The More Clients Blog

Open Sesame - The Follow-up Formula

Remember "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves?"

In this story from "A Thousand and One Arabian Nights," Ali Baba discovers the secret words that give him entry to the cave of the Forty Thieves, where a vast treasure is hidden.

Simply by uttering the words, "Open Sesame," the door to the cave swings open and the treasure is his for the taking.

There's a modern equivalent to Open Sesame that opens the doors wide to new business. If you master this secret formula you will never want for clients and you will grow your business in ways you once thought were impossible.

I call it the "Follow-up Formula."

Introduced last week, hundreds of More Clients subscribers now have access to this Follow-up Formula in the form of my new Audio Program, "The Art and Science of Telephone Follow-up."

In today's eZine, we'll explore some of the ins and outs of this Follow-up Formula and the impact it can have on your business.

Four Applications of the Follow-up Formula

There are at least four marketing activities where you can apply the Follow-up Formula. (How many of them are you using?)

1. Follow-up after networking

2. Follow-up after receiving a lead

3. Follow-up after giving a presentation

4. Follow up after a mailing campaign

These activities are ways to turn business connections into qualified prospects. But if you don't follow-up, all your marketing efforts will be wasted. To get results with the Follow-up Formula you need to apply these rules:

Rules of the Follow-up Formula

1. Always follow-up sooner, rather than later. Don't wait a week or even a few days after making an initial connection. Do your best to follow-up in one or two days. For every day you wait, you lessen the impact of the follow-up call.

2. If you don't make the follow-up call, the chances the prospect will follow-up are extremely low. It's not that they are not interested in your services, they might be; it's simply that it's your job as the service provider to make the call. Don't think of it as an intrusion, but as an opportunity to connect.

3. Think of these calls as "introductory calls," not as "sales calls." The follow-up call is the bridge between marketing and selling. Its purpose is to determine if the opportunity to do business with a prospect exists in the first place.

4. Be prepared. Never "wing it." Use a script or outline to guide you through the call. This keeps you on track and focused on what you are saying instead of worrying about what the person you are calling is thinking. This is the key to effective calls.

5. Always end the call with an agreed-upon action. a) you won't call again as there is no interest in your proposition, b) you will call back at a later time to explore further, or c) you will set an appointment (in person or by phone) to explore working together.

The Numbers of the Follow-Up Formula

My experience is that, on average, with three to five follow-up calls, you can turn at least one into a client. Sometimes you will do better, sometimes you will do worse. (But if you don't call, the results will be a big fat zero!)

Think of your marketing activities over the past month. How many opportunities to follow-up have you taken full advantage of? How many times have you avoided making a follow-up call or done a poor job with the call?

By some some estimates, the average Independent Professional misses (or blows) six to ten follow-up calls per month. And that means two or more new clients you didn't gain that month.

If you put some basic marketing activities into place, you will generate qualified prospects. And then, if you do make those telephone follow-up calls, you will predictably turn a percentage of them into paying clients.

Isn't it time to master the Follow-up Formula?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: When you understand the Follow-up Formula and apply it to your business consistently, you will have the power of Ali Baba who uttered the words "Open Sesame" to receive untold riches. Yes, this formula is a little more complex; the good news is that you can learn it easily.

Learn about my new Audio Program: "The Art and Science of Telephone Follow-up" and master the Follow-up Formula.

or you may purchase directly from this link (it's $29).

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When did you make a follow-up call that turned into a client unexpectedly? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

The Art of Follow-up

You may have heard the assertion that people are more afraid of public speaking than death.

I don't yet have the statistics to back it up yet, but I think the fear of picking up the phone and calling someone you don't know, trumps both of these.

I've met many people who have little fear of public speaking, but I've seen several grown men and women quake with fear at the prospect of making follow-up calls. In fact, many long years ago, I was one of those people!

A follow-up call means calling someone by phone whom you've previously met and who might be a prospect for your services. It could also be a lead you've received from an associate or an attendee from a talk or presentation.

The follow-up call is the pivotal action between marketing and selling. Marketing warms up the selling process, but the follow-up call is the key action that furthers the business relationship and often secures the appointment.

To call or not to call, that is the question.

Not only do we not like making follow-up calls, we tend to do a bad job of them when we finally get around to it. It's not uncommon that we avoid them altogether, hoping that interested prospects will call us back instead.

However, when I meet the very rare person who is good at making follow-up calls, I know they won't have much trouble consistently attracting clients. They don't wait, they connect. They seize the opportunity, not wallow in the difficulty.

