Don’t Let Commitment Phobia Wreck Your Marketing
Effective marketing of your business requires commitment. No matter what marketing approach you choose, you must be consistent and persistent with it, if you want to see results. You’ve probably heard that advice. But this sort of commitment doesn’t always happen in practice.
Do any of these phrases sound like something you may have said about marketing at some point?
“I tried that a couple of times, but I didn’t see results right away, so I stopped.”
“I was using X to market my business, but then a friend suggested Y, so I started doing that instead.”
“I don’t know if this is the best way to market myself, so I don’t want to risk doing it.”
In Marketing, You Gotta Have a System
For a self-employed professional, being successful at marketing doesn’t result from one brilliant idea. Nor does it follow from stringing together a random series of marketing activities, no matter how many different approaches you manage to use. To bring in a sustainable flow of business on a consistent basis, you gotta have a system.
Video: Being a Business Owner During Uncertain Times
If you’re a business owner right now, chances are you’re dealing with uncertainty. Whether it’s a lot or a little, uncertainty can be disconcerting!
While doing business during uncertain times is a bit like chasing an ever-changing landscape, there are things you can do to make things easier.
Don’t Give Up on Follow-Up
Follow-up may be the most underrated marketing technique in existence. Self-employed professionals spend an enormous amount of time and money on attracting or meeting people who might do business with them. They build websites, go to networking events, purchase ads, set up social media profiles, and more. But marketing activities like these are aimed at making contact with new potential clients for the first time. Follow-up is missing from the picture.
You’ve probably heard the following truths about marketing and sales before:
- People prefer to do business with people they know, like, and trust.
- It takes five to seven contacts with a prospect to close a sale.
- Marketing is a process; not an event.
Selling is a Conversation between Two People
When you think of going into business, you may think of the freedom you’ll have as your own boss (see Part 1 of this three-part series, You Are The Boss), or about all the good work you can do and people you can impact. At some point, however, it occurs to you that you’ll need to sell your services. If you’re like many people, that’s enough to make you stop before you even begin.
Selling is a loaded concept. I often picture a man in a leisure suit and loafers asking me what it will take for me to drive this car off the lot today (ewwww). Selling conjures up images of being pushy, of not listening, or not taking no for an answer. Or of an endless stream of people all of whom you’re supposed to talk to and say something clever and just right so they’ll like you and buy your stuff! Or, um, is that just me?
Video: Why Do You Need a Marketing Plan?
Why do you need a marketing plan?
Because -– it makes your life easier.
In this video, I share many other reasons you may want to consider making a marketing plan, including that having a plan sets you up to be more successful.
