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.

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.

The Key to Inspiration

Today is "Super Tuesday" and the candidates for both parties are doing their best to win our votes on this pivotal primary election day. (Don't forget to vote!)

One word we've heard a lot in this primary season is "inspiration."

Many of us are called to leaders who are inspiring or inspirational. But how important is inspiration? Is it more important than someone's track record, more crucial than their policies and platform? And what is true inspiration, anyway?

The dictionary defines inspiration as: "The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative."

When someone inspires you, you're moved to take creative action. So, yes, I'd say inspiration is very important in politics. It's not the only thing, but it's impossible to win without it.

And the same goes for business.

We often see our role with clients as: "Getting the job done for them." And that is certainly true. But it's not very inspiring! After all, a lot of people could get the job done. But how good are you at inspiring your clients? And why is that so important?

It's important, because the success of most projects are up to the client, not you. As a coach, consultant or Independent Professional, your job is to assist your clients in implementing their plans. Your mission is to inspire them to follow through in the face of myriad obstacles and difficulties.

Inspiration isn't just one of your jobs, it's the most important job of all. If they aren't inspired (no matter how good you are technically), the chances of success plummet. But when you inspire your clients to produce great results, your "word-of-mouth factor" multiplies as well.

Inspiration = growth and success (for you and your clients)

So how do you inspire your clients?

Inspiration has very little to do with "Rah, rah, you can do it!" It's not about a veneer of excitement. It's not about a tone of voice or an inspiring vocabulary. It's not even about being sincere; that's superficial, not true inspiration.

Inspiration comes from an unwavering commitment to make a difference. It's not something you do, it's a place you come from.

When you love and appreciate your clients and stand behind their vision and goals, your clients know it. They can feel it. They know you are on their team and committed to them winning.

Commitment + action = inspiration

And where does that commitment come from? You've just met a prospect or started with a client. How can you be committed so soon, let alone be inspiring? Doesn't that take a long time?

Not at all.

The source of commitment is authentic interest. If you can't get truly interested in your prospects and clients, you'll never get committed to their dreams and projects and never become a source of inspiration to them.

I've often asked my clients how much they've learned about a client in their first interview. How much did they research about this client? Did they really dig in and find out about the business or the person? Did they demonstrate a high level of excited curiosity about this prospect or client?

If not, they were not building a foundation for inspiration.

When you get deeply interested in people, that expands into a commitment to make a difference. That commitment, plus action, will naturally grow into inspiration. And inspired clients will lead to fulfillment and success beyond your wildest dreams.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Inspiration isn't a doing. Inspiration is the product of an extraordinary level of authentic interest in your clients. Get interested, be interested, stay interested, and you will not only be inspiring, you'll attract droves of clients in the process.

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What do you think inspires your clients to take effective action? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

A Dangerous Word

A word you hear bandied around a lot these days is "Recesssion."

A recession, or slowdown in the economy, is part of a natural economic cycle. Things go up, things go down. There are good times economically and not so good times.

No big deal.

I saw a pretty interesting piece on "60 Minutes" last night about the sub-prime mortgage crises. Apparently a lot of greedy mortgage bankers got together with a bunch of irresponsible people and made a big mess of things. Nothing new, really.

Is a recession real?

In a way, yes, the economy is experiencing a bout of flu. But like the flu, it will eventually pass with minimal side effects. If you look at it like that, no problem. You take some precautions, but you don't lapse into hopelessness and despair.

The thing is, words are powerful and sometimes dangerous.

Certain words trigger certain feelings. We hear the word recession in the media over and over, and each time it triggers a little fear, a little uncertainty. Before you know it, many people are making the recession a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There's nothing you or I can really do about this.

Economic fluctuations happen on a very large scale. We don't have control over the media. And we don't have a say in the workings of the federal reserve. We also can't control what other people say or do.

But that doesn't make it hopeless. Far from it.