Let's do a reality check:

1. For the most part, prospects are not going to call you back, even if they are interested in your services. If you want to turn that prospect into a client you MUST make the follow-up call.

2. You will survive if you make these calls. I haven't known of anyone who has died by making follow-up calls or has had the prospect send a hit man to take them out.

3. You can get very good at making follow-up calls. You can learn how to do this relatively easy. Like anything, it will take some time and practice, but it's not rocket science.

Introducing a New Audio Program

In the Audio Program I'm launching today, "The Art and Science of Telephone Follow-up" I interview Denise Clancey of Teledirect Partners on all the ins and outs of making successful follow-up calls. Let me share one of her main ideas.

The way to succeed with follow-up calls, is through scripting.

If you were playing in Hamlet, you'd have a script. If you didn't, can you imagine how you'd come across? You'd bomb! Well, isn't your business more important than a play?

With follow-up calls, you can't wing it; you need to know what to say, when to say it and how to say it. You need to write out your scripts and use them as guidelines as you make your calls. You never actually read your scripts, but use them as outlines to keep you on track.

Denise recommends four kinds of scripts:

1. The script for voice mail
2. The script when you reach a prospect
3. The script for dealing with gatekeepers
4. The general purpose information script

Armed with these four scripts, you finally have power when you make your calls. You will start to control the flow of the call instead of the call controlling you. (In the audio program, we go over these scripts in great detail and even role-play each one of them.)

Also, like being in Hamlet, you need to practice. Out loud. Use a mirror and a tape recorder for immediate feedback. Until you feel comfortable with your scripts, you will sound awkward and hesitant, missing that authentic connection with your prospects.

If and when you master the art of the follow-up call, you will see the following results: Fewer opportunities missed, more appointments with qualified prospects, and more business closed.

Follow-up calls need to be a central part of your marketing plan. No matter what marketing activities you do, follow-up calls need to be part of the equation. If you don't make them, you may be waiting a very long time for prospects to call you back. And that, my friend, can kill you!

For more information on this audio program, link here: "The Art and Science of Telephone Follow-up"

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Learning how to make more effective follow-up calls can give you more marketing leverage than almost any other marketing activity. Follow-up calls can dramatically increase the opportunities to present your services to potential clients. Avoid learning this skill and it will cost your business dearly.

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How have effective follow-up calls helped your business? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Antidote to Pushy Marketing

After last week's eZine on "Playing it Safe" I got this response that Ruby Curran posted on my blog:

"I am enthusiastic and passionate about my business, but I must admit, I do a good job of keeping it to myself - unless someone shows an interest during a conversation. Why?

"I'm concerned about turning people off. I'm often turned off when someone I meet goes on and on about something I'm really not interested in. It often seems like they're trying to push me into something. I don't want to do that to others, so I find it hard to promote myself.

"Does that make any sense? Anyone else know what I'm talking about? How can I be sure I'm being passionate without annoying other people? Ideas?"

Thanks! Ruby

Thanks for this question, Ruby. This really gets to the heart of what stops people from marketing successfully.

There is a fundamental misunderstanding about marketing that you are making. You think marketing is about you. You think marketing is boasting, a big ego trip and fundamentally self-centered. You think that marketing is "going on and on about something I'm not really interested in."

If you believe that, of course, you'll keep your business to yourself. You don't want to be seen as an obnoxious egomaniac.

But marketing is NOT about you. It's not even about your services. It's not about all the things you do and it certainly isn't about going on and on until people are turned off.

Marketing isn't about what YOU do, it's about what THEY get.

Just think, when someone asks you what you do, you tend to talk all about you and how your business works. It just pours out automatically. You can't seem to help yourself. But you realize that this is a turn-off, so you solve the problem by not talking about your business at all (unless someone shows interest).

Clearly, this approach doesn't work.

When someone asks me what I do, I NEVER talk about my business. I talk about the problems my prospects and clients are experiencing. And when I do that, most people do show interest.

I say, "I work with Independent Professionals who have a great service but who struggle with attracting clients." There's absolutely nothing about me in that message. And it interests people because it's about them.

When they ask me how I do this, I say, "I work with them so that marketing is easier for them and becomes less of a struggle, and so that they ultimately attract more clients."

Again, nothing about me, it's all about what they get. And that is interesting as well. It starts a lot of good conversations.

And if they want to know more about how it works, I tell them a story of a client I worked with and the results they got. Again, nothing about me. Stories are great because people can see that if you helped someone else, maybe you can help them as well.

And you know what? When you talk about your business like that, people become interested. They want to know more. Then you provide more information in the form of an article or details of your services on your web site. And, of course, you get their email and put them on your regular eZine list.

