Marketing For Entreprenuers

As a small business owner you need to know where to place your focus at any given moment. Marketing is no different.

I think one of the greatest challenges is knowing where to place your focus in your marketing. If you get this right then you will develop a marketing system that over time brings you a consistent reliable stream of new clients.

For many business owners though marketing (like many things) becomes overwhelming because of where they place their focus.

Having coached hundreds of small business owners over the last few years the biggest obstacle to building an effective marketing system is that we get seduced by the latest marketing idea of the month.

Doesn’t it seem like every month there is a new marketing must have tool that every one is raving about?

You know what I mean … one week we are being told that Social Media is the only way to market in the so called ‘New Economy’ and if you are not marketing using Social Media then you will be left behind. Well maybe that is true but only if your target market are there on mass.

The next week we are hearing that Video Marketing is the future and if you don’t start learning how to do video then you will not reach your market.

Every six months another expert is telling us that the only way to get new clients is to hunt them down on the phone and make 500 cold calls a week.

The next week somebody else is telling us that speaking is no longer an effective way to market and the only way to move forward is to join their Mastermind group … and on and on it goes.

I don’t know about you but I find it all quite exhausting just trying to keep up.

So who is right and who is wrong?

Who’s advice should you follow?

What must you do to develop an effective marketing system?

Here is a clue … before you go any further you will want to get this clear in your mind … all of these are tactics. Business owners who struggle with their marketing have a tendency to leap from one tactic to the next to the next and fail to understand how each tactic relates to their overall marketing strategy.

What is most important in developing the marketing in your business is the underlying strategy. You must get clear on the strategy first before deciding which tactics to implement to achieve that strategy.

Understanding which strategy is right for your business right now is really simple. First there are only three key areas to work on in developing your marketing strategy. These are:

1/ Attracting Leads – A successful marketing system starts with your ability to attract leads to you. This involves underdstanding WHO you want to attract and WHAT will make you attractive to them. The fastest way to attract leads that we have found is to make them an irresistible offer which is focused on helping them get a solution to their problem.

2/ Converting Leads To Clients – Once you have your lead generation system in place then the next step is to convert your leads into paying clients. It is important that you think of marketing as being a step by step SYSTEM rather than a one off event. Design your marketing funnel with a series of steps to lead your prospects through so that they arrive at their own conclusion which is they want to do business with you.

3/ Increasing Value Of Clients – The real profits in your business are what is known as the back end. This is where you look for strategies to increase the value of each client over time. There are many strategies you can use here including cross selling, ascension of products and services, product line extension, and turning your clients into referral sources.

So how do you decide which of these three areas to focus on right now?

Its simple …

If you have more clients than you can handle right now then focus on maximising
profitability by increasing the value of each client to your business.

If you have an abundance of leads but not enough clients then you need to focus on
developing your markeitng strategy to improve the conversion of leads to clients.

If you are not attracting enough leads to your business, which usually means you are also not getting enough clients, then you need to focus all of your
efforts on attracting more leads.

Usually what we find is that start up businesses need to focus 80% of their marketing efforts on attracting more leads and converting those leads to clients. More established businesses should focus 80% of their efforts on increasing the value of their clients to the business.

So first decide where you are in your business development.

Next decide what is most important for you at this stage of your development to focus on … is it attracting more leads, converting more leads into clients, or increasing the value of each client?

Then decide what is your strategy going to be for the area you are focusing on.

Then implement tactics to help you achieve your strategy.

Along the way do not allow yourself to be distracted by the latest marketing craze just because everyone else appears to be following it. Keep it simple and maintain your focus on what is most important for your business right now.

Click Here To Find Out How The Attraction Marketing System Can Help You

Popularity: 19% [?]

At the Mega Networking & Referral Event we will be giving you 10 different and unique ways to grow and promote your business. One of these ways is through a series of structured networking activities designed to get you meeting more business contacts.

By attending the Mega Networking & Referral Event you will meet 20, 30 or more new business contacts. This is more than what most Small Business Owners would meet in 3 to 6 months of attending networking meetings.

Watch this video for more info:

Put yourself on the Priority Notification List by going here:

http://www.MegaNetworkingEvent.com

Popularity: 85% [?]

If you are in Small Business or are an Entrepreneur then you will want to join us for the worlds first ever “Mega Networking & Referral Event”. There has never been an event quite like this one.

At the event we are giving you 10 different opportunities for you to promote your business. You will have the chance to:

* Meet New Business Contacts
* Generate Referrals
* Identify & Establish New Joint Venture Partnerships
* Attract New Clients
* Plus … You will hear from leading Australian Business Growth Specialists

To place yourself on the Priority Notification List and be the first to hear all of the details when we officially launch head over to:

http://www.MegaNetworkingEvent.com

Popularity: 98% [?]

Recently I was asked by a prospective copywriting client the following …

‘How Much Do You Charge Per Word?’

Needless to say I was a little taken aback by the question … I had never thought of the copywriting work I do as being a certain amount of money per word. Seemed like a crazy idea to me … I mean if it is just words she was after I should have replied with $1 a word and handed her the dictionary. After all its packed full of words and I could have gone on a nice holiday.

It got me thinking though about you and your business. More importantly about how you view the work you do, how you value it and therefore how do you charge for it.