You can treat this like a wake up call. You, personally, can make a difference for you, your family and business. You can choose what you think and do. You can take creative action.

Part of this is taking control of your marketing.

You can't leave it to chance anymore. Those who practice proven marketing strategies will attract more business than those who don't - especially when times are tight. But you need to choose information you can easily apply to your business.

I've created the following chart to make it easier for you. It will enable you to pick the marketing information that you need most right now that will work for your business. You can't use all this information at once, but one bite at a time.

See it here

I've divided it into seven categories.

Marketing Foundation - The most essential information you need to be a better marketer and attract clients consistently.

Get Focused - Information to help you zero in on your ideal prospects and stay organized and on track.

Relationship Building - Information to help you communicate your message and connect with your prospects.

Present Yourself - Information on how to increase credibility through presenting your message powerfully.

Online Presence - Information on leveraging the Internet to give you access to more people and networks.

High Performance - Information on taking your business to a higher level of performance and the rewards that brings.

Selling Skills - Information on turning qualified prospects into paying clients.

Just ask yourself which information you need right now and we have several resources and in-depth information on each to help you choose. Take a look

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Don't let yourself be dragged down by talk of a recession. You can use this time as an opportunity to improve your marketing skills and sharpen your competitive advantage. Now is the time to apply proven marketing principles to attract more clients.

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What mindset do you adopt when everyone's talking about a recession? Do you get dragged down or do you see it as an opportunity? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Accelerating Client Results

When it really comes down to it, is there any thing more important in your business than helping your clients produce outstanding results?

Producing Great Clients Results Builds Your Business

When you ask the average Independent Professional where most of their clients come from, the most common answer is "from word of mouth."

But what generates word-of-mouth? Client Results.

If you can master the art of supporting your clients in consistently accelerating their results, marketing won't be a struggle for you.

Over his 15-year career as a coach and consultant, Patrick Summar has put his primary focus on this question: "How do I produce such outstanding results for my clients that they'll tell everyone they know about me?"

The answers he's discovered to that question has resulted in a coaching practice full of highly satisfied clients, who now pay up to $5,000 per month to work with him.

This past week I recorded an audio interview with Patrick on this topic and I'll summarize his seven main points in today's ezine.

1. Focusing on Client Results

It's not unusual in working with a client to jump right in to solve problems and outline action steps. When a client hires you, they are often eager to get moving and see results fast.

But Patrick points out that this is actually detrimental to producing sustainable results. What's more important is spending as much time as it takes to determine where the client wants to go and why.

"I point out to them that they have to be very clear about WHERE they want to go before we go into any conversation about HOW they will get there," says Patrick. This can take some time but it builds a more solid foundation for bigger gains later on.

2. The Client Is Responsible for Producing Results

You need to communicate this clearly to the client early in the process. It's not unusual that a client wants to be "saved" but Patrick points out that "the coach can't play."

"While I may have ideas, tools or strategies, I might offer or may teach them an idea or concept, they have to use it to play and produce results. I can't do it for them," asserts Patrick.

"It’s going to take multiple baby steps on their part and massive action with a lot of mistakes and learning from those mistakes and false starts. Significant change takes time. It won’t happen if they don’t make it happen. They have to stick with it."

3. Make Sure Your Clients Are Passionate About What They are Working On.

It's easy to focus on goals such as increasing income or producing a particular result. But if there's no passion behind those goals, no underlying motivation to achieve them, they are going to struggle and not know why.

If you want to create breakthrough results for your clients, the more you support them on focusing on what they really want to do, the easier it’s going to be to produce results.

Sometimes it takes several conversations with a client to become clear about what is most important to them. When that clarity comes, they way opens up and barriers to success seem to disappear.

4. Create a Plan and Work the Plan

Patrick says. "I find that you can come up with a more elegant shortcut to get where you want to go when you really get clear about specifically what you want, then brainstorm multiple action plans for getting there.

