helps her clients turn their marketing, business development and thought leadership plans into reality with her ‘hands on’ support and practical advice.    A prolific writer, Michelle also combines creative flair with business nous to produce highly effective results.  She has written (and ghost-written) for many professional and business publications and is a chartered marketer and member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Extended Thinking is a hands-on marketing and business development consultancy.  Bringing together great minds and great ‘doers’, we help our clients devise and implement plans that achieve real business growth.  Our clients come from a wide variety of backgrounds and sectors, but invariably are those who are too busy or lack the resources to action their marketing and business development plans.  We roll our sleeves up and muck in to free them up to do what they really want to do and are good at doing.
www.extendedthinking.com

You’ve done the research so you know which media provides the best opportunities to reach potential new customers and you’ve committed to some advertising. Regardless of whether the medium is offline or online it will be the content that makes the difference to its cost-effectiveness.

If you have put the effort into making sure that you have the right media you won’t want to waste it by filling the slot with poor content.

In the past, the more traditional advertising media have been print (trade and consumer magazines, local, national and international papers) and broadcast media (radio and TV (including satellite)). Now in addition to those there is a seemingly ever-expanding choice of other places to place your advertising. The digital offerings include a bewildering array of websites, e-newsletters, portals, intranets, social media, online magazines and online TV. The media may be evolving but the principles for its content are largely the same – if you don’t have good content no-one will notice your ads.

Get their attention

Whichever medium you choose your business will be vying for attention in a highly competitive ‘space’ and you will need to make sure that your content gets attention in the first few seconds – and then keeps it. Whether at home or at work people are busy and changes in technology means that they are easily distracted and used to getting everything now. They want a quick fix and they don’t want to work too hard to get it. Don’t make them work to get your message – they might get bored and go elsewhere.

Make sure that you know your target markets as well as you can. You will certainly know their needs but you must also know what gets their attention. What is your company offering that they really need to try or buy now and how are you going to get them to act? Why should they care about your product or service over that of every other company? Basically, what’s in it for them? Answering those questions will make it easier to decide what you need to communicate.

Get them to act

Good advertising that leads to action should:

• Be simple – resist the temptation to make the advert do all the work. You want the reader/listener to be interested enough to act, make that call, go to the website, or return the form. Make it easy for potential customers to get the point quickly and act on it
• Tell them about the benefits rather than the features – benefits deal with the ‘So what?’ and ‘What’s in it for me?’ questions
• Stop them in their tracks with bold, but short, headlines that address their need. Make them think, or wonder how they’ve managed without your product up to now. The headline should draw them in and make them want to read on and act
• Ideally be visually/aurally interesting – you don’t want them to be distracted from your message
• Make outrageous, or even just tempting, offers which last for a limited time only. Give them an incentive to act now while the offer still stands (and more importantly, before they forget or get caught up in the next thing). If the offer is only for new customers don’t forget to make that clear – you don’t want to risk upsetting your existing customers
• Have a specific call to action – what do you want them to do and when? Ideally you want them to give you their contact details, in exchange for the fulfilment of a desire, and you also want their permission to build, what will hopefully become, a long and mutually-beneficial relationship
• Make it easy for them to respond, for example by clicking on a link if it’s digital, or sending an email, or texting a word
• Feature the best photography the company can afford – especially if your product is visual

Track the responses

Make sure that you have a means of tracking the effectiveness of the ads through mechanisms such as codes, click-throughs and google analytics. By tracking the responses to your advertising, and measuring the returns, you will get a good picture of how they have worked and it will be much easier to inform future marketing planning.

Now for the legal bit

It may be your advert but you still need to be careful about what you say in it. The advertising industry (quite rightly) takes itself very seriously. There are strict regulations about what you can and can’t say – about your business, your products and your competitors. For example, you can’t be rude about the competition or make suggestive comments about the quality of their products. You can only say ‘you are the best…’ if you can prove it if challenged – so it’s probably safest to go for ‘one of the best/oldest…’

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulator of advertising content across all media in the UK. In 2011 its authority was extended to include online advertising and marketing on websites. It is there to apply and uphold the advertising codes and help to maintain the high standards set by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP).