To many people in service based business charge for their services based on a rate per hour. Having come from the coaching industry I know that when coaches get together the conversation nearly always turns to the question of how much do you charge per hour.

This is akin to the question how much do you charge per word.

Here is what you must understand … your prospective customers do not want to buy words or hours of your time. What they want is a SOLUTION to their PROBLEMS!

So you must begin thinking about the VALUE you provide to your customers.

You need to ask them what it is worth to them to have the SOLUTION.

Knowing this information you then price your services based on the VALUE of the SOLUTION to the customer or client.

Let me give you an example from my business …

When interviewing prospective new clients one of the key peices of information I am interested in is the life time value of a new customer. So in other words if I help my clients develop a new marketing system that just attracts one extra client to them … what is that client worth to them.

Let us say I am talking to a Mortgage Broker who has an upfront commission of say $2,000 for each new client they bring on board. This means if I can help this Mortgage Broker to find just one new client then that puts $2,000 into their bank account … important information to know, right?

So in knowing this information I know that if I can help them find just 3 or 4 new clients then that will pay for my services. The way I then position it to my prospective client then is this … i explain to them that when we start working together if I can help you find just 3 or 4 new mortgage clients then I am free to you … and everything else after that is a bonus.

Here is the question … would you give me 3 of your clients and in return I develop for you a marketing system that will attract a life time supply of new clients?

Naturally they nearly always say YES!

Can you see how pricing your services based on the VALUE of the SOLUTION can be so powerful?

So how do you establish the VALUE of the SOLUTION you provide to prospective clients?

Well you ask them …

Lets suppose you are a Personal Trainer …. the type of questions you could ask are …

”What is it costing you not having the energy you need each day to enjoy greater success?”

A Recruitment Consultant could ask a prospective client …

“How much does it cost you each time you employ someone who is not right for the role? What does it cost you to replace them?”

A Taxation Consultant might ask …

“If I can get you $3,500 back on your Tax return … what would you do with the money?” and get the client talking about all the great things they could do that maybe they can not afford to do right now.

The key is to ask a lot of questions and have the prospective client establish the VALUE of your services for you. You need to know what are the right questions to ask of course so it requires a little planning and thought.

If you can get to the point where your prospective client is telling you what you services are worth to them … ie what the solution is worth to them, then you can easily price your services based on the value of the solution.

Now the real key to making this work is having unshakeable BELIEF in you and the service you provide. In coaching clients I find that one of the biggest shifts I can make with them is installing greater belief in their worth to the marketplace. In doing so they shift their thinking from how much can I get per hour to what is the VALUE of the service I provide and how can I price my services based on this VALUE.

How can you apply this to your business?

Popularity: 32% [?]

Synopsis: With the likleyhood of a global recession extremly high many small business owners fear that they may not survive. Many smart business owners however are looking at developing and implementing more effective marketing systems. The most effective marketing system for Small Business, Home Based Business and Entrepreneurs is Attraction Marketing.

Melbourne, Australia (PRWEB) August 2nd, 2008 – With the likelyhood a global recession hitting now extremely high many small business owners fear for their survival. Increasing cost of living mixed with declining consumer confidence spells trouble for small business owners many of whom have only know good economic times over the last 10 years or so.

So what is the key to not only surviving but thriving during a recession for small business owners?

Attraction Marketing expert Rod Moore of Profit Minute believes that now more than ever small business must focus on developing and implementing effective marketing systems. Most small business owners have on clue about marketing or how to attract clients. During prosperous economic times that is okay, however during recession effective marketing is critical Moore says.

The problem for small business owners is that they are typically very good at what it is they do in their business, but they lack the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively market what it is they do. The end result is that they are set to struggle during tougher economic times.

When asked what the solution is Rod Moore suggests that now is the time to be thinking about, developing and implementing the right marketing systems rather than wait until we are in the depths of recession when cash flow has dried up.

Moore says that the most effective marketing system he has come across is what he calls ATTRACTION MARKETING. This is a combination of Direct Response Marketing with an understaning of the psychology of what motivates your customers to buy. In effect it is about making your business more attractive than your competitors.

With attraction marketing you can literally attract a steady stream of new clients to your business already pre-sold on wanting to do business with you. This type of approach to marketing (which is very different from more traditional types of advertising and marketing) can be extremly powerful.

Those small business owners who embrace attraction markeing today will stand a much better chance of prospering during recession than their competitors will Moore said in a statement today.

Attraction Marketing is the most powerful way for small business to find new clients today as it is in tune with shifting consumer attitudes and the way in which people do business today. Outdated traditional forms of advertising and marketing simply get lost in the clutter and do little to create new clients.

If you are in small business, home based business or are an entrepreneur today then you would be wise to investigate how attraction marketing can greatly impact on your ability to find and attract new clients to you.

For additional information on how you can use Attraction Marketing in your business and for more than $497 in Attraction Marketing information visit the Attraction Marketing Revealed website at http://www.AttractionMarketingRevealed.com

About Profit Minute
Profit Minute specialise in Attraction Marketing systems for small business. They provide Attraction Marketing educational materials, online training, seminars and coaching programs for small business.

Contact:
Rod Moore, Attraction Marketing Specialist
Profit Minute
http://www.ProfitMinute.com

Popularity: 100% [?]