"It’s back to creating the plan. Help them think long term in terms of Phase 1 and Phase 2. Help them brainstorm multiple action plans. Help them focus. That’s the whole thing. You can have anything you want, just not everything.

"Help them prioritize. Break it down into baby steps. And then by checking in week to week, finding out what's working and what's stopping them, you can help them brainstorm solutions and keep moving."

5. Working with Limiting Beliefs and Fears

You can have the best plan in the world and even be working on your passion and still get tripped up. Limitations and fears stop even the most successful people.

As a coach or consultant you need to address those issues. You can't sweep them under the rug. You want to encourage clients to focus their awareness on what they are telling themselves, what their stories are when they get stuck and to inquire into the validity of those stories.

When you realize a story you're telling doesn't hold up under scrutiny, you are free to construct new stories that support your progress. "I have to do it by myself," can turn into, "When I give away certain tasks, I'm freed up to focus on my priorities."

6. Track and Measure Progress

This is one of the things many coaches and consultants give lip service to. But it can be the key to client success. If you don't measure the progress from where you were to where you are, it's easy to lose motivation and momentum.

Patrick requires clients to rate where they are on a scale of one to ten at the beginning of the engagement and then tracks progress on the scale as they work together. As a result, clients see their movement and stick with the process.

Another tool Patrick uses is a weekly "pre-call checklist." That adds so much to the coaching process," says Patrick, "It gets them into a weekly process of defining and orienting where they are on the map by asking, “Where do I want to go? What’s next?” each week at least, if not every day."

7. Celebrate Successes

Patrick makes the analogy of taking a trip across the desert: "If the journey is 40 days and 40 nights, you wouldn't wait to drink water until the end of the journey. You'd drink water many times a day as you made progress across the desert. I find that people often wait until the ultimate goal is reached before they think they can celebrate."

Patrick continued: "With every point between Point A and Point B, Point B being the goal, you’re losing the opportunity to appreciate the process, journey or experience of your life because you’re waiting for Point B before stopping to appreciate it.

"I find that to the degree that we as coaches can really teach our clients to focus on what progress they’ve made, celebrate it, appreciate it and recognize it, it helps to build momentum, confidence, optimism and positive expectations.

"All of those things help them produce even more results and step up to do more, take on more and stretch more."

7.5 - Successful Clients Equals a Growing Business

Each of these points by themselves are not groundbreaking. But combined, they are extraordinarily powerful. Patrick centers his work around these principles. His clients consistently get exceptional results, stay with him for a long time and pay him substantial fees.

For more on the Audio Program with Patrick on "Accelerating Client Results, see the write-up below.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: You have one job as a coach or consultant, to support your clients in achieving breakthrough results. The good news is that there are practices you can implement in your business that will help your clients get those results more consistently.

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How do you help your clients create breakthrough results? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Timing Your Offers

I've noticed an interesting phenomenon in marketing and selling. When you make an offer, you sell something, when you don't make an offer you don't sell anything.

I know this sounds simplistic, but in many ways it's really at the heart of successful marketing and also at the heart of many marketing failures.

I've noticed that Independent Professionals are notoriously bad at making offers. Let me give you some examples.

Networking
A web designer at a networking event has discussions with several people. He leaves with a few cards and gives his card out to a few people. None of this activity results in new business.

Speaking
A consultant gives a talk at a professional organization. The talk is good, the graphics are interesting; people enjoy the talk. But it doesn't turn into any new business.

Mailing
A communication skills trainer sends out a letter and brochure to a qualified list of potential clients. The information is full of benefits and advantages of his services. But nobody responds.

What's missing? Why no results?

Networking, speaking and mailings are all proven marketing tools for Independent Professionals. They can actually work. They can be very effective. But often they're not, for one very simple reason: No offer is made.

What is an offer?

An offer is a specific call-to-action to the prospect. It is a request for them to do something. It doesn't have to be an offer to buy now, it may be an offer to find out more.

The simple construct for an offer is: "Here's something I have that will provide value to you. Here's how to take advantage of it."

