The More Clients Blog

It's NOT the economy, stupid!*

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

Is the economy hurting your business right now? Are things slow because nobody is spending money? Are you discouraged that you're not getting as many people calling you as before? Are you waiting for the economy to improve before you get out there are start marketing yourself?

But is it really the economy that's hurting your business?

Last week I went to a networking event through Biznik and had a great time meeting new people. I'm always on the lookout for services that I need at events like this.

I met a young man that was selling health insurance. And since I'm not very happy with my coverage, we talked and I asked him many questions. What he said sounded good to me.

So I handed him my card and asked him to call to tell me more. And then he gave me his card and said something like: "OK, I'll call you or you can call me, whatever."

Guess what? A week later I still haven't heard from him!

In my experience, this is more often the rule than the exception. Even when making a connection with a real potential client who has a real need and who has real money to spend, so many Independent Professionals fail to follow-up.

It's not the economy that's hurting your business. It's you!

The magic of successfully attracting more clients has very little to do with the economy or brilliant marketing messages or exposure on every single social media site. It has a lot more to do with setting up opportunities to connect with more qualified prospects and actually following up with them.

So why doesn't everybody do this? Three main reasons:

1. People don't have a system and they are not prepared. They literally have no plan, no intention, no purpose or goals to build their business. They don't have a written strategy or plan. They haven't thought much about the tools and resources they need.

And if you don't have that, nothing much will happen. Not even if the economy picks up. By the time it does, your business may be dead and gone. Without a plan and preparation and some serious thinking about what you're doing and what you're trying to accomplish, your business will not grow.

2. People are disorganized and unfocused. Even if they have a basic plan, they are scattered. They get home after a networking event, put the cards they collected on their desks, and then they get busy and the cards collect dust. Two weeks later, they look at the pile of cards and go, "Oh, s###! I forgot to follow up with anyone at that event!"

If this is your modus operandi for growing your business, you're in deep trouble. Like my young insurance agent, without some systems and organization, you'll be left with a pile of cards but no appointments with potential clients.

3. People Are Afraid of Rejection. If all of the above wasn't bad enough, we fail to follow up or take any kind of proactive action because we think things like this: "I don't want to be pushy. If they're interested in me, they'll call me. I'm just not the sales type. I don't have time for follow-up."

All of this is a disguise for deeper fears such as: "I'll be ostracized if I market myself too aggressively. I'll be rejected and then won't be able to show my face at that group again. I really have nothing of real value to offer. Why am I doing this anyway?"

How to Stand Out and Attract Lots of Clients

Those who are attracting as many clients as they can handle are doing the exact opposite of the above:

1. They have a plan and they know what they are doing. They are focused, prepared and ready to play the game of marketing.

2. They are organized with real systems in place which they follow without fail. Follow-up is not a burden but on opportunity.

3. They are fearless. They understand the value of their service and don't worry about being rejected. They make it happen.

Now if this is you, you are attracting a lot of business and you probably wonder what all the fuss is about! You realize that marketing yourself is part of your business and you simply work at getting good at it until it's never a big issue again.

For everyone else, please read this carefully:

If you are not attracting as much business as you could because you have no plan, are poorly organized, and are afraid of rejection, what are you going to do to get beyond these three things?

Here are your options:

1. Do nothing and hope the economy changes. This is the mindset of resignation and hopelessness. It's affecting many people in this economy. But this is not a plan of action! What if the economy doesn't change for some time?

2. Try halfheartedly but continue to complain about how marketing is so hard. This approach will get a lot of sympathy from many people. We love to commiserate with each other, but where does that get you?

3. Make a real commitment to change. This is the only thing that has ever worked, good economy or bad. In fact, I'm noticing that the economy has been a wake-up call to many business owners, large and small. They realized if they don't change and take action, they are in deep trouble.

If you fall into the third category, please follow this link below. I have something for you that will make a big difference in your business:

http://tinyurl.com/time-for-action

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The More Clients Bottom Line: If you want to attract clients and grow your business in this economy, you must take action to change. If you keep doing what you're doing, nothing will happen (even if the economy picks up).

