More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter
for Independent Professionals
from Action Plan Marketing
and Robert MiddletonIn This Week's Issue: Are you bored to death with your marketing? Time to tap into your passion!
Marketing With Passion
Imagine being surrounded with singing, dancing, beautiful, colorfully dressed, joyous people - all while shopping in an outdoor market in India.
The new movie, "Bride and Prejudice" by Gurinder Chadha who also directed "Bend It Like Beckham," makes you believe that it's all somehow possible.
This film, which I saw last night, may not be the "best" film you'll see this year but it is hands down the most entertaining, fun, and happy movie I've seen in years.
And as I woke up this morning thinking what to write for More Clients today I realized there was a lot that we Independent Professionals could learn about marketing from this movie.
No, I don't mean that you should hire a cast of singing, saree-clad beauties to dance through your local mall as a publicity stunt. That might just be a little over the top!
The lesson you can take from Bride and Prejudice is that your marketing can be interesting, entertaining, multi-faceted and fun. It doesn't have to be boring, plodding and one-dimensional.
So what are you doing to market your business right now? Doing a little networking, perhaps a talk or two and sending out an eZine on a monthly basis while you struggle to add names to your list?
Look, those activities are fine, but you need to put some passion into your marketing. Yes, passion! (the marketing equivalent of bright costumes, singing and dancing).
Here are some ideas to infuse passion into your marketing.
Networking Events - What most of us do is show up for events and hope we connect with a potential client or two. After awhile it gets very rote. We talk to the same people. We exchange cards. We don't do much follow up. No wonder we don't see great results.
I suggest approaching every networking event as a game. Every time you go to an event you want to have specific goals that you can achieve every time. This adds a whole new level of energy because you're not just showing up, you're playing to win.
You might set goals for the number of conversations you have with other attendees, a goal for the number of cards you collect, a goal for the number of times you successfully use your Audio Logo, and a goal for the number of people you offer to send an article to. I promise you'll have more fun and get better results.
Speaking Engagements - Are you going to do yet another presentation with fifty Power Point slides that puts the whole room to sleep? Are you going to wrap up with a half-hearted pitch for your services and collect a few cards (which you then neglect to follow up on)?
In a talk, you need to get people's attention, deliver leading-edge information, give the participants something to really think about and sow the seeds of hope and change. And you're not going to accomplish this in another run-of-the mill presentation.
A speaking engagement is the opportunity for some real "business evangelism." Your aim is to convert the unbelievers to your point of view, to save their souls and to transform their lives forever. Yes, I know this might sound a little out there, but if you're giving a presentation, I assume you have some real value to share. Why hold back? Why not pull out all the stops?
Web Site and eZine - I'm still a little stunned that even though web sites have been around for about ten years and are a proven marketing vehicle, that so many Independent Professional sites are just plain inferior. They don't attract or convert visitors into clients. Poor graphics, dull content, confusing navigation and little free information are all pretty common.
Why settle for mediocrity? Don't you think it's time that you had a web site that really impressed, that got your prospect's attention and made them want to know about your services? Isn't it time that you made a commitment to make this your most powerful marketing tool?
And isn't it also time you stopped making excuses for not having an eZine (email newsletter) and just make it happen? I know it's easy to find reasons why it won't work, but wouldn't you rather have the results instead of the reasons?
Free Stuff - This simple strategy for promoting your business is time-tested and perfect for Independent Professionals. What are you giving away? I hope it's not just one article that you've had on your web site for the past two years. What do you have that's new and interesting?
Of course, a web site is the perfect place to give away free stuff and you can promote it in your eZine as well. Why not a *lot* of articles, several in-depth reports, some kind of assessment, links to valuable resources and a do-it-yourself email course? All of these are not that hard to produce. You just need to make the commitment to make it happen.
I promise that if you are passionate and work at creating marketing that is interesting, exciting, dynamic and involving that you'll start to magnetize more clients to your business.
Heck, you might even start having fun with marketing! I can't promise that it will be as fun as Bride and Prejudice but who knows? I'll be looking for news reports of you dancing in the streets!
More on "Marketing With Passion" in Marketing Flashes below.
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Passion Requires Action!
My clients and customers are excited about their marketing and are doing it with passion because our marketing methods work. They are getting real results:
"I had worked on marketing for years, with okay success. But when I came across your materials, and applied them to my business, I never knew it could be so easy, straightforward, and honest. My business has doubled in the past year, and instead of chasing clients, they now come to me basically ready to buy. thanks to the structures you helped me put in place. Thank you!" - Mark Silver - Portland ORTo get the results Mark and thousands of others have gotten, you need to take a small jump beyond the material in the More Client's eZine and get some help in putting these ideas into action.
To start, I recommend the following:
The InfoGuru Marketing Manual
A comprehensive field guide to attracting more clients. Includes dozens of specific action plans to help you implement what you learn and the community of the InfoGuru Support Forum.
http://www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html
Live Marketing Workshops
Workshops that don't just give you information, but include ample opportunities to practice your marketing conversations. After the workshop we facilitate you in forming support groups.
Los Angeles - Sat, March 12 (less than a week away)
http://www.actionplan.com/wkp/lawkp.htmlSan Francisco - Sat, March 26 (last day for early-bird tuition)
http://www.actionplan.com/wkp/sfwkp.htmlClick below for interview with me about the workshop:
http://www.actionplan.com/pdf/wkint.pdf
Or take advantage of this free program:
The Action Plan Game
A free 9-session program that delivers the marketing basics you need to know, creates an opportunity to practice what you learn and employs the support of a virtual mastermind group of your peers to keep you on track. Easy and fun to do.
http://www.actionplan.com/actionplan.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marketing Flashes on "Marketing With Passion"
* The foundation of your passion in your business may start with the heart of your professional service. Why did you get into this field in the first place? What excites you about it? What still keeps you interested and involved?
* Passion often comes from helping your clients - in making a contribution, a difference. Think of some clients you've worked with who made major changes in their businesses and lives due to the assistance you provided.
* Passion is very connected to the creative act. Just thinking something up, developing a service or a program is intellectually stimulating and inherently satisfying - it's something that exists only because you dreamed it up.
* Passion comes from sharing straight from the heart. This is really the essence of marketing, not heartless promotion designed only to generate money. Do it from the heart and the money will come.
* Passion is something you generate from nothing - just because. Passion is a very natural state for human beings. Look at kids with their imaginative projects. If you're not passionate about your business and your marketing, dig a little deeper. It's there waiting to get out.
Until next week, all the best,
Robert Middleton
ACTION PLAN MARKETING
Helping Independent Professionals Attract More Clients~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
210 Riverside Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-338-7790© 2004 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the More Clients eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:
"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site at http://www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses."
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