An offer always needs to be explicit, not implicit. It needs to be direct, not indirect. It needs to be a request, not a suggestion. And a successful offer also depends on the right timing.

Let's look at our three examples again.

We often think an offer in networking would go something like this: "I help companies increase their profits, would you like to meet with me to discuss how I can do that with you?"

OK, that's an explicit, direct request. But the timing is bad.

Why would someone want to meet with you just after a brief conversation? You've barely connected. So you need to make an offer appropriate to the situation:

"I help companies increase their profits. I have an article called "Ten Profitability Mistakes Most Companies Make." Can I send you a copy and then get back to you and get your reaction to it?"

This is also an explicit, direct request, but with better timing.

Timing has to do with sensing the appropriateness of the offer given the situation and relationship with the prospect.

Many of us are not too good at this, so we avoid making offers completely. Instead, we need to think through our offers more carefully and design offers that apply good timing

You might design this offer in stages:

1. An article, followed up by an email, phone call, and an introductory conversation: "How did you like the article? Tell me something about your business."

2. An offer or request for an appointment: "Why don't we set up a time to talk in more depth about your business and how I might be able to help you."

3. A sales conversation in which you offer to do a piece of work: "What I'd recommend to start is a Communication Assessment Session with you and your top managers."

Let's look at a speaking engagement.

You give a great talk and at the end is the opportunity to make an offer. You want to make it appropriate to the situation, so you need to consider the timing carefully.

Recently I saw one of my Action Plan Coaches give a 3-hour presentation to a professional group. In three hours you can build a strong connection, and she had succeeded at that. Her offer went like this:

"I have a 6-CD set called "Seven Steps to Energize Your Marketing." The price for that is $199. For anyone who gets one today, I will also give you a complimentary "Marketing Energy Audit" valued at $395."

Eleven people (about a third of the audience) bought the CD program and signed up for the audit. In that audit she explored the situation, needs and opportunities for their businesses. Then she made an offer for a four-month group coaching program valued at $2,000. Seven of the eleven signed up for it.

With this two-step offer, she generated $16,200 in business. And it happened because she thought through her offer, and made explicit, direct requests with the right timing.

For a direct letter you think through this in the same way.

You need to realize that probably you won't get a sale only from the letter. And if your letter says, "Here's what we do. When you need help in this area, just give me a call," you're not likely to get very good results. (I've sen thousands wasted this way.)

That's poor timing because they likely don't need you now, so you're asking for action in the future. All offers need to be for NOW, not the future. So you could offer a special industry report, an introductory presentation or something that will be relatively easy to say yes to now.

The first thing to notice is how often you fail to make any kind of offer in your marketing. The next thing to work on is crafting offers that are explicit, direct and ask for action. Finally, you need to fine-tune your offers so the timing is appropriate to your audience. Before long, your offers will generate new business.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The better you get at making offers, the more business you'll attract. Creating and communicating offers is a bit of an art. And art takes practice. Develop a new offer for your business today.

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What offers do you make in your marketing that really work for you? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

The Art of Renewal

A few years ago I read something interesting about vacations.

It said that the more vacations you take, the more money you make. If you think about that, it's a pretty nice idea (if in fact it's true).

This year I decided to believe it and scheduled five vacations. (Let me tell you, my wife was all for it!)

We have just completed our Christmas and New Year's vacation and I have a few insights to share.

Other than checking email a few times and writing the eZine last week, I didn't do any work. No writing, planning, meetings and most importantly, no spending hours at my computer.

We spent time with our family and friends. I read seven books in the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series (amazing books, highly recommended for any self-employed person). We attended the best New Year's party of our lives (without getting drunk). We slept late a whole lot. We went to a few movies.

In the past, I admit, I've had a hard time with vacations. I found it difficult to turn off my "working hard mindset." I didn't feel I was getting my full vacation value unless I was doing something productive.