If you advertise a product as environmentally-friendly or sustainable you will be required to prove it if someone decides to complain about any aspect of the claims you have made. ‘Greenwashing’, i.e. making unsubstantiated claims for the environmental nature, or sustainability credentials, of your products or business, is definitely not allowed. If any complaint is upheld against an advert it can be costly not just financially but also in terms of the company’s or brand’s reputation.

Make sure that your content works for your business and is ‘legal, decent, honest and truthful’ and you should be fine.

For the past nineteen years, I’ve been asking self-employed professionals to tell me the most effective ways they know to get clients. No matter where and when I ask this question, their answers are always the same: “networking,” “referrals,” “word of mouth.” These are the right answers. The professionals I ask know this to be true.

Doing the right thing

But then I ask a follow-up question: “What are you doing right now to market yourself?” And what I hear back is surprising, given the answers to my first question. More than half the people I ask tell me their primary focus is on something OTHER than those answers. They’ll tell me they are building a new website, or mailing out postcards, or running pay-per-click ads, or cold calling strangers, or launching a Facebook page, or exhibiting at an expo, or posting promos on Twitter.

The other folks, the minority, who tell me they ARE spending most of their time networking, building referrals, and actively boosting word of mouth in other ways (like public speaking), are invariably those professionals who are the most successful. They are doing what they know works, and reaping the rewards.

So what’s going on here?

If the professionals who are struggling to get clients already know what to do, why are they doing something else? Why aren’t they using the marketing approaches that work the best? After exploring this question for quite some time, here are the causes I most often see:

1. The most effective marketing approaches can also be the most challenging to your psyche. They expose you to the possibility of rejection, and require you to talk to strangers, reach out to acquaintances, or speak in front of a group. It’s so much easier to send out a mailing, buy an ad or trade show booth, or try to attract clients online.
2. Networking, building referrals, and increasing word of mouth are approaches that require consistent effort and can take time to pay off. You might find it tempting to instead try for an instant response with letters, ads, or cold calls.
3. When professionals begin to market themselves, they often mimic what they see large companies do, thinking this is the path to success. But marketing a small service business is entirely different from marketing a national firm. You don’t have the budget or staff to sustain an expensive advertising campaign, a social media strategy that requires many hours per week, or high-priced promotional events.
4. Another type of mimicry that gets professionals in trouble is copying how they see others marketing packaged products or learning programs. But you can’t sell interior design as if it were an ebook, or management consulting as if it were a home-study course. Professionals get hired based on referrals, credibility, and personal relationships, not because they get a lot of web traffic, send email blasts, and offer free bonuses.
5. Many professionals are led astray about their marketing by vendors and gurus who are forwarding their own agenda. Web designers say you need a better website; postcard vendors tell you postcards will get you noticed; expo booth reps entice you with early-bird discounts, and everywhere you turn, experts are promoting social media marketing.

It’s not surprising that many professionals make the wrong choices about marketing. After all, the majority of independent professionals aren’t marketing experts; they are experts in their own specialty. It’s also to be expected that many of the folks offering them advice on marketing have their own angle to promote. They are only trying to sell their products and services, just like you.

So before you spend time and money on any marketing approach, check it out first. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are other professionals in your field, with businesses of your size, using this same approach to get clients? Do you have evidence that it’s working for them?
• Is the person who recommended this approach to you someone whose opinion you trust, based on recommendations from others or your own relationship with him or her?
• Will the business you are likely to get from this approach pay for your investment in it AND pay you for the resulting client work?
• Is this the most effective kind of marketing you could do for the time or money involved? Is there another, better approach you may be avoiding because it brings up some fear or resistance?
• Do you actually need any new approaches to marketing right now, or do you just need to apply more persistence and consistency to what you are already doing?

If you don’t have all the clients you need, consider the possibility that maybe you already know all you need to about marketing yourself, and what’s missing is acting on what you know.

Let’s face it, there are a lot of small businesses out there and you need a way to stand out. Writing a professional business book can give you instant credibility and it’s surprisingly achievable with digital technology to reach a global audience with your words. Attention is the first step in the sales funnel and a book is a great way to get you and your business noticed.

Here are 7 more reasons you should write a book for your business.

1. Demonstrate your expertise.

You’ve spent years gathering your knowledge in a specific niche. You have notes and seminars, training programs and articles as well as a lot of know-how in your head but how do you quickly and easily prove your ability? A book with your name on front establishes you as the expert and provides an easily consumable version of your knowledge.

