Have your previous marketing efforts been filled with good intentions, but are delivering little tangible results?
By Clifton Warren
Have your previous marketing efforts been filled with good intentions, but are delivering little tangible results?
I know from speaking to other professionals that finding, attracting and acquiring new business is still one of the toughest challenges.
Even experienced professionals who’ve grown their business organically (via referrals, word of mouth and personal contacts) are finding new business development difficult in today’s competitive market.
Buyers are better informed and have a variety of channels and ways to purchase the products and services that you offer.
However, doing nothing is no longer an option.
I’d like to show you a simple 5-step process that anyone can follow to attract more and better clients with less effort, which comprises the following steps:
Step 1: Focus on a niche market
Focusing on a market niche is one of the most important strategic decisions that you can make regarding the growth of your business.
Research of successful top producers shows that focusing offers several advantages: specialty/ niche business is more profitable, easier to retain, obtain leads and provides a stream of new business through referrals.
The first step to finding ideal market is to become very clear about the type of client (or clients) that are best suited for you. Once you know what you are for, everything else will fall into place.
There is no magic formula for finding your ideal markets, begin with the markets that you’re currently serving using these questions:
Create a target list of prospects that fit your ideal client profile. When building your list, quality always trumps quantity.
You are much better off with 50 good names that you’ve sourced than randomly compiling a list of 10,000 names.
3 ways to create a target list
A Buzz piece is an effective tool that can act as a magnet to draw high prospective clients to your business. It’s also referred to as a guide or special report but can be created in a variety of formats including:
Continued…
#pb#
Step 4: Employ high impact prospecting tactics
You can’t acquire a client until you have lead. Prospecting is not just about generating the most leads possible, it’s also about quality.
There is no single method or combination of prospecting tactics ideal for all professionals; many top professionals employ one or more of the following tactics:
Tapping their personal network – Letting family, friends and acquaintances know about what you do and types of value that you’re providing for clients and asking for referrals and introductions.
Warm email prospecting – Sending personalised emails with a customised message using your bait piece to draw them to you.
Networking – Joining organization of their target niche markets, offer to send prospective prospects and clients your free special report.
Website – Create a website that can be used to get prospects to request your free special report and to opt into your mailing list so that you can continue to build a relationship with them.
Step 5: Automate Your Follow up Process
It can take some time before a prospect is converted to client. You need to stay on their radar screen and remind them of your value using a variety of methods.
It’s easy to get busy servicing existing clients and forget to follow up with prospective clients who’ve shown an interest in your services but are not simply ready to do business with you.
You can automate your follow up process to allow you to send additional communications such as newsletters, and follow up email messages in a timely manner.
Summary
It may appear building a marketing system is complex, but it really isn’t. In fact if you work to implement one of these steps each week, in as little as 3-4 weeks you can have a marketing system in place that’s probably doing a lot more for you than what you have currently.
The marketing process that I’ve outlined works very well for many top professionals and I truly think that it will work well for you too.
About the Author
A successful sales professional in the financial services arenas; Clifton is the principal of Corporate Eye Consulting. Clifton helps professionals to target and attract more and better clients with less effort.
Have your previous marketing efforts been filled with good intentions, but are delivering little tangible results?
I know from speaking to other professionals that finding, attracting and acquiring new business is still one of the toughest challenges.
Even experienced professionals who’ve grown their business organically (via referrals, word of mouth and personal contacts) are finding new business development difficult in today’s competitive market.
Buyers are better informed and have a variety of channels and ways to purchase the products and services that you offer.
However, doing nothing is no longer an option.
I’d like to show you a simple 5-step process that anyone can follow to attract more and better clients with less effort, which comprises the following steps:
- Focus on a niche market
- Create a target list
- Creating a buzz piece
- Employing high impact prospecting
- Automate your up process
Step 1: Focus on a niche market
Focusing on a market niche is one of the most important strategic decisions that you can make regarding the growth of your business.
Research of successful top producers shows that focusing offers several advantages: specialty/ niche business is more profitable, easier to retain, obtain leads and provides a stream of new business through referrals.
The first step to finding ideal market is to become very clear about the type of client (or clients) that are best suited for you. Once you know what you are for, everything else will fall into place.
There is no magic formula for finding your ideal markets, begin with the markets that you’re currently serving using these questions:
- What are the markets of your best clients?
- Is this a good fit for you and your business?
- Is this of interest to you and your staff?
- Do you have strong non - client referral sources?
Create a target list of prospects that fit your ideal client profile. When building your list, quality always trumps quantity.
You are much better off with 50 good names that you’ve sourced than randomly compiling a list of 10,000 names.
3 ways to create a target list
- Your existing network
- Previous employers
A Buzz piece is an effective tool that can act as a magnet to draw high prospective clients to your business. It’s also referred to as a guide or special report but can be created in a variety of formats including:
- Checklist
- How-to-Guides
- List of tip
Continued…
#pb#
Step 4: Employ high impact prospecting tactics
You can’t acquire a client until you have lead. Prospecting is not just about generating the most leads possible, it’s also about quality.
There is no single method or combination of prospecting tactics ideal for all professionals; many top professionals employ one or more of the following tactics:
Tapping their personal network – Letting family, friends and acquaintances know about what you do and types of value that you’re providing for clients and asking for referrals and introductions.
Warm email prospecting – Sending personalised emails with a customised message using your bait piece to draw them to you.
Networking – Joining organization of their target niche markets, offer to send prospective prospects and clients your free special report.
Website – Create a website that can be used to get prospects to request your free special report and to opt into your mailing list so that you can continue to build a relationship with them.
Step 5: Automate Your Follow up Process
It can take some time before a prospect is converted to client. You need to stay on their radar screen and remind them of your value using a variety of methods.
It’s easy to get busy servicing existing clients and forget to follow up with prospective clients who’ve shown an interest in your services but are not simply ready to do business with you.
You can automate your follow up process to allow you to send additional communications such as newsletters, and follow up email messages in a timely manner.
Summary
It may appear building a marketing system is complex, but it really isn’t. In fact if you work to implement one of these steps each week, in as little as 3-4 weeks you can have a marketing system in place that’s probably doing a lot more for you than what you have currently.
The marketing process that I’ve outlined works very well for many top professionals and I truly think that it will work well for you too.
About the Author
A successful sales professional in the financial services arenas; Clifton is the principal of Corporate Eye Consulting. Clifton helps professionals to target and attract more and better clients with less effort.
