It’s a simple fact. Marketing is where most of your energy needs to be focused. Without customers, you have no business. That means marketing must be your primary focus.
Most business leaders don’t structure their time to prioritize marketing. This is a major mistake, every time.
“Maybe I’ll get to it tomorrow,” is a common muttered phrase then someone wonders why the business isn’t moving forward or possibly even declining.
“If you are not growing, you are dying.”
After reading this far, you should understand excuses for not marketing don’t stand up to the test of real results. Don’t make the same mistakes others have and end up drowning with work that could have been done just as well by others, leaving the marketing funnel ignored.
You have a key advantage over most other companies as soon as you realize the power of focusing your resources and developing relationships interested in entering your marketing funnel, strengthening those relationships where they want your offer, having products to offer after they’ve tested your offer and they want more. Most importantly, when they’re your customer, make certain they’re treated so well they don’t want to go anywhere else.
This is a brief summary of a comprehensive process, a process that is the focus of most of my coaching work with clients, because the marketing funnel brings the most value to every business.
The next most valuable areas of my coaching process are having the right performance measurements in place and leveraging the work or having the right people accountable for all tasks that need to be performed.
If you were working with me and my team, you would find us using three foundation tools in the coaching process which are:
- Visionary Blueprint
- Accelerated Accountability Worksheet (time management system)
- Financial Plan in Gold Formula format.
While each of these can be found in the bonus section of this book, there’s a lot more to having the right process in place for Building Business Profits Fast. The only way to appreciate that statement is to become a client and work directly with me. Call me – Steve Pohlit – at 727-587-7871, for a consultation or just email me at StevePohlit@gmail.com, with “Important – Steve” in the subject line.
While reading the rest of this chapter and following the sound, clear advice in it, take time to understand what each step represents and how you can maximize its potential. Answer the questions honestly and with purpose.
Making the Definition of Your Business Come to Life
Remember when we you read about the importance of having a clear definition of your business? You may recall I gave you several Websites as examples, including http://tampacapitalpartners.com. This is where you align your marketing strategy with that definition.
Consider these questions:
1. What is the purpose of your marketing? I suggest you think in terms of defining your Valuable Final Product and endearing your relationship to develop a lifelong loyal reception to your offers.
2. What is the main competitive advantage you stress? What is your unique selling proposition?
3. Who is your target audience? – Who is your ideal customer?
4. Which specific marketing tools will you use and how will you prioritize them and measure their effectiveness?
5. Within your market niche, what do you stand for? For example, as a coach, I am often told that people know I stand for profitable results and I have my clients’ success as the top priority.
6. What is your identity, your personality? This is very important. For example, I know that I’m a direct and focused person. I’m not as patient with people who are not in alignment with my personality type. When I recognize this incongruence, I have the client work with another coach who is more suited to their style.
7. What is your marketing budget in time and money? Remember, time includes using the time of others and, when you are at a stage where cash flow is very limited, structure incentives based on results.
The above “7-Step Simple Marketing Plan” was recently posted by Jay Conrad Levinson on Rich Schefren’s blog. Levinson is known for his advice on “gorilla marketing.” Rich Schefren is a very experienced and credible author and consultant.
I read this and thought it might be helpful as a guide. If you first remember to spend most of your time marketing and follow my advice on developing your credibility online, you can indeed market with little or no money.
Marketing means consistently testing and measuring results. The results will lead you to the next steps that will help you cement relationships with those who want what you offer.
These three resources are key. The first two lead to the third one, which is the foundation for all success:
1. A Web site. I continue to recommend using the WordPress blog format – http://buildingbusinessprofitsfast.com, for example.
2. Use social media and, especially, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.
3. Build and maintain relationships – everything we do either results in relationships that fuel our growth or not. Relational Capital is the pivot point of massive success.
These three marketing tools and Jay’s list of seven steps are priceless. These steps also cost you little or no money to implement, although you do have to invest some time to execute them. I can’t stress this enough.
With the emphasis today on credibility on the Internet, it’s important to understand that relationships are built by personal contact. This personal contact opportunity can be developed using Internet tools, but there’s more. Personal contact includes using the phone, face-to-face interaction, direct mail, email, texts and greeting cards (a biggie).
Most important is a sincere focus on serving the other person. Many of my strongest relationships have developed from meeting people and from attending local, regional and national events. My closest professional relationships are with people who are or who have been clients. Nothing is more valuable than the right relationship…nothing!
Action Steps
- Answer the 7 questions in detail. Write then out. Discuss the answers with your team. Refine, redefine then align your marketing actions with the results.
- Examine the tools supporting your marketing strategies. Be sure they align with your answers to the 7 questions.
- Use the accelerated accountability worksheet to manage your time. Evaluate your weekly time budget. Are you devoting 80% of your time to marketing? If not, are you serious about Building Business Profits Fast? (See the accelerated accountability worksheet in the bonus section in this book).