2. Increase your credibility and status.

Authors are respected because they have achieved the concrete goal of publishing their work. People look at you differently when you say you’re an author. This increases your credibility in the market and will also give you more confidence in promoting your business.

3. Solidify and articulate your knowledge.

You may have perfected your one line elevator pitch but writing a book gives you the opportunity to expand and fully express your story. Business books are no longer dry and boring. They contain plenty of personal stories and anecdotes so you can share the unique aspects you bring to your niche. This also gives people a chance to know, like and trust you which is a key component in whether they will hire you or recommend you to others.

4. Expand opportunities for media and speaking.

If you have a physical book it can act as a business card, demonstrating your ability to speak coherently on your topic. This is useful for media as there is existing credibility and a focused topic they can interview you about. A book is also recommended if you want to create or expand your own speaking business. The most highly paid speakers have multiple books associated with the topics they speak on and speaking is a great way to bring new people into your business.

5. Create multiple streams of income.

You can sell your book online or at your live speaking events. You can also use the book as the basis of a larger product line to expand income streams. The book is your entry level information but you can also have an online multi-media course that expands the material, plus a full day workshop and 1:1 coaching around the topic. People might not be willing to go straight for the higher priced product but they will likely part with a smaller amount to read your book.

6. Grow your business internationally.

If you market your books to a wider audience, you can attract new people to your business. They may read your book and then want to investigate your professional services further. You can easily and cheaply publish print books as well as ebooks on Amazon.com. With print on demand technology, you can sell books to the huge US market as well as other countries.

7. The book you write will change your life.

Many people have a dream of writing a book, but that dream can now become a concrete goal. You probably started your business because you are passionate about something and want to change people’s lives. You have a story that needs to be told. Well, your voice is important and your words can be heard if you get them out there.  In these days of digital printing, you can achieve your goal of writing a book even with a small budget. So state your goal, and get writing!

Make 2012 the year your business stands out from the crowd.

If you want to write a book but you’re unsure how to go about it,
there’s a Women Unlimited workshop on Feb 22, 2012:
“How to write and publish your own business book”
and a further workshop on March 21st 2012:
“How to launch, market and sell your business book”

About the author:  Joanna Penn is an Amazon bestselling author and professional speaker on writing, digital publishing and internet marketing. Her business, The Creative Penn, helps people write, publish and sell their books. Follow Joanna on Twitter @thecreativepenn

I get 20+ different email and printed newsletters a week from all sorts of people. You probably get a good few as well.

Of the newsletters that you receive, how many do you read? How many do you even scan? How many get instantly deleted?

There is an argument which states that even an unread newsletter serves a purpose because you are reminding the recipients that you are still there, even if they see your name and delete it straight away.

I don’t agree with that myself, because what you could actually be reminding people of is that you are boring and never have anything useful or interesting to say. I believe that your newsletter should be an email that your recipients genuinely get something out of reading, and that they should look forward to seeing in their inbox.

There are a whole host of ways to do this, and I’m going to explain 5 of the absolute essentials right here:

1. A good title

For many newsletter-publishers, the game is lost well before your recipient opens your email. In fact, it’s enough for many people to just read an email subject line in their packed inbox and decide not to bother with the rest of it.

This is why your first newsletter essential is a good title. What I mean is the title that appears in the email subject line AND at the top of your newsletter.

Here’s how I do it:

• First I start with the name of my newsletter in brackets, so people know what it is, e.g. {The M.A.P.}
• Second, I add the subject of this issue, e.g. Do You Have A Cathedral In Your Back-Yard?
• Put together it looks like this: {The M.A.P.} Do You Have A Cathedral In Your Back-Yard?

I like to capitalise the first letter of each word, so it looks like a title, but not like you’re SHOUTING AT THEM (beware of your caps lock!).

It’s also important not to make the title too long, or much of it won’t appear in the inbox preview pane, and you’re failing to give your recipient a reason to read the email.

There are many types of newsletter title that can be very effective. Remember, your objective with the title is to get your email opened. So, you can try being intriguing, enlightening, amusing, or creating urgency or suspense. In my example above, I’m being intriguing. Why would I ask my reader if they had a cathedral in their back-yard? What’s that got to do with marketing? People want to open the email to find out.

2. A real ‘from’ address

The ‘from’ address on your email newsletter is another important ‘outside the envelope’ factor (i.e. something your recipient sees before they even open your email.