Why do I have 50,000 people on my weekly eZine list? It's because that's how I've consistently communicated about my business over the years. It's all about communicating value, not going on and on about how great my business is.

But there's also another way to look at this.

I realize, that at any given time, I'm not going to communicate perfectly. I may say things that turn people off. I might send one too many emails and have someone unsubscribe. Once in awhile I might forget myself and go on and on.

But so what?

I do my very best to communicate with integrity. I know my weekly eZine provides value. I know that my products and services have made a huge difference to thousands of people.

But you can't please everyone all the time. In fact, if you're doing really well with your marketing, you're still only going to please (get positive response from) about 10% of your audience (at best).

For instance, I've been promoting my Fast Track to More Clients workshops since early March. In that time, about 2,000 people have visited the information page about the workshop. And about 200 people have signed up for the workshop. That's just 10%.

What am I going to do, weep and wail that 90% didn't sign up and then beat myself up because I might have turned them off?

Give me a break!

Look, if you communicate about your business with passion, if you stop playing it safe, inside your comfort zone, and instead, put your attention on the value you provide to your clients, your business will take off in ways that will amaze you.

So where do you start with this?

First, you need to understand some fundamental marketing principles. There are seven distinct principles you need to know if you're going to market yourself successfully:

1. The Game of Marketing
2. Your Marketing Mindset
3. The Language of Marketing
4. Your Marketing Message
5. Marketing Information
6. Marketing Strategies
7. Marketing Action Plans

In this eZine, I just touched on the Language of Marketing. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The more you understand how these principles work, the easier and more effective your marketing will be.

If you don't understand and apply these principles, you're going to struggle. You're going to play the game ineffectively, you're going to hold yourself back, afraid of turning people off. The chances of winning will be very slim indeed.

How long do you want to be a victim about your marketing, worrying you'll offend someone? This is a completely powerless way to live and to run your business.

Learn the principles and then get out and spread the word.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: If you are worrying you'll offend people when you get enthusiastic about your business, you're just not marketing correctly. Your premise is at fault, not marketing. Master the principles and skills of marketing and you'll be free to be enthusiastic, while turning more people on than off.

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Do you have any examples that prove the premise of today's eZine? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Playing It Safe?

Note: today's eZine just may offend you. Please don't read if you don't like being challenged. You have been warned.

In the InfoGuru Marketing Manual, I discuss the most successful way to promote professional services. Understanding this approach can have a profound impact on how successful you are with your ability to consistently attract clients.

In the Manual I say:

"InfoGurus work at spreading the word about how to make things work better. They are committed to results, passionate about solutions, fanatical about what really works. And they spread their gospel far and wide using any and every marketing tool they can get their hands on. InfoGurus get business from all corners because so many people hear about them and their innovative problem-solving approaches."

If I lined up ten of your friends and associates, would they all report that you are passionate, even fanatical about the work you do and the difference you make?

My observation is quite the opposite.

Most business owners may love what they do, but more often than not, they come across as tepid, hesitant, and uncommitted. When they talk about their business they are about as inspiring as a wet sponge.

Look, I'm not out to insult you, but to challenge you.

If you are not passionate about what you do, excited by the difference you make, eager to share with others, inspired by your clients and moved by the abundance of opportunities and possibilities afforded by your business, you are missing the boat.

And what's perplexing to me is that this is the very last thing that business owners focus on.

Many people will do very little to nothing. Others will study everything they can about marketing. Still others will work hard to make external changes to their marketing. But very few will do the thing that makes the biggest difference of all:

Expressing Authentic Excitement About Their Business!

Excitement, enthusiasm and passion are contagious. Certainly more contagious than "knowing it all" or having a perfect marketing message or even a beautiful web site.

Those things (and many more) will emerge naturally out of your enthusiasm and passion. You don't do all of that stuff and hope that it adds up to excitement. You come from excitement and all your marketing will come together effortlessly.

But you say:

"But I can't act excited, Robert, if I don't feel excited! You might be enthusiastic and passionate about your business. That's great, but my business is not inherently exciting. And besides, that's not my style. When you talk about having marketing breakthroughs, I just can't relate."

I hear this kind of thing a lot. And it sounds very reasonable. In fact, most people would nod in agreement: "Yes, don't get too excited, you might be disappointed and you'll probably turn people off. Better to be low-key and play it safe."

Ah yes, the mantra of the mediocre: "Play it Safe."

What you may not realize is that playing it safe is killing your business, eliminating your future, suffocating your soul. Playing it safe has become more important than being fully alive.