* The phrase "It's the economy, stupid!" was a rallying cry for the Clinton presidential campaign in 1993 to remind them to focus on the economy above all else. But when you're in business, if you are blaming the economy, you're in trouble, hence, "It's NOT the economy, stupid!" If you are offended by this, it applies to you even more.

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What are you doing to make changes in your business and marketing in this economy? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

How to Make Your Services Essential

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

I just interviewed Tim Kelley of "Know Your Purpose" for the Action Plan Marketing Club on the Topic of "How to Make Your Services Essential by Knowing Your Life Purpose." It was an amazing interview with many thought-provoking ideas.

I thought I'd reproduce some of it in today's eZine where we talked about zeroing in on your ultimate business purpose.

Tim: Many people are never as successful as they could be or their businesses go under because they're never actually able to successfully identify that ideal target market and that ideal service that they should be offering those people.

Robert: If they don't do that, what's the fallout of that?

Tim: Well, the fallout is everything we see around us, which is "business as usual." It's the sort of groping and trial and error of trying to figure out how to make the marketing message sing, trying to figure out which people to go after, trying to figure out exactly what to do with them, and constantly tweaking and honing and trying to see whether it's working or not, and it's just this general, ongoing, never-ending, groping process.

And that "business as usual," in this kind of economy we're facing now, can be a disaster for your business, because your message has no impact when it needs to get through more than ever.

Each and every person, and each and every company, is actually designed to serve a particular target audience, and designed to offer a particular service to that target audience, and designed to create very specific outcomes from that service.

The problem is that people are generally unconscious about the thing that they've been designed to do. So let me use a metaphor. Let's imagine that you are a hammer that had never seen a nail; you've spent your whole life driving screws.

Now, you actually can drive screws with a hammer. It'll work, right? They'll turn a little bit, and they'll kinda munge through the wood and whatnot, but it's a lot of work to drive those screws with that hammer.

The hammer doesn't know that it's supposed to be working with nails, but, boy, if someone said, "Dude! Let me tell you, these screws are not your target audience. You should be working with nails," and the hammer goes home and starts working with nails after years of working with screws, it's going to seem so easy.

They'd say, "Oh my god! This used to be so much work. This is so much fun! Three strikes and it's done. I used to spend half an hour at this thing. It's amazing!" Right? So that's the feeling people have when they find it. When they actually find the thing they're supposed to be doing and the people they're actually supposed to be doing it for; suddenly it becomes easy.

Suddenly they feel passionate and inspired about it. Suddenly they know exactly what to do; all these latent faculties turn on that have not been engaged because they were working with the wrong people or doing the wrong thing.

Robert: Why are we hammers so clueless about this?

Tim: Well, the issue is, by itself without a nail, a hammer can't actually tell that it's supposed to drive nails. Only if you've ever seen a hammer driving nails would you know how it's supposed to work.

So the fact that I'm designed to do a particular thing doesn't mean that I know I am. People have a specific process they're supposed to offer, a specific audience they're supposed to offer it to, and it's unconscious in them. It's buried somewhere, and they're not consciously aware of this fact.

Periodically, accidentally, they hit on those people and they hit on those processes and think, "Wow! That went really well with that client. I wish all my other clients were like that." But they don't actually know the specific qualities and characteristics that made that one sing. They try to figure it out, but they can never get it exactly right.

Robert: I've had that kind of conversation with clients where I say, "What kind of clients do you really love working with? Which clients do you produce the best results with? Which clients do you feel happy working with?" Sometimes, it's not that far away. I say, "Maybe you should really specialize in those clients." That's the beginning of it anyway. I know you go deeper than that.

Tim: The method that you articulated is the kind of method people usually use. So it's some combination of things like this. "When do you feel most passionate? What is the thing that you would do if no one were paying you to do it? Name 10 clients that you've done your absolute best work with and what's common among them?"

Those are the methods that people usually use to answer this question, but those are indirect methods for getting at these answers. And by "indirect," I mean that we're trying to play connect-the-dots. We're trying to do reverse engineering to figure out that answer from the available evidence.

And those kind of methods that you talked about are like that. "Well, let's see if we can figure out what your ideal target market is based on the available evidence."

