Five Steps to High-End Clients

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

I'm feeling very proud right now.

Almost daily I'm getting reports from the participants in my current Marketing Mastery Program about various new projects they are getting.

One, a productivity consultant, just got a one-day training contract in Dubai for $10K + first class airfare! Another, a leadership consultant, submitted 3 proposals before leaving for his honeymoon in Thailand and got all of them - totaling about $38K.

We have worked very hard together over the past year and are now reaping the rewards. I'm more confident than ever that my system for attracting high-end clients definitely works.

But I don't want to spend this whole eZine, boasting. Let me share some ideas about the most important principle in the program:

"If you don't aim to attract high-end clients, you won't get high-end clients."

From what I've observed, most Independent Professionals set their sights much too low. They settle for the work they get and think it's impossible to find the ideal clients that will actually pay them what they are worth.

Here's the basic plan. How many of these are you doing?

1. Set your goals high. Don't just say you'd like to get more high- end clients, be very specific about what you are going for. Create a written description of your ideal clients and the services or programs you could offer them. Make it full color, three dimensional and sensory rich. See and taste what you want.

2. Next, do some research on where these ideal clients can be found. You may discover unexpected places, as my leadership consultant in Paris found. As an alumna of Georgetown University, she offered a webinar through their e-list. About 250 showed up and 40 requested appointments to discuss her services.

3. Write up in great detail the high-end services you plan to offer. Be very specific as to the need for these services, the outcomes you deliver, the benefits your clients receive and the structure of these services. You can't sell a service or program that you haven't designed and made tangible. Put this on your web site.

4. Study, learn and master the best selling process for this service. That is, script the selling process for prospects who are ready to explore doing business with you. I often recommend you do this before starting any marketing, because when you are clear about your ideal clients and have packaged the ideal service for them, it's not unusual that opportunities arise very quickly (usually in your current network) to meet and engage in selling conversations.

5. Finally, develop a very focused marketing campaign to get exposure for these services. If you have a large list of prospects, that's where to start with very direct and personal outreach to educate them about your services. If you don't have a list, the most effective marketing strategy is some kind of presentation or talk to groups both locally and nationally. For instance, my talk at the ICF conference in 2009 attracted five participants to the 2010 Marketing Mastery Program and is still generating applicants.

Five very basic steps. Quite simple, really, but perhaps not so easy to do unless you have the know-how.

To get the know-how, consider studying the Fast Track to More Clients Program which is the heart of the Action Plan Marketing Club. You can sign up for the first month for free from now until the end of February.

actionplan.com/actionplanclub.html

To get the know-how, plus hands on coaching that guarantees you will implement what you learn, consider the 2011 Marketing Mastery Program. We have a few spaces open.

actionplan.com/apmmm.html

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The More Clients Bottom Line: To accomplish anything big, you need an action plan based on time-tested formulas. If you go it alone, you will spend much more time and money than if you got some help in learning and implementing these formulas. Invest in yourself and master your marketing in 2011. It will be the best investment you could possibly make in your business.

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How are you investing in your marketing in 2011? Please share on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments like below.

Comments

[Neil Smith]

The fast track to more clients programme gave me real focus.

I realised how much polish was missing, and now I've begun to deal with it, things are beginning to look somewhat different to the way they were before I joined the club.

The difference is hard to explain, but it has trebbled my confidence. I now talk about outcomes, not do-dos! Results not processes.