When you are fully alive, you don't think about yourself much or how good you look. Instead, you think of those you can serve, those you can make a difference with, those whom you can contribute to. And what more natural outlet to do this than through your business?

Ask yourself, "What is the deadly cost of playing it safe?"

And then ask, "What's really the worst thing that could happen if I let myself get excited, enthusiastic and passionate about my business?"

Finally, ask, "What breakthroughs might happen in my business if I allowed myself to express this excitement, enthusiasm and passion?"

Are you ready for this kind of breakthrough?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Marketing breakthroughs come from expressing your natural excitement, enthusiasm, and passion about your business. They do not come from playing it safe. Honestly answer those questions above. They are the gateway for the breakthrough you are looking for.

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What business breakthroughs have you had when you stopped playing it safe? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Outside the Marketing Comfort Zone

Last week I stated that "there are no marketing breakthroughs inside the comfort zone."

When you are stuck in the marketing comfort zone, by definition, you will avoid doing *anything* that is uncomfortable. And so the *only* way to get outside of the comfort zone is by taking actions that make you uncomfortable.

I know that's bad news.

What you probably wanted to hear was that you could get outside the comfort zone by doing something that was different, but still comfortable. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

One of the dictionary definitions of discomfort is, "a state of mental unease; worry or embarrassment." Yes, that's pretty much how you'll feel when you step outside your comfort zone.

Mostly, the unease, worry or embarrassment is that you'll make a fool of yourself, get rejected or fail. And since nobody wants to feel that way, the best alternative is to simply avoid the discomfort at all costs.

Yet people do step outside of the comfort zone all the time. They take risks, do things that might not work, face rejection and embarrassment and somehow live to tell the tale.

How do they do that?

Very simple. They realize that the cost of staying comfortable, the cost of inaction is much, much higher than the cost of taking action and being momentarily uncomfortable.

Let me contrast a marketing activity to make my point.

Comfortable: Not making follow-up calls.

Uncomfortable: Making follow-up calls.

Cost of not making follow-up calls: Failure to make a business connection, failure to turn a prospect into a client, failure to grow your business, failure to make a difference.

Cost of making follow-up calls: Feel uncomfortable with the thought of possible rejection.

Doesn't that put things into better perspective?

Blinded by our momentary fear, we don't take action, despite the fact that the long-term consequences are astronomically higher than the short-term discomfort.

However, when you look at the real cost of action or inaction, things look very different. The price of inaction then seems extraordinarily high compared to the price of taking a risk.

And this is what creates breakthroughs, these shifts in perspective.

Here's a simple exercise that can literally create such a shift, resulting in a marketing breakthrough.

1. List all the marketing activities that you are now avoiding. The test is that just thinking about doing these things makes you feel uncomfortable, uneasy or worried.

2. Now create three columns, one titled "Imaginary Cost," the second titled, "Real Cost," the third titled "Potential Payoff." Do this exercise with just one marketing activity at a time such as giving a presentation, writing an eZine, or making follow-up calls.

3. In column one, "Imaginary Costs," you'd write all the things that might happen if you took a risk: "People might laugh at me, I wouldn't do a very good job, the response would be poor."

These are imaginary costs, as you really have no proof any of these would happen, you just fear that they might happen.

4. In column two, "Real Costs," you'd write all the things that will definitely happen if you don't take action: "People won't hear about my services, I won't make any impression, people won't be talking about my services, people won't have the chance to respond."

These are real costs, because it's easy to see that if you don't take some action, nothing will happen.

5. In column three, "Potential Payoff," you now write all the positive things that could possibly happen if you took action: "People might respond and make inquiries about my services, they might talk to others, they might set up appointments with me, they might even become clients."

It's easy to see that these potential payoffs are much more real than the imaginary costs.

If you do this exercise honestly, you'll have a shift in perspective; you'll start to see that avoidance is actually more uncomfortable and more costly in the long run than taking action.

And you'll see that the discomfort of taking action is so much safer, so much easier than the "comfort" of avoiding action.

And when that happens, I promise you'll start having marketing breakthroughs that were once impossible.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The comfort zone is relative. When looked at though our fears and aversions, it seems crazy for us to take actions that would make us uncomfortable. But when we look at the real cost of inaction, we see that those consequences are infinitely more uncomfortable and costly. In that light, it will be relatively easy to take action on things you may have been avoiding for years.

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What's the real cost of avoiding uncomfortable marketing activities? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

The Marketing Comfort Zone

There's a famous quote attributed to several people such as Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein (nobody really knows the source) that goes something like this:

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

If this definition is indeed accurate, the sanity of most of us is in question! There's another story that makes the same point that I like even better:

A man was searching for something under a street light. Someone came up to him and asked him what he was looking for. "I'm looking for my keys," the man replied. The other man started searching as well, with no results.

