Yearend. How does it come so quickly?
It seems like just a few days ago you were looking at the year and thinking, “This year will be different!” This would be the year you actually did make a marketing calendar, try new strategies, and consistently get the word out about the good work you can do.
Or you find yourself at the end of the year, possibly in slight desperation and defiant hope, thinking, “Next year will be different!”
And you really mean it.
As the holiday season approaches, it can be overwhelming to think about what needs to be done before the end of the year. For you personally, there are often extra family and social obligations. Adding your business marketing to-dos on top of that can create an even bigger sense of obligation and overwhelm.
Luckily, there’s something you can do about that.
When getting your end-of-year marketing done, try these tips to make your life easier and create space for those things that are most important, personally and professionally.
It’s happened to the best of us: you had good intentions of getting started early, of finishing before the deadline, of easing into the task, yet there you are, last minute, wondering how you can get things done, pronto.
This may be a familiar scenario with regards to your to-do list, but what if it happens to your marketing? Marketing can’t happen that fast, can it?
When it comes to having a sales conversation, you may find yourself melting into a puddle. You might hear yourself say things like, “What’s the big deal about asking people to do business with me? I know it’s just a conversation between two people, and that people don’t bite, so why can’t I seem to do it? I wish I could just get over myself.”
There are two fallacies that contribute to these inner critic conversations; understanding these lies can be a lifesaver because only then can you get over yourself and become the sales pro you’re meant to be.
It’s easy to start a new year thinking, “This year will be different! I’m going to stay on track with my marketing, and really get the word out about my business.” Yet once again, the months fly by and by the time you reach mid-year, you find yourself wondering if what you’ve been doing is working. Are people more aware of your business? Are the places where you’re putting your efforts making a difference? How can you tell if the marketing you’re doing is on track?
As a service-based professional, you’re likely familiar with marketing basics, yet are you taking advantage of advanced maneuvers beyond those? If you’re not sure what the difference is between the basics and the advanced, keep reading to learn more about the distinction, and why you may want to consider moving beyond the familiar.
Marketing Basics are those things that apply to the foundation of your business, things that help ensure you know who to talk to, and what to offer, and how to keep your business organized. Some of these basics include:
Planning your marketing can be as easy as sitting down with a pen and paper (or your keyboard) for an hour. What’s that you say — sounds too good to be true? What if this were the truth: your marketing is easy and simple, and creating a plan for it is simple, too. What could be possible for your business from that viewpoint?
When you have a marketing plan, things become easier. Easier because you know what you’re going to do, you have a plan, and you just follow it. You don’t need to think about it. Thinking is often the thing that gets in your way the most. As much as your human brain is an asset, it can also be a hindrance when it comes to getting things done.
In the Get Clients Now! program, the 28-day marketing plan you design for yourself should include two different types of action-oriented elements: Success Ingredients and Daily Actions. During the course of the 28 days, you’ll work on projects and you’ll take action steps. With projects, you’ll acquire tools or skills you need for your marketing. With actions, you’ll take steps that lead directly to achieving your 28-day marketing goal.
Even if you’re a veteran of the 28-day program, it’s possible to get tangled up when designing your projects, which are called Success Ingredients, and the tasks necessary to achieve your marketing goal, which are called Daily Actions.
To lay a good foundation for your marketing and your business, you need essential tools and skills. In the Get Clients Now! program, we call these elements Success Ingredients. These are fundamentals that will make your marketing easier, and ensure your business is around for the long run.
Below are three different types of Success Ingredients. Having these elements in place will make your marketing activities more effective, leading to more clients and more overall business success.
When should a self-employed professional stop marketing his or her business? Here are a few possible scenarios where you might be tempted to put marketing on hold:
o When your pipeline is full.
o When you don’t need or want any more clients.
o When your schedule is so full you don’t know where you’d fit in another client.
o When you have five proposals pending and you’re afraid they’ll all come through.
o When the holidays / vacation / summer are approaching.
o When you’re so busy fulfilling your current client obligations you don’t have the time or bandwidth for marketing.