Many self-employed people are like that. I know a number of these people who haven't had a real vacation in many years (if ever). They don't know how to let go and renew themselves.

Well, I'm getting the hang of it at last, so here are those insights:

1. If you go on a vacation, you won't get as behind as you think; you pick up where you left off. Who says you have to be insanely productive all the time?

2. We probably waste more time procrastinating in a year than the time we "lose" on a vacation. For most of us, real productivity is an illusion; better to focus on true priorities and stop sweating the small stuff.

3. A vacation is a mini version of retirement. Many of us look forward to retirement, but probably wouldn't know what to do with ourselves when we reached it. Why wait? Get some practice with your vacations!

4. Ever notice how you get great ideas in the shower? That's a mini vacation. We are relaxed and our minds are open. On this vacation I got some great ideas for my business in the coming year (without any effort).

5. Ultimately, a vacation is a state of mind, a state of being. It's not somewhere you go (although it's great if you do). It's a place where you have time for true appreciation (def: the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something, gratitude for something).

You know your vacation has worked if you feel renewed and ready to take on the next adventure in your life. Last week I told you what I had planned for 2008. I sincerely hope you were renewed by your Holiday vacation and are ready for the very best year in your business.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Vacations are about renewal and appreciation. Take a few each year and I predict that your business will do better than ever.

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What's your favorite type of vacation (that really renews you)? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Coming Attractions for 2008

What's on tap from Action Plan Marketing this coming year?

I've taken a long and relaxing Holiday vacation and am ready to launch several exciting marketing projects and programs.

Perhaps this will also inspire you to create big plans for your New Year as well. The first is a free teleclass next week.

No-Hype Internet TeleClass

You are probably aware that I now do most of my marketing via the Internet (email and web), but that I don't actually teach Internet Marketing. Nevertheless, increasing numbers of subscribers and clients are interested in how to use Internet marketing in their businesses.

The problem is, too much Internet marketing is all hype and little substance. Where can you get reliable information on how to use the Internet to sell information-based products and services?

One of my most reliable sources is Ken McCarthy who produces "The System Seminar." I asked Ken if he'd be willing to be interviewed about "No-Hype Internet Marketing" and he agreed. We'll be offering a free TeleClass next week, Weds., Jan 9th at 12:00 noon Pacific time. Click below to reserve your space:

www.actionplan.com/mccarthy.html

Hands-On Audio Programs

In 2007 I recorded and released five Audio Programs of interviews with marketing and business experts. I'll continue this next year, and my goal is six new Audio Programs. The first will be released later in January. The topic will be "Accelerating Client Results" with Patrick Summar. Patrick will outline his proven system for supporting clients in producing breakthrough results.

For Patrick, this system has resulted in a stream of highly qualified referrals who pay him very high fees. You'll learn several high-leverage tools that have the power to accelerate client results, helping you grow your own business.

(Interested in other Audio Program topics this year? Let me know!)

National Marketing Workshop Tour

This is my most exciting project for 2008. I'll be touring the U.S and Canada, holding one-day marketing workshops in ten cities in June and July. Right now, the dates are as follows:

Wed, June 4 - Cincinnati, OH
Sat, June 7 - Miami, FL
Wed, June 11 - Boston, MA
Sat, June 14 - New York City, NY
Wed, June 25 - Detroit, MI
Sat, June 28 - Toronto, Ont Canada
Wed, July 9 - San Francisco, CA
Sat, July 12 - Kansas City, MO
Wed, July 16 - Portland, OR
Sat, July 19 - Vancouver, BC Canada

These dates and locations are subject to change, but mark your calendars now and I'll be giving you more details in a month or so. Workshop fee will be only $149.

Marketing Book

I plan to write and publish my first mass-market book in 2008. The tentative title is: "Marketing Ball - Winning the Game of Attracting More Clients." I've been struggling with moving ahead with this but have finally run out of excuses! I also want your help in writing this book, and you'll hear more about that soon.