"When did you last have your keys?" the second man asked. The first man replied, "Inside my house." "Then why on earth are you searching out here?" the second man exclaimed. "Because, the light is much better out here, of course!"

Let's alter this story a little and turn it into a marketing story. I've actually heard this story many times, only the details were a little different each time.

A marketing coach asks the client, "Where are you networking these days?" The client responds, "I'm doing a lot of networking with financial service businesses such as accountants, financial planners and the like."

The coach then asked, "How has it been going, has it resulted in any new business for you?" Again, the client responded, "No actually, I don't provide services for financial people. So I haven't gotten any new business."

Perplexed, the coach asked, "Then why on earth are you continuing to network in those circles?" The client replied, "Well, I started going and they were such nice people I couldn't stop!"

Stuck in the Comfort Zone

Although it seems strange, I've observed that people would much rather do something inside their comfort zone, even if it doesn't work, than to do something outside of their comfort zone, even though it would be much more effective.

Our comfort zones shape our actions. Comfort zones are a set of beliefs and practices that are, well, comfortable. There is no possibility of a breakthrough inside your comfort zone.

When it comes to marketing yourself, are you stuck in a comfort zone? Here are seven I've observed:

Denial - When someone suggests you try a certain marketing activity, you usually argue with the idea and defend what you're already doing, despite its ineffectiveness.

Procrastination - You decide you need to do a certain marketing activity, but it either takes ages to get moving or it doesn't happen at all. Something always gets in the way.

Sabotage - You start on the path to do a certain marketing activity but somehow manage to throw a wrench in the works. Of course, you never take responsibility for things going wrong; it was just "circumstances beyond your control."

Lack of Focus - You get a great idea for your marketing and you jump up and run off in all directions. You have a big list of projects on many burners but never seem to complete any.

Confusion - You just don't know where to start. After all, there are so many things to do, how could you possibly choose one? Sure, you could get some help, but how to pick the right person?

Over Preparedness - You are committed to get going with your marketing, but first you need another degree, another seminar or course. And once you've got these, you still don't feel prepared.

No Time - No matter how busy you are or how slow business is, you just can't find the time to fit in marketing. When you are busy with clients, marketing is out of the question, when you're not busy, you conveniently find something else to fill the time.

Any of these sound familiar?

This is life inside the comfort zone. Same old actions, hoping for different results. Next week I'll talk about life outside the comfort zone, the zone of never-eding breakthroughs and extraordinary results.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Admit it, if you're trying to do your marketing inside your particular comfort zone, you will never produce the results you are capable of. Your first step outside the comfort zone is admitting you're there and realizing the huge cost to your life and your business if you stay there.

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What's your particular marketing comfort zone? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

What is a Marketing Breakthrough?

In my "Fast Track to More Clients" workshops I'm promising a "breakthrough in your ability to attract more clients." Is that just marketing hype or is a breakthrough something that is both real and possible?

One dictionary definition of breakthrough is: "a significant and dramatic overcoming of a perceived obstacle, allowing the completion of a process."

So if you had a marketing breakthrough, any perceived obstacles that were stopping you would be overcome in a significant and dramatic way. The breakthrough would allow you to market yourself more successfully and with better overall results.

I think I can safely say that everyone reading this eZine wold be open to some kind of marketing breakthrough! The thing is, for the most part, we don't behave as if breakthroughs are possible. We are resigned to slow and gradual progress.

But it's that very resignation that preludes the possibility of a breakthrough. Not only that, we think that breakthroughs are only achieved by geniuses like Einstein and Edison.

This isn't the case. When I talk about marketing breakthroughs, I'm not talking about a brand new discovery, but a personal insight, understanding or realization that changes everything.

Let me give you a few examples.

When a past client, Phil Hamilton, discovered the power of changing the "Ultimate Outcome" of his service from "doing a business valuation" to "selling the client's business," His income went from $10,000 per project to $150,000. (With a higher close rate and less work on his part!)

I think you'll agree that was a breakthrough!

Another example are the many testimonial letters I've received from people who followed the proposal format in the InfoGuru Marketing Manual. For instance, Paul Browning closed a $390,000 deal just a few days after getting the manual and following the proposal process.

Phil and Paul's breakthroughs came from applying proven, time-tested formulas to their marketing. What seemed impossible before became relatively easy when they were exposed to and then implemented this knowledge.

Making the Leap

But what does it really take to have breakthroughs of this kind?

Breakthroughs come when you can make the leap between a current, ineffective marketing practice and a new, effective marketing practice.