The problem with that is the answer will always be an approximation, and it matters if you get it exactly right. If you really want it to sing, if you really want it to flow, you have to get it exactly right; you have to use direct methods.

You have to actually go probing into your psyche, looking for the answers to the questions which are already there buried somewhere in your unconscious and unearth this information called "What is it I've been designed to do? Who have I been designed to do it with? And what outcomes have I been designed to create with those people?"

The answers are already within you. You do not need to do a marketing study or interview your clients or do any of that stuff. The answers already exist inside of you. And under the right conditions, that information can become conscious, and it will change the entire game.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: According to Tim, we all have a purpose, a thing we were designed to do, but for the most part we are unaware of it. Until we become aware of it, our businesses are not as focused and as powerful as they can be.

To learn more about Tim's approach, click below to get a free chapter of Tim's new book: "True Purpose: 12 Strategies for Discovering the Difference Your Are Meant to Make," and the audio of his popular teleclass, "Explode Your Practice!"

www.PurposefulCoach.com/marketingclub

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What impact have you seen in your business when you are very clear on your purpose (or perhaps when you're not so clear)? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Information: Junk or Nutrition?

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

There's a lot of talk these days about how greed has been responsible for the crash in our economy - greed on Wall Street as well as greed on Main Street. In our insatiable need for more, something finally had to give - and it did.

But there's another kind of greed that doesn't get a lot of attention. I don't know exactly how this greed has impacted the economy, but I know that it impacts me greatly. This is greed for information.

The Treasure Hunter

Do you remember watching a movie where a group of treasure hunters, after a long and arduous search, finally unearth a cave full of riches? It's an old theme; invariably, one of the party starts stuffing gold and jewels into every pocket, overwhelmed by the accessibility of the vast riches spread out before him. 

Then, of course, the cave roof collapses, burying our hapless treasure hunter, along with his dreams for freedom and happiness. Moral of the story? Greed will kill you!

Of course, we'd never do that, or would we?

Here's an upated story: An independent business owner, in search of success, comes across a different kind of treasure trove. This treasure is information. The information available is more vast than any golden treasure of ancient times.

Google, Wikipedia, blogs, emails, e-courses, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, YouTube, online articles, and other information treasures are there for the taking in unimaginable quantities.

Dazzled by the wonder of it all, we dive in greedily to absorb as much as we possibly can. We look things up, we download reports, we listen to audio and view video, we link to web sites from Twitter, until one fateful day the roof of the cave crashes in.

We find ourselves exhausted, overwhelmed, and confused. All this information has given us a few good ideas and some excitement, but ultimately we feel a little empty inside. No matter how much information we get, it never seems to be enough.

The Solution to Information Overload 

One solution is to cut back on the information we consume. But that's just part of the solution. The thing to realize is that information overload is triggered by "junk information." This is random information, articles, and ideas that don't make any substantial contribution to our business and lives.

All of this junk information seems to flow in automatically. It's always trying to pull our attention, and ends up distracting us from what's really important.

Look at all the information that comes into you, and ask if it's really adding value. Then cut it back. Unsubscribe to newsletters, discontinue certain magazines, stop reading some blogs, remove the news feed on iGoogle. If you really need to know something, you can always look it up.

The next step is to up your consumption of "nutritious information." This is information that adds real value to your life and your business, such as books and courses. We often don't get to this information because we are so inundated by the junk.

For instance, I recently bought a course on how to do more successful online product and program launches. It's great information that can really help my business, but it's been hard to get around to studying it. My friend and business coach, Patrick Summar, suggested a very non-intutive solution:

He said, "You should consume this highly nutritious information earlier in the day. Don't wait until the end of the day when you're tired. For instance, take some time before lunch and read a section or chapter. The bonus is that this information will give you ideas and energy you can tap into for the rest of the day.

"When you're consuming junk information, that's not the case, because it doesn't have much value or immediate application to your business; it only distracts you. Ultimately it's only wasting your time and adding to your overwhelm."

So that's my new information plan. Reduce the junk information, increase the nutritious information and schedule the consumption of this information in a way that works for me.