The Marketing Certification Program

This is the project I now devote the most time, effort and passion to - training and certifying Action Plan Marketing Coaches. If you'd like to take your business to a whole new level, I invite you to learn more and apply to the next program starting this spring:

www.actionplan.com/apmc.html

I think these projects will keep me busy for awhile!

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Are you willing to break through your self-imposed limitations around your business and marketing this year? If so, I look forward to playing with you in 2008!

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What are your big goals and plans for 2008? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Ten Year-End Marketing Insights

This week, Time Magazine listed its top ten of everything - books, movies, TV shows, etc. But strangely, they neglected to list the Top Tend Marketing Insights for Independent Professionals.

I guess I'll have to do it for them!

These are some of the insights I've had about marketing this year. There are no big breakthroughs; but understanding and implementing these insights could have a big impact on your business for 2008.

After most of the insights I include a link for a resource that can help you with this area of marketing.

1. EZines Still Rule
No other marketing vehicle is as powerful, efficient and affordable as a regular email newsletter. Marketing is not only about being known, it's about not being forgotten. An eZine will get your message in front of thousands of people. Not only that, it will stimulate qualified prospects to contact you. Make it a New Year's resolution to start your eZine in '08.

EZine Queen Manual
Aweber eZine Management

2. Selling is a Process, Not a Talent
I've heard it a thousand times: "I'm not a sales type." Of course not, there isn't a sales type! Selling is simply communicating in a structured way. And one of the best ways to conduct a sales interview is through a complimentary session by phone. From a small coaching engagement, to a large consulting project, you can turn a qualified prospect into a paying client in about an hour.

Free Sessions That Sell

3. Getting Organized is Key to Marketing Success
I don't care how good your marketing and sales skills are, and how good your marketing plan is; if you're not organized, you probably won't implement it. If you can't track your papers, projects, promises and ideas, you are limiting your possibilities. Setting up a system doesn't take long or cost much, but it will pay off for years to come. Get organized for the New Year!

Get Organized, On Track and Unstuck

4. Differentiate Good Prospects from Bad
This was one of my biggest insights of the year. I realized I had no system for determining which prospects would turn out to be good clients and which ones would waste my time. Jerry Vieira showed me the error of my ways and taught me a system for recognizing the warning signs of prospects who simply had no real potential for working with me. It's already saved me gobs of time and energy.

Attracting More of the Right Clients

5. Web + Blog = Marketing Synergy
There's been a lot of hype about blogging in the past year. But very few people really make blogs work for them. The best ones integrate their blog and their web site. The web portion enables you to post all the information about your business; the blog portion allows you to post current and relevant ideas on a regular basis. With blog platforms like TypePad and WordPress, it's now a snap to update your site and stay current.

Secrets of Blogging

6. Networking is Still Relevant
My colleague, Andrea Nierenberg, just published her third book on Networking: Savvy Networking. Independent Professionals thrive when they build relationships, stay in touch and "work their network." A great example is a close friend and associate who asked me if I could recommend an ideal client to him. After a moment's thought I said, "As a matter of fact I can." This referral just turned into a $5K/month coaching project. Another networking success!

Savvy Networking

7. Joint Ventures Accelerate Access
If there's one question you should keep asking yourself it's, "How can I tap into the credibility and trust of other people's networks?" When you gain access to another's network (which may include their client base), you can offer your services with little resistance. You are borrowing the trust earned by your partners. These joint ventures may be rare, but you'll find them, if you put your mind to it.

Audio Program Coming in 2008

8. A Book Creates Instant Credibility
The words author and authority come from the same root. As an author, you are seen as a person with extensive or specialized knowledge about a subject. And you are. Ever notice who's on the radio shows and giving talks? Authors. Why not take the first steps to becoming one this coming year? You'll have a powerful marketing tool you can use for years.