One of my favorite examples is generating leads after giving a talk. Let's assume the talk is great and the audience is ideal. You have laid the groundwork to convert some of the participants into clients. Here are two possible scenarios:

Scenario One.
After the talk, you thank the audience, hand out your cards and encourage anyone who needs your expertise to give you a call. Then you wait and see if anyone calls.

Scenario Two.
After the talk, you thank the audience, then hold up a special report you've written and ask "I have a report that covers many of the ideas in today's talk. Who would like a copy?" After a show of hands you say, "Please give me your business cards and I'll send you a copy by email."

Then you say, "In addition, I offer a complimentary "Productivity Strategy Session" valued at $295 to anyone who attends one of my talks. Who might be interested in receiving a complimentary session?" After a show of hands you say, "Please fill out this form and give it back to me before you leave and I'll set up a session with you."

I promise you that Scenario Two will result in more leads, more prospects and more clients - even if the talk and audience are identical. And for most, that would be a marketing breakthrough.

Marketing breakthroughs ultimately come from doing things differently. But the genesis of any breakthrough is the realization that what you are doing now is not getting the results you want and you feel "there must be another way."

The good news with marketing is that there are hundreds of other ways that can create substantial and dramatic breakthroughs in your results. And most of them are relatively easy to implement.

In the "Fast Track to More Clients Workshop" I focus on the top seven high-leverage principles and practices that consistently produce marketing breakthroughs and attract more clients with less struggle and effort.

The good news is that you don't need hundreds of ideas. These top seven are enough to make a dramatic shift in how you engage in the game of marketing and ultimately win the game.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Marketing breakthroughs come when you shift from using marketing strategies that don't work to ones that do work. It's as simple as that. What strategy isn't working for you now? Are you committed to having a breakthrough? What will you learn and do to make it happen?

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Share a breakthrough you've had in your marketing by doing something differently. Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Tweaking Your Campaign

For the past few weeks I've been talking about marketing campaigns, and integrating the five Marketing Elements to clearly communicate your message to your target audience.

And then I used my upcoming summer workshops, "The Fast Track to More Clients" as a case study on how to put a campaign like this together.

It sounds so simple: Get clear on your service, target, message and materials and then just get your offer in front of the right people; repeat until you have the desired results.

The thing is, it doesn't always go quite like that! In fact, your campaign just might crash and burn. In this issue, I'll explore some of the reasons why and show you what you can do to get your campaign back on track.

First of all, if you're not getting the results you want, you need to look more closely at all your Five Elements:

Element 1 - Clearly defined service

Is the service you're promoting not only clear, but a service your prospects are looking for? Is it a service that makes a difference, delivers what it promises, is easy to understand and implement?

I can't tell you how many Independent Professionals are offering a service that doesn't meet many (or any!) of these criteria. In a word, the service is a dud. There's no interest because the service is inherently uninteresting.

Get some feedback from some past clients or close business associates. Ask them to be brutally honest. Their feedback can give you ideas to help make your service more compelling.

Element 2 - Clearly targeted ideal buyers

Even if you have the world's greatest service, it won't go far if it's being promoted to the wrong audience. Or if the audience of potential clients is too small, or geographically undesirable.

For instance, if you're trying to fill a workshop and you only have 100 people on your list and they happen to be all over the country, you're not going to have much success.

Do a reality check and ask if you are honestly getting your message in front of enough of the right people. If not, you may first need to work on building your prospect list.

Element 3 - Clear, benefit-oriented messages

If your service and target market are in good shape but you're still not getting a decent response, the next place to look is at your marketing messages.

A good message telegraphs three things very clearly and compellingly: This service is for you; this service has a tangible value or benefit, this service is something you need to know more about.

A great number of marketing messages don't communicate any of these, let alone all three! Spend a LOT of time working on your message. It's like creating a melody. You'll know when it's singing the tune it was meant to sign.

Element 4 - Clearly written/designed marketing materials

Let's say you are on track with the first three Marketing Elements. Great service and target market and a compelling message. If people are still not responding, it might be your written marketing materials.

Look, when you have the attention of a prospect, when your message gets through, the prospect then wants to know more. The tragedy is that we often don't tell them enough.

Here's my rule of thumb on written marketing materials (such as a web page): Make sure your materials tell the prospect absolutely everything they need to know about the service - every benefit, advantage, feature and detail. (And this is often five to twenty times more than you're telling them now.)

Element 5 - Clearly communicated offers

You've come a long way. Your prospect has responded to your service, is interested in knowing more and has read every single word contained in your marketing materials. But he or she still doesn't act? Why?

