Like many people who go off on their own, I soon realized that I had to do the marketing for my services. But how?
So I started reading one marketing book after another, I think I hit 300 in those first few years. Of course, I found some very interesting ideas that were very helpful to me, but the problem with most of those books is that they were basically made up of tips, little tips, not systems or strategies.
My question to you is this: are you mostly incorporating marketing tips or are you focusing on developing strategies (possibly proven) designed to convert potential customers into real customers, those who pay for your services and/or products?
Tips Or Marketing Strategies: A World Of Difference
Here I show you some of them:
.A tip shows you a better or more skillful way to do something.
.A strategy is a complete process for getting something done.
.A tip could be a random idea that you can put into practice one day.
.A strategy is a plan with a clear objective and a timetable.
.A tip tends to be incomplete or only a partial solution.
.A strategy tends to be a complete step-by-step process.
.Tips can cause information overload by giving you too many ideas.
.Strategies can build skills and confidence in the long run.
Everyone is looking for instant ideas.
Admit it, wouldn’t you rather learn a tip to persuade more people to subscribe to your website, or a simple tip on the perfect words to get someone to buy your services, or a quick and easy tip for writing a sales letter? Does that generate a ton of responses?
Of course, you would, but for the most part, these simple tips and quick and easy solutions rarely live up to their promises.
[bctt tweet=” In Marketing, focus on strategies, not on tips” via=” no”]Marketing is a game (or discipline) consisting of a wide variety of proven strategies that work to attract customers. The thing is, they take time to learn, apply, and master.
But with practice, it gets easier. For example, my client, Ross Blake, is mastering public speaking strategy and getting more and more conferences, more people giving him their business cards, he gets more requests for strategy sessions, and more clients.
He discovered that public speaking doesn’t just get clients. A great speech can inform and inspire, but it is not enough. However, a detailed conferencing strategy, consistently executed, almost always gets results.
When my clients work to learn and implement step-by-step strategies, they are often surprised by the consistent results they receive. And the payoff can be huge.
But What Does It Take To Implement A Marketing Strategy?
First, you need a number of steps carried out in a certain order. For example, let me outline all the steps of Blake’s public speaking strategy:
1. Decide the talk you are going to give. The title is most important, as it largely determines who will attend.
2. Write a “speaker page” on your website to showcase the talks you give. What points will you address? What are the benefits?
3. Research and compile a list of organizations that are potential hosts for your talk, such as various professional groups.
4. The program directors of these organizations are contacted by phone and/or email.
5. When you contact them, see if they are interested in the topic. If they are, you email them information and direct them to your conferences page.
6. He follows up in a week to see if they’re interested. If they are, try to set a date to give the talk.
7. Prepare handouts and/or slides for the talk.
8. Practice your talk out loud a few times until you feel you are performing satisfactorily.
9. He gives the talk and does the best job he can.
10. At the end of the talk, he offers the audience copies of a report he wrote in exchange for their business cards.
11. He adds the names to his mailing list and also follows up with the ones he thinks have the most potential.
12. Try to have a short phone conversation to see if they are interested in your professional services.
13. If they are interested, try to set up a meeting to explore working together.
Each of those steps requires a certain amount of knowledge and practice before you feel comfortable doing it.
You may be thinking, “That’s a lot of work!”
Well, I don’t know if you win new clients every time you give a talk or implement a marketing strategy. And I certainly don’t know if you master this strategy and will repeat it successfully in the coming years.
But if you are serious about growing your business, you need to go beyond the tips and learn, practice, and apply marketing strategies. If you do this, I promise you that your business will grow faster than you thought possible.
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