Become a Published Author

9. Online Tools are the Future
This is the direction I've been moving in since the InfoGuru Manual and the Web Site ToolKit. I decided to create an "online marketing plan tool" that would make it easier for Independent Professionals to master the skills of marketing while increasing the chances of implementing their marketing action plans. In January I'll be launching the online "Fast Track Marketing Program."

Watch this space in January!

10. It's All in the Mindset
If there was only one thing I could help an Independent Professional with, it would be to shift their mindset. Negative, limiting, and disempowering mindsets are the root of all marketing stuckness. It's not just what you're doing (or not doing), it's how you're thinking and being. Why not master how to deal with the mindsets that are holding you back?

Master Your Mindset

I sincerely hope that some of my marketing insights for 2007 become your marketing practices for 2008. Implement just a few of them and they could transform your business.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Turning insights into practices is rare. We usually give lip service to the things we know we should do but just can't get around to. None of the practices I advocate will take a huge investment of time and money. Why not make the coming year the one where you transform your ability to attract more clients and make your contribution real in the world?

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What have your marketing insights been for the past year? What resources do you recommend? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Taming the Alligators

Remember the saying: "When you're knee-deep in alligators, sometimes you forget that the prime objective was to drain the swamp!"

When our goal is to accomplish important projects that will move our business forward, those alligators are the paper clutter, calls, emails, and ideas swimming through our businesses (and heads).

All those little alligators become a huge distraction.

What happened to all your important projects? You know, the things you were inspired about once, like creating a web site, writing a regular ezine, getting involved in the chamber and going after new clients in your targeted industry.

After awhile it becomes all about catching up, trying to stay on top of things and handling emergencies. If we do a lot of this stuff in a day, we call it productivity. But we don't feel productive.

Taming the alligators

Last week I introduced you to Elizabeth Hagen and her "Control Center" that enables you to tame all those alligators that are overwhelming you and killing your productivity.

I've now used the system for a full week and I'd like to give you my "report from the field." Does it work? What difference has it made? Am I really managing all the clutter? And most importantly, am I more productive?

The first breakthrough came for me when I totally cleared my desk. I threw a ton of stuff away or filed it where I could easily find it. That was a relief, but just a start.

Next, I set up my "tickler system" (in the Command Center) that allowed me to file action items, ideas, promises and projects under the day I actually planned to work on them.

The unintended result was that I started to generate more ideas!

I had so many ideas floating around in my head that I didn't know where to put them. Usually, I'd jot these ideas down on a legal pad and promptly forget about them.

This week, I wrote them down on 4" X 6" cards (you'll want to buy a big stack of these) and jotted down all my ideas as they came up. Then I went to my Control Center and filed the cards where I could find them quickly - often in the tickler file for action later that week.

Now came the moment of truth.

Every day I pulled out a stack of cards, papers, and notes from my file. These were the possibilities for the day. Of course, it was never two or three things (more like a dozen plus).

Every morning I used to sit down at my desk and get started with whatever alligator was biting the hardest. Not anymore. Now I sort the alligators. I prioritize them. I might handle an easy one or two right away or move some to later in the week.

In just a few minutes, I have my priorities sorted from most to least important; then I focus on doing one thing at time. Elizabeth says we must wage a war against multi-tasking by replacing this old habit with the habit of focus.

Like any new habit, it gets easier the more you do it.

I'm now working on five major projects, managing an endless stream of emails, and taming the alligators one at a time. My desk is clear; my mind is calm; and the most important projects are moving forward one step at a time.

As my business grows, it's unrealistic to expect that there will be fewer alligators to deal with. There will inevitably be more; now I have a system to handle them.

For details on the "Get Organized, On Track and Unstuck" program, go tho this link:

www.actionplan.com/tc/tc_getorganized.html

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Getting Organized and using the Command Center won't make much of a difference unless you use it every day. The good new is that it's so much better than the stacks of paper, chaotic email and unfinished projects, that using the system is an easy choice to make.

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Have you gotten yourself organized this past week? What were your results? Please share on the More Clients Blog.