Maybe it will work for you as well.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Although it may not seem like it, we do have a choice about the information we consume. We can subsist on a junk diet of ideas, snippets, and news that does nothing to build our businesses, or we can sit down regularly for an information meal that can nourish us and make us stronger. It really doesn't take any more time to consume this kind of information; it just takes a little more intention and planing.

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How are you managing information overload in a way that helps your business? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

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In the article above, I talk bout Junk Information vs. Nutritious Information. Junk information distracts, overwhelms and exhausts you. Nutritious information nourishes your business by teaching you hands-on business skills you can use for a lifetime. One place you can find a healthy helping of nutritious information is in the Action Plan Marketing Club. Give it a taste for just one month for only $9.00 and see the difference it makes: www.actionplan.com/actionplanclub

Networking Off and Online with Biznik

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

I have never heard Suzi Elton, one of my Marketing Coaches, sound so excited: "This Biznik is the greatest thing! I think it will transform my business! You ought to check it out!!"

Well, I did check it out and it IS pretty great.

Relax, this is not some kind of hyped-up business promotion I want to rope you into, but a relatively new social media and networking site that works both online and offline.

Biznik combines the best of Facebook and LinkedIn, with article publishing, business discussion groups, live events, and placement on Google.

Biznik was started in Seattle in 2006 and has grown like gangbuster there. I think it's poised to be a big online business and social media networking player. But the great thing about Biznik is its local quality and live events.

Let me give you a rundown on how Biznik works:

Profile
This is much the same as in LinkedIn. You post a detailed profile about your business and background that anyone can view on Biznik. Biznik has a very user-friendly interface. It was designed with Independent Professionals in mind (Biznik calls them Indies), not corporate types or job seekers.

Articles
You can write and publish your business-oriented articles on Biznik and other members can view them and comment on them. Biznik actually reviews all articles and only posts the best, so you are not inundated with junk and MLM schemes. These articles are indexed on Google and get positioned quickly.

Biz Talk
There are about a dozen different Biz Talk categories where you can initiate discussions, introduce yourself, suggest ideas for the Biznik community and ask questions. It's all very user-freindly and transparent. The founder of Biznik, Dan McComb, weighs in on Biz Talk regularly.

Events
This is the big key to Biznik success. There's something about meeting people eyeball to eyeball that trumps all online contact. You can create your own local Biznik events (free or paid), from networking gatherings and classes, to parties and brainstorming groups.

The great thing about Events is that you can see exactly who is going to attend and then read their profiles before you attend. How great is that? You'll know who to connect with before you even show up. You won't be a stranger but a "Biznik," a welcome member of the Biznik community.

Getting the Most out of Biznik

Unlike most social networking, that emphasizes building huge lists of friends and followers, Biznik is more concerned with building solid business relationships. I'd recommend taking the following steps to get the most out of your membership.

First, take the time to write a complete, in-depth profile so people really understand your business, who you work with, the results you produce and the services you offer. Then:

• Introduce yourself to those in your geographic network.

• Jump into the Biz Talk discussions and share your ideas.

• Write and post some articles and become an expert.

• Either attend a Biznik Event or hold one of your own.

Business Networking That Doesn't Suck

That's the Biznik tagline. And they're doing their best to live up to it. But it requires your participation.

By the way, you can join Biznik for free or you can pay a $10 or $24 month membership that gives you extra exposure and access. I didn't think twice before joining for $24. (No, I don't get a commission!)

What could be better on Biznik?

You can join no matter where you are in the country (or world), but many areas don't have too many members yet. The more that join, start networking, and start putting on events, the more value.

I'd like to see a "Notify" feature that alerted you whenever someone posted on Biz Talk, wrote an Article, listed a new Event or made a reservation for an Event.

If you could control the notifications you received it would be easily manageable. For instance, you might want to be notified about all new Articles but only notified about Events in your local area. I hope this feature is added soon.

Dan McComb is responsive and is constantly working on new Biznik features, so I think you'll see a lot of growth in 2009.

My Recommendation?