Some of the reasons are out of your control. Timing, price, the tendency to procrastinate, event the economy are simple realities you have to deal with. No matter how well you promote your service, not everyone will buy.

But you can control how you present your offer. You can tell your prospects exactly what they need to do next. And you can give them al kinds of incentives to take action. In other words, make it very easy for them to respond. And don't just ask them once, ask several times.

What to do next

What I recommend next is to go back and review the Five Elements of your campaign. I bet you'll find many things you can improve right away. Then let things sit for awhile, come back and see if you can find a few more things to improve.

When you don't think you can improve the design of your campaign any more, test your campaign in a very focused way and see if your results haven't improved.

Ultimately, you'll hit on a successful formula for your campaign that you can repeat over and over (of course, always trying to improve it a little more every time).

* The More Clients Bottom Line: A successful marketing campaign is like a well oiled machine that produces consistent results every time. To get to that level of consistency, you need to return to the Five Elements and keep tweaking this machine until it produces the results you're looking for: More Clients! * What tweaking has improved the effectiveness of one of your marketing campaigns? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Anatomy of an Online Promotiton

In the last two issues of More Clients, I've discussed the importance of clarity in your marketing and how to design effective marketing campaigns that integrate the elements of clarity.

This week, I'm going to share a case study - the current online promotion for my Fast Track Workshops. This will demonstrate in a non-conceptual way how I go about designing and launching a promotional campaign.

Here are the campaign basics:

My goal is to promote ten workshops around the U.S. and Canada with the intention of filling each workshop with a minimum of fifty people. The workshop is designed to build soild marketing skills that will last a lifetime.

The target audience for the workshop is Independent Professionals and owners of other professional service businesses. Most participants will come from the More Clients e-list and their friends and associates.

The primary vehicle for promoting the workshops is through email and an online sales letter. In addition, I'll be working with my Certified Marketing Coaches and my Affiliates to spread the word.

The Promotional Schedule

You can't promote a series of workshops like this with one email. You need several reminders. The trick is not to fall prey to "email overkill!"

I sent a pre-registration email last week, am launching the workshops officially with this eZine, and will mention them in each issue of More Clients through the end of May. In addition, I'll send a couple stand-alone emails reminding people to sign up.

Why does it take so many reminders? It's because not everyone reads each email every time it's sent out. I've been surprised many times when someone said, "I didn't know you were doing that program," when I'd been promoting it for several months.

The Online Sales Letter

This is the main marketing document that educates your prospects about your offer. It lets them know what you're offering, what they'll get and how to take action. This kind of letter can be used to market any service or program.

A sales letter should not be a "hype letter," full of exaggerated claims and superlatives that can't be backed up. But it needs to include several important components, including the following:

1. Be very clear who the service or program is for. This is the first thing in the mind of the prospect, "Is this for me?" The more specific you can be, the better response you'll get.

2. Be crystal clear about what the service or program actually is. In this case it's a live, one-day workshop. If your service is more complicated, don't assume your audience will understand it without your detailed description.

3. Highlight the ultimate outcome of the service or program. That is, what exactly will your clients get from this service? The primary outcome I'm promoting is, "building solid marketing skills," (as opposed to receiving a lot of information).

4. Outline the benefits and advantages from several angles. I talk about specific results people can expect from the workshops, principles they will learn and skills they will gain. All of this can be accomplished without over-the-top hype.

5. Include testimonials or case studies. I've included several testimonials from past workshop participants. Not everyone reads or believes testimonials, but I personally find them both assuring and persuasive. It's good to know others have gotten results through this service or program. (Never make up a testimonial!)

6. Next, include information on the structure of the service or program. What happens and what will it look like? Make sure the prospect feels comfortable that you know what you're doing. Vague descriptions about how the service works won't cut it.

7. If you can, include a bonus with the program. Bonuses can be offered to everyone who takes advantage of the service or program or it can be conditional. I'm offering a complimentary Marketing Strategy Session valued at $295 for the first 40 people who sign up for each workshop.

8. Create sense of urgency. This is another thing that can go over the top, but if you give a reason for acting now instead of later, you'll usually get a better response. For workshops, I always offer an "early bird enrollment fee" for those who sign up by a specific date.

9. Tell your prospect what to do next. Don't just tell them to call, have them respond online or fill out a form. And let them know exactly what will happen when they respond.

10. Finally, include a FAQ at the end to answer any questions that were not addressed in the main letter. Realize that it's those little unanswered questions that often stop people form taking action.

