Growing Your Business With Your Marketing Priorities

None of us have enough time in the day to get everything done, but small business owners and entrepreneurs like you are particularly pressed. You wear so many hats; there is a seemingly infinite list of tasks to accomplish each day, from providing services to clients, managing product distribution and delivery, to keeping accounting in order.

You try to fit in some marketing when you can, but you're not sure which activities are essential to do each week or each month to build a steady stream of clients. You make some calls, send out a mailing or put up a web site, but you still have that nagging feeling that if you knew which marketing activities translated into the most new business, you could be more successful.

You want more clients or, if not more clients, higher paying clients. So, what are the most important marketing tasks to do in order to attract more of the right type of prospects?

Build and Maintain Relationships with Prospects

Your number one marketing priority should be to build relationships with lots of qualified prospects. It sounds obvious, but remember that the reason to advertise, network or to have a web site is to generate leads, leads you can then convert to sales. Take a look at the number of years you've been in business and the size of your prospect list.

If your advertising, networking and web site are working, you should be able to generate new leads and a growing list of qualified prospects each month. A successful website, for example, can generate hundreds, if not thousands, of new leads monthly.

George recently signed up for my coaching services. He has been in business for over ten years, but his prospect list consists of less than 150 names. George should have contact information for thousands of prospects by now. Even without an active web based lead generation strategy, if George had added every prospect and client to his list over ten years his list should contain over a thousand interested people.

How many more sales could you close if twice as many - or ten times as many- people know how you could help them?

The first step is to get prospects' attention with your marketing message and materials. Then you want prospects to take the next step; to contact you, buy from you right away, or add their name to your mailing list. Offering free, relevant information such as a report or free workshop will prompt your prospects to give you their contact information and increase the results generated by your advertisements and mailings.

How big is your target market? What percentage of this group is on your mailing list?

Your goal is to help as many people in your target market learn what you do and to get them to give you their contact information. Once you have their permission to stay in touch, you can go to work building a relationship with them.

Demonstrate what you do so they understand its value and you establish your credibility. When they know and trust you, they'll be happy to tell you what they need and to buy your products and services.

So how can you incorporate lead generation and building relationships with prospects into your weekly schedule?

1. Each week reach out to get the attention of people who haven't heard from you. Do this through your advertising, web site marketing, articles, mailings or cold calls (if you know how to use them). But don't spend a dime on any of these unless you have a strategy in place for converting this attention into sales and qualified leads.

2. Set aside time each week or at least each month to stay in touch with your list of qualified prospects and past clients. As your list grows, use your time to focus on past clients first and use a mass mailing or email to stay in touch with other prospects. Share an idea your prospects they can use and they'll be reminded again and again how much you know and why they should buy your products and services.

3. Use your communication with prospects and clients to help them identify what they need and understand how your products and services can help them. You may think that doing this once should be enough, but most people are too busy to read every mailing they get or to remember the details until its pressing or important for them to act on. With regular correspondence you'll increase the chances of putting your information in front of your prospects when they are ready to buy.

4. Set aside time each day to contact qualified prospects. If someone has sent you an email, left a phone message or otherwise expressed interest in your products, pick up the phone and call them. Quickly identify whether they have the authority and interest to contract with you and either continue the conversation or move on to your next lead.

Get attention; build your list of qualified leads; regularly help prospects with your ideas; and respond to your most qualified prospects promptly when they request services. Do these four things every week and every month and you'll soon have many more prospects eager to learn how you can help them, eager to buy from you and more new clients than you ever thought possible.

Charlie Cook 2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Plan eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

---

20 Power Marketing Tips

Use these powerful yet simple tips from the national best-seller,... Read More

Is Most Marketing by Small Businesses KILLING THEM?

I just collected my mail. As usual, more than 80%... Read More

Neuromarketing: Smart Marketing Or Jedi Mind Control Trick?

In the international bestseller "Blink," Malcolm Gladwell explains why our... Read More

Marketing on a Budget

A successful marketing plan doesn't have to include an athletic... Read More

The 7 Commandments of Marketing

Marketing is the key to success with any business, online... Read More

Direct Mail Formats: How to Choose the Right One for Your Next Mailing

Which pulls the best response, a postcard, a self-mailer or... Read More

Make It A Threesome

What if -- every time you had a networking appointment... Read More

Dont Think Like A Package Designer - Think Like A Customer

Some of the most successful package introductions have come from... Read More

Marketing as a Spiritual Practice II: Unearthing Your Potential

Marketing as we know it is over. Done. Finito.People the... Read More

Two Methods of Marketing Using Joint Ventures

Whether you're a contractor a local merchant with 150 employees,... Read More

4 Steps to Successful Offline Drawings

There are many different ways to market offline, each important... Read More

15 Ways to Promote eLearning Programs

Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to... Read More

Marketing to the Affluent - with Wine

With its association to an affluent, sophisticated lifestyle, wine can... Read More

Tradeshow Booth Cures - Ancient Cures for Modern Day Problems

At first glance, nothing seems more chaotic than a trade... Read More

8 Instant Ways to Create Consistently Successful Marketing Campaigns

It's almost a given that when I speak to a... Read More

The Future of Marketing Part 1

It used to be if you were a small business,... Read More

How Gratitude Works

Want to know what the highest-impact, lowest-cost tool is in... Read More

Signage for Mobile Car Wash Vehicles

If you are in the mobile car wash business and... Read More

Hello, My Name Is . . . What Your Name Tag Says About You

When you attend networking functions, what kind of name tag... Read More

Postcard Marketing Done Right

Say it with a post card. A well designed, colorful,... Read More

AIDA From A Different View - I Call It the 5 Ws

My childhood was my foundation for how I write and... Read More

Renting Your Mailing Lists to Others

RESOLVING THE "PROPRIETARY" DILEMMA... SHOULD YOU RENT YOUR OWN MAILING... Read More

How to Up-Sell Change

As Freud cautioned, it's insanity to keep doing the same... Read More

Are You a Marketing Octopus, or a Marketing Worm?

One of the greatest challenges to effectively marketing a business... Read More

Tie-In With Others To Maximize Your Business Leverage

One of the most rewarding, inexpensive, under-used, and effective methods... Read More

The Advantage and Consequences of New Economy Marketing

Some of the research that has been done today gives... Read More

Becoming The Obvious Choice In A Sea Of Competition

Differentiation, niche marketing, and positioning. These and other related business... Read More

11 Ways to Turnaround a Cash-Strapped Business or Practice

This past weekend I received a disturbing message from a... Read More

Connect to Your Customers with Superb Sales Letters

In the age of e-newsletters and e-mail, you may not... Read More

Are You Attracting or Repelling Prospects?

There are basically two ways in which you can either... Read More

Test Marketing--How to Increase Your Direct Mail Marketing Response by Using the Internet to Test

I've discovered a really fantastic way to discover what works... Read More

Developing a Contact List- Part Two

In a previous installment, we spoke about how to come... Read More

Direct Mail Still Works!

Direct Mail CampaignsDespite the proliferation of communication facilitators--mobile phones, faxes,... Read More