The very best thing you can do is use an email address that looks like a real person at your business, rather than newsletters@ or no-reply@. A really great example of this that you might have seen before was the US presidential campaign by Barak Obama. People who signed up for updates on the campaign received emails from Barak himself, Michelle Obama, and key members of his campaign team. All of them signed their emails with their first name (as if they were emailing a friend) and each of them used a real ‘from’ address, so you would see an email from Barak Obama popping up in your inbox. Would you open that email? I would!

I know that you may feel your skin crawling with apprehension at this idea. What if you use a real email address and then people *gasp!* EMAIL YOU!? What will you do!?

If that’s your worry, there are 2 things you need to know:

a) We WANT people to email you. Your email (if done well) is an engagement tool, not just a broadcast.

b) You won’t get as many emails as you think you’re going to – by a LONG way. People are simply backwards about coming forwards, so even though your readers will be thinking about you and your emails, very few of them will actually contact you in this way. To give you an idea of volume, I have over 1,000 subscribers on the mailing list for The M.A.P., and only receive a handful of emails about it each week – most of which are a simple comment or a question, and so are quick and easy to deal with. Many more tweet or Facebook about it, or click through on any links I’ve put in it, but most of those don’t require a response from me.

3. Your voice

Assuming that you’ve got a good ‘from’ address, your readers are now expecting to open your email and read a message from you. Imagine how confused and disappointed they will be if your email sounds like it was written by someone else – maybe even an impersonal template!

Whenever you write your newsletter (or any customer communication), make it sound like it’s from you. This doesn’t mean that it should be at all un-professional, however it should have your business personality running through it.

The best way to achieve this is to imagine that you are sat face-to-face with one of your best customers. They have just asked you a question, and you are going to tell them the answer. Write that answer as you would say it (maybe a little more succinctly), and you will have put your voice into your writing.

Like to crack a joke every now and then in meetings? Feel free to pop an appropriate one in.

Often use stories when explaining things to your customers? Go ahead and tell the story.

Your readers will identify with you more strongly, and feel that you are really talking to (and caring about) them.

4. Useful content

What do you want to see when you open one of the newsletters that you receive? You either want to be informed or entertained. As we’re talking about business newsletters here, keeping people informed is the number one thing that your readers need from you – that doesn’t mean that you can’t also be entertaining, but any entertainment should always support the useful content that you give your readers.

Useful content is easier to create than you think. All you have to do is give your readers one small thing that will help them in some way. With The M.A.P. I do this by giving my readers a Marketing Mission to carry out each week. It’s quick and simple, and will help them to sell more of their products and services.

Other examples include the wedding planner who shares wedding tips and trends; the shoe shop who showcases new styles, deals and offers; and the life coach who answers coaching questions. If you were interested in their topic (weddings, shoes, or life coaching), then each of these newsletters would be something that you’d want to read.

5. People to send it to

Your newsletter won’t be doing you any good unless people are reading it, and they won’t read it unless you have people on your mailing list.

This is not a numbers game. You could have a list of 5,000 people, but if not one of them was in a position to buy from you, or was interested in what you offer, then it wouldn’t do you much good. On the other hand, you could have a list of 50 previous clients that you keep in touch with through your newsletter, and if all of them are really interested in what you have to say, you could make sales every time you email them.

Of course, 500 highly engaged readers would be better than 50 highly engaged readers (for most of us), but you get the idea.

So now, you need to build up that list. Go for “permission only”. This means that everyone on your list should have agreed to receiving your emails. Do not buy a list! For most small businesses that’s a bad thing to do, and will damage your reputation.

You also need to give people the option to sign up for your newsletter. You can do this on your email signature, your website, and on your social media profiles – just about everywhere you can think of.

A final point:

If you only have 5 people on your list at the moment, don’t wait until you have more people to send your newsletter to – start sending it anyway. As you practice, you will get better and better at it, and those first few recipients will start to tell others about your newsletter and pass it on to others.

Want some help?

If you are seriously thinking about using an email newsletter to build your customer relationships and create sales, or you already have a newsletter that you want to get better results from, I have something that might just be what you’re looking for. To be one of the first to find out all about it AND receive a whole bunch of free tools and resources you need to (yup, you guessed it!) join my mailing list here.

