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Not Reaching Your Marketing Goals? The Time to Act Is Now

If you’re like most self-employed professionals, you started the year with goals, plans, and maybe even dreams, for your business. This was going to be the year you reached ambitious marketing goals, implemented a realistic marketing plan, or expanded your business with a new market or service. And now, you find yourself not on target. The goal’s not met, the plan isn’t in place, or the expansion hasn’t taken off. That’s a pretty normal state of affairs for us self-employed folks. Stuff just gets in the way.

There’s really only one solution to this problem, although it comes in a number of different flavors. Take action. Now.

10 Questions to Kick Off Your Marketing Year

by Kristine Carey | Marketing Plans & Strategies

What dreams and goals do you have for your business at the beginning of this new year? As you ease into January, take time to set the stage for a great year to come: great marketing, great sales, and great clients. Ask yourself the questions below to help you reflect and plan, and get ready for good things to happen!

– How much business do you really want? What would be new and different for you if you had that level of business?
– What worked best to bring you clients last year? How can you do more of that in the year to come?

Stop Reacting and Start Pro-Acting to Market Your Business

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Mindset

If you’re answering calls, replying to emails and notes, responding to invitations, and receiving referrals and leads, it probably feels like you’re taking a lot of action to market your business. But it may be that a good deal of what you’re engaged in is actually RE-action.

Waiting to hear from the right prospects is nowhere near as productive as proactively taking steps to seek them out. And a stream of incoming communications can take up time and energy, but doesn’t always lead to closed sales.

Consider these suggestions for getting out of reaction mode and becoming more proactive in your marketing.

Make This the Year You Do Things Differently

by C.J. Hayden | Getting Things Done

At the start of every year, I encourage my clients to follow the same practice I do of reviewing the past year before setting intentions for the new one. I find that a thorough review of the previous year can provide important guidance for moving ahead. I make a list of “Successes, Accomplishments, and Breakthroughs” and another of “Failures, Disappointments, and Breakdowns.” After giving myself some time to celebrate my successes, I analyze my failures. Try this process yourself, and see what it provides.

Looking at each of your disappointments over the past year, ask yourself what went wrong in that area, and what you might be able to do differently. Let’s say you didn’t gain enough new clients last year. What’s your take on what went wrong?

Consistency and Accountability: Complementary Bedfellows

by Kristine Carey | Getting Things Done

Are consistency and accountability related?

Yes!

Consistency is the capacity to show up for something over and over, to produce results that are equivalent over time; stay the course, steady as she goes.

Accountability means you stay true to your word, that you can be counted on. You say what you’re going to do, and you do it, holding yourself answerable.

What do these have to do with getting the word out about your small business?

Distracted from Doing Your Marketing? Try These 3 Simple Tricks

by Kristine Carey | Marketing Mindset

Noticing the dishes piled up in the sink? Feeling like you need to do the laundry right now? Realizing the dog hasn’t been for a walk yet? Sounds like you’re suffering from distracted-itis.

When you sit down to do your marketing, it’s entirely likely there’s something else that needs to be done or seems more interesting -– yes, the dishes, laundry, and dog, and also starting your new exercise regime, watching YouTube cat videos, or learning how to create a bullet journal.

10 Inspirational Tips for Your Business This Year

by Kristine Carey | Marketing Mindset

As the year begins, it’s easy to get caught up in the hubbub of developing better business habits, being more proactive, earning more money, being more profitable… the list goes on with well-meaning ideas about how to make you, and your business, better. These well-meaning messages can induce a state of FOMO – Fear of Missing Out – that is ultimately unproductive. Looking ahead at the year, anything seems possible; here are 10 tips to consider, to help you stay inspired. These are serving suggestions, not have-to’s; no FOMO necessary.

Your Marketing Year in Review

by Kristine Carey | Marketing Mindset

As a business owner, it’s important to stop periodically and review how things are going. As you near the end of the year, take advantage of the slower business demands many of us experience to ask yourself how this year was for you, marketing-wise.

Set aside a dedicated time — anywhere from an hour to an afternoon — and consider these questions.

Is It Time to Reset Your Marketing Plan?

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Plans & Strategies

Is your marketing plan producing the results you need? When was the last time you evaluated your plan to see if it is leading you toward success? Are you even using a marketing plan at all? Here are four questions to help you determine whether it’s time to reset your plan.

1. Are you getting in touch every month with at least three times as many new clients as you need? Not every prospective client will say yes. You need to have a marketing pipeline filled with prospects, contacts, leads, and referrals that you can draw from.

Don’t Let Commitment Phobia Wreck Your Marketing

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Plans & Strategies

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.”

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