Join Biznik today. You can use my link and I'll get "Biznik Brownie Points." By the way, I plan to hold several Biznik event in the SF Bay Area this year, so join, if you'd like an invite. 

http://biznik.com/join/robert-middleton

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Biznik is just one of many business/social networking sites, but because it combines so many ways to network and interact, I feel it's unique and perfectly designed to build your network and your business, especially if you're an Independent Professional.

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Are you on Biznik yet? How's it working for you? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

MC Blog - The Art of Follow-Up Part I

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

A couple weeks ago at a networking meeting I met two guys who owned a video production company. I talked to them about how I was looking for someone to do videos that I could put on the Internet. They seemed to have the capability and understood my situation and I gave them my card to follow up with me.

But I haven't heard a word from them.

The thing is, this isn't an isolated incident. I've been in business for almost 25 years. And in that time I've met thousands of people through networking. But I believe that fewer that ten people have ever followed up with me!

What's going on here?

I'm a business owner who networks like everyone else to find clients, but I'm also looking for services. I meet people, I express interest, we exchange cards, I wait for a call and... nada.

Yes, sometimes (very rarely) people follow up with me. And in almost all cases the follow up call is embarassingly bad. I can only remember one or two times in my whole career when I got a good follow-up call.

All I can conclude from this shockingly abysmal lack of follow up is that people either don't know how to follow up or are scared to follow up - or both.

In today's economy, you'd think people would be eager to follow up, would be prepared and know what to say, would ask the right questions and set up selling conversations, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Next week I'll share some ideas on how to follow up and turn it into one of your most powerful business tools.

Cheers,

Robert Middleton

Conquering Resignation

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

With the current insanity of our economy, it's easy to get dragged down and slip into resignation, or worse.

When something unfortunate is happening to another we don't know (such as losing their home to a foreclosure), we are not greatly impacted.

When something happens to us such as losing a client because they don't have the funds to pay us, we are understandably affected. We may feel discouraged.

But when both of these situations are happening at the same time (and often repeatedly) it is easy to slip into resignation, hopelessness and even depression.

Are you experiencing these signs of resignation?

• Your business does not feel so fun anymore; if feels like a burden
• You find yourself in a scarcity mindset and worrying about money
• You get sucked into conversations about how bad things are
• You become addicted to the news, which is mostly bad
• You don't feel creative or have the initiative to start new projects
• You often feel like quitting and giving up on your dreams

The first step in getting out of this place of resignation is realizing that you are there in the first place. This isn't easy because it seems that the external circumstances (which are real) are the cause of your resignation. You feel that if things change (in the economy and in your business) that things will get better.

The second step is to question the beliefs underlying your resignation. What would you have to believe to feel the way you do? Are any of these familiar to you?

• I can't succeed in this economy
• Nobody can afford my services now
• Nothing I do to promote myself works

Are these true? Can you really know? Or are they just beliefs that you bought into? One thing is true - they will become self-fulfilling prophecies if you continue to believe them.

When you are attached to beliefs like this, notice how you react, how you talk, how you behave. What is that costing you? How are these beliefs impacting your life, your business and your future?

What if you couldn't think those thoughts? What if it was impossible to entertain them for even a moment? How would things be like then? How would you talk and behave?

It's time to generate some new beliefs and then take actions that support them:

I can succeed in this economy
I can get out there and network more; I can study successful marketing strategies; I can mix with people who are positive instead of negative; I can remember the contribution I make and take the steps to share this with everyone.

People can afford my services now
I just have to meet with more people and get the world out more clearly about what I do; I can take the time to write better marketing materials that make a more persuasive case; I can offer better value and go the extra mile in providing service.

Everything I do to promote myself works
Because I am excited about my business, when I connect with people, I make an impact and people remember me; I'm not afraid to follow-up because I have value to offer; I'm enthusiastic about the future of my business; when the economy improves, things will only get better.

Aren't all of these statements just as true or truer than the previous ones? Then why not choose them to believe instead?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: You can buy into the story of resignation or you can create a new story of hope and opportunity, no matter what the external circumstances. This will help you take the initiative to market yourself even more proactively and do your part in helping the economy get back on track.

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How are you conquering resignation in today's economy? Please share on the More Clients Blog.