Talking the talk

Effective communication is an essential factor in running a profitable business. It doesn’t matter if you are a sole-entrepreneur, SME or large corporation; successful businesses know that effective communication is essential for a business to thrive. If your communication is ineffective or you get it wrong then the potential to damage your reputation, brand and ultimately your bottom line could be disastrous. In this the third in a series of articles about attracting the right type of clients we examine communication.

Communicating, but with a strategy

For communication to work it requires identifying the end point and then developing your goals, strategy and tactics to get you there swiftly. Your communication efforts need to be aligned with specific outcomes that can be monitored, measured and improved over time. To create an effective plan it should contain the following:

• Define your communication goals by your audience. This is big picture stuff. Ask yourself what is it that you hope your communication will achieve.
• Your objectives support your goals and need to be specific and measurable. For example, a goal of raising awareness for a new service you have launched might have an associated objective of achieving a certain level of awareness with a specific target group within a set time frame.
• The next step is to design your strategy. The key point here is that you need to focus on your strengths as a business to get the most out of your communication efforts.  For example, if you have a database that is easy to use and full to brimming with great clients and contacts consider using social media as your communication tool to generate positive word of mouth.
• There can be a tendency to jump straight to tactics as this is the part that demonstrates results. However, the most successful communication campaigns always take the time to consider their goals, objectives and strategy and save the tactics to last.
• Measuring the outcome of your communication campaign is vital if you are to know how successful it has been and understand how it has helped reach your desired goals.

Don’t just talk, listen

Communicating isn’t just about making yourself heard, it’s about listening as well; most people think they are good listeners but often this is not the case. Have you ever found yourself in a conversation where you’ve had to repeat the same answer to a question several times, simply because the other person was not listening? A lot of the times people are caught up in their own heads, they are thinking about something else, maybe their next question. This means the person asking the questions is not in the moment of having a truly beneficial conversation. Clearing your mind of distractions including what you are going to say next, where your next meeting is or what is going on around you or outside enables you to stay in the moment. Give your full attention to the individual whether it’s by telephone, Skype or face-to-face. Only when you are in the moment can you ask those powerful questions that make all the difference.

Ask the right questions

Asking your client the right questions is one of the most important communication tools as it creates a meaningful exchange of ideas and information. When you ask skilful questions it helps to build and hone your ability for getting the right answers.  Below are some tips to follow so that you can become a master questioner.

• Suspend assumptions. Clarify and confirm what you understand to be correct and find out if that is the understanding of your client.
• A meeting with a client is often not just the two of you in a room but several people with different areas of expertise. Take time to ask thoughtful questions to each person. This demonstrates respect.
• Make sure you ask questions as opposed to stating your own views and opinions.
• Prepare for your meetings by writing down at least 5-6 questions you intend to ask that will open up the conversation.
• Be aware of your own intentions when asking your questions, don’t interrogate and always take note of the tone of your voice.

When you ask questions it demonstrates that you are listening and it actually helps you to listen better; it also has the added benefit of helping you to strengthen your relationship with your clients.  Communication is key to all great relationships; those with a client or contact as well as a spouse or partner. Being able to listen and ask questions plays a vital role in understanding what your client needs and what their goals are, as well as your own.

Listen to Yourself

A good exercise to really understand how well you are coming across when engaging with clients is to record yourself. Ask a few friends, who are business savvy, to spare 20-30 minutes of their time to let you go through your client pitch. Encourage them to ask questions throughout your presentation. At the end undertake a reflection process where you ask them for honest feedback. How well did they understand your offering? Did you get to the point quickly or did you ramble? Did you sufficiently answer their questions? How well did you maintain eye contact? What was your body language like? Where there any difficult moments and how well did you cope with those situations?  Armed with this information listen back to your presentation and see where you might be able to make improvements.  Treat this as a learning and development exercise and you will soon be perfecting your pitch. And finally…

There are plenty of good businesses who can talk a good game. But talking is not the sole purpose of communication. Knowing how you want to communicate what your business does, and how you want to connect with clients and potential partners is at the core of a strategy that will help raise your profile. When dealing with clients and contacts, listen as well as talking. Sell yourself but remember often what a client wants to hear is how well you understand their problems. It’s a two-way street that ensures you are part of a conversation and not a one-way speech.

See Step 1 here

See Step 2 here