Additional Promotion

I've found that one of the best ways to promote a workshop is through an introductory teleclass. I'll be offering one for the workshops on April 9 (mark your calendars). This gives people a taste of your program, answers any questions they might have, as well as giving a sense of who you are that can't be conveyed by the written word.

When your promotional plan and sales letter are ready, then you can launch it with confidence. I've done hundreds of such campaigns, for services, online products and workshops, mostly with great success.

What campaign are you going to launch?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: If you want to sell a service or program, you need to design a campaign that communicates in great depth about what you are offering and then get that information into the hands of as many people as possible.

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What do you like most and dislike most about online marketing campaigns? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

http://www.actionplan.blogs.com

Getting Clients Fast

Last week I discussed the importance of clarity in all aspects of your marketing; no clarity equals poor marketing results. This week I want to focus on how to leverage that clarity to attract clients quickly.

First let's review the five marketing elements.

Element 1 - Clearly defined products or services

Element 2 - Clearly targeted ideal buyers

Element 3 - Clear, benefit-oriented messages

Element 4 - Clearly written/designed marketing materials

Element 5 - Clearly communicated offers

These five elements are the foundation of your marketing. They can take some time and effort to put together. But once you've got them, you have the launching pad for attracting clients quickly and consistently.

Then your vehicle for attracting these clients is a well-designed campaign using one or more marketing vehicles such as networking, speaking or teleclasses.

In 1995 I launched a speaking campaign that did just this. I had moved my business from San Francisco to Silicon Valley so I needed to generate new business fast.

After preparing my Five Elements above I contacted every organization in the area whose members were self-employed professionals. I sent a speaker's kit and followed up. I got booked for several talks. I gave the talks and followed up with those who attended. I then converted those people into clients.

In 26 weeks I had gained 26 new clients.

I'm using a similar plan today to fill my new Marketing Certification Program. After putting all Five Elements into place, I contacted my customers and subscribers by email. I then held an introductory teleclass. Those who attended applied to be in the program and I set up individual appointments with them.

The program is now almost full.

My client, Shelley Simon, put her Five Elements together and then promoted her chiropractic business coaching services through ads and articles in targeted chiropractor publications. Those who responded went to her web site and filled out a form to request an initial consultation.

Shelly's business is now filled to capacity.

A customer of my InfoGuru Manual and Web Site ToolKit, Darrell Crawford, owned a franchise business - TAB (The Alternative Board). He assembled his Five Elements and then targeted a select group of prospects through telemarketing and put them on his email list. That led to qualified inquiries and conversion of prospects into TAB clients.

Before long Darrell was the second most successful TAB franchise owner and ultimately sold his business for a healthy profit.

By the way, both Shelley and Darrell went on to become two of my most successful Action Plan Marketing Coaches. They realized the power of this approach and wanted to teach it to others.

It's the Campaign!

What I've noticed is that people do not conduct their marketing as a campaign. Instead, it's done as a series of disconnected, random activities. You do a little networking, a little speaking, etc. and not a whole lot happens.

What's missing is the PROCESS of the campaign. One thing must lead directly to another. When you design, implement and master this process, it's like turning on a marketing machine. Clients will predictably pop out the other end!

Let's look more closely at how the campaign process works.

Step One - Prepare all the Five Elements. Now you are clear on what you are selling, who you are selling it to and have put together your message, materials (i.e., web site) and offer.

Step Two - Put your message, materials and offer in front of your target audience. Again, any marketing vehicle can work. For instance, a speaking engagement can accomplish this.

Step Three - Have a specific call-to-action, not to buy, but to find out more. This is key. "If you are interested in this service and want to know more, let me know and we'll set up a time to talk."

Step Four - Conduct the sales conversation with your qualified prospects. Learn about their goals and what stands in the way of achieving them. Show how your service can help them get there.

Step Five - Confirm the sale, sign the agreement and get your first payment. This, like all the steps, needs to be designed and implemented flawlessly.

Repeat this process enough times and gaining new clients will become natural and effortless.

Is this all there is? Yes, these are essentially the steps to attracting clients consistently and quickly - first the Five Elements and then the Campaign. Everything needs to be in place and you need to play it like a game you can win.

What else do you need?

You need information and guidance in developing and mastering the process. I took a look at all my many marketing programs and have put together a special "Quick Start Marketing Package" that will help you do exactly that.

You can order this package here.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The fastest way to get clients is to mount a very focused campaign where one marketing action leads naturally to another until you are attracting clients consistently. It takes time to develop that campaign, but once you do, you become an unstoppable marketer.

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What have been the results when you've actually launched "marketing campaigns" instead of just "doing marketing activities?" Please share on the More Clients Blog.