Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I often work with clients who are seasoned entrepreneurs. They've been doing great work for good clients for years - sometimes decades. 

And in the technology world, they call these longtime clients who are using your longtime services "legacy" clients. 

Here's the problem - legacy clients can hold your business back.

You need to learn how to let go so you can grow. In this post, we'll explore how to do that. But first, here's the bottom line on the problem:

Legacy clients want to keep using your legacy services.

These are services, products and programs that you really don't want to sell any more. Because you don't want to DO them anymore. Regardless of the money. 

Yes, let me repeat that - REGARDLESS of the money. (The fact that they may be generating a lot of revenue but very little profit is a topic for another day. For now, think about that and see if it's true for YOU.)

An interesting paradox

Most business owners, entrepreneurs and independent professionals get all excited about ADDING new products, services and programs to their business. They do so with great relish, enthusiasm, and fanfare. 

Here's the problem - you can't keep adding. It doesn't make sense.

If you're a coach, consultant, speaker, or professional services provider, having two different investable opportunities might be good - having three might be better - having five may be challenging - and having seven may be disastrous. 

How to let go so you can grow

When you realize that your business has grown in too many directions with too many ways people can use your services - yet not enough focus, clarity, momentum, or profits for YOU - then it's time to LET GO. 

Time to cut back. Lose some branches. Prune the tree back so it can grow healthy again - and straight in the direction you want it to.

Naturally, you can't go "cold turkey" (although really, you can - more on that in a minute...)

So here is a stepwise plan to help you get rid of parts of your business that are holding you back so you can make room for the new, profit-rich, and on-strategy offerings that reflect the current focus of your business, your desired client base, and the revenue targets you want to hit.

1. Let your internal team know that your legacy services and programs are no longer accepting new clients. This will hold YOU accountable for not selling any more of them, no matter how tempting it may be. The first person you need to convince that you're not in that business any more is YOU.  

2. STOP selling, marketing and talking about your legacy services. Don't take them completely off your website or marketing materials yet, but if they are featured prominently, make them less so. 

3. Put your NEW offerings front and center in everything you do. Lead every marketing and sales conversation toward your new services and investable opportunities. Talk about them with your referral partners, influencers, advocates, business friends, past clients, and new prospects. 

4. For current clients, use the "Switch or Stop" technique. As legacy clients finish their programs - or at a natural stopping point (for accountants, the end of the quarter - or for consultants, the end of a project milestone for example), bring up the subject of transitioning your client from the old service model to the new. Put a deadline on the calendar for making a decision to "switch or stop." Make it OK for them to stop and not feel bad or awkward. And don't leave them in the lurch - always have a referral in your pocket for someone else they can use if they want to continue with a service similar to the one you are discontinuing. 

5. Take advantage of natural attrition as you ramp up. As an example, you might gradually go from 10 legacy clients down to 7, then eventually 4, then the last 1 or 2. All the while, your main job is to fill your client roster with NEW clients using your NEW services. If you time this right (always the tricky part!) you'll get more new clients before the old ones transition out. This is one of the more uncomfortable phases of the process because you'll feel like you're trying to ride 2 horses at once. And you'll be torn with second guessing yourself that "maybe these old services aren't so bad after all..." Don't listen to that voice. It's the voice of fear and scarcity. Block it out. 

6. Rip off the Band-Aid. Once you've made the transition as smooth as you possibly can - both for yourself and for as many of your legacy clients as possible, it's time to rip off the Band-Aid in one quick, if somewhat painful, move. Have a heart-to-heart conversation with your remaining clients and make it clear that: 

a. You value their trust and friendship.

b. You appreciate their long-standing business over the years.

c. It's time to switch to your new model or you'll help them find another resource.

d. They can always call you for friendly advice, insights and recommendations and you remain in their service because you care about their success. 

That's the very best that you can do - and it's what a trusted advisor does.

Easy? No.

Necessary? Very.

Benefits: Huge.

This is nothing short of the roadmap to the future success of your business. 

And you can't get there if you're stuck looking in the rear-view mirror. 

Look up ahead - the sun is rising over the horizon of your new (ad)venture. Focus forward, hit the gas, and let's GOOOOO!!!

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation... 

Nope, this is NOT a post about that kind of soft, squishy "mission-vision" thing...

This post is about what's on your plate right now - today - right this minute. 

My friend, Jose Palomino, sent me an email this morning about some website tweaking that he's doing. He wrote, "Getting the timing right and the sliders to stop rotating after the final reveal is today's mission."

Bam - that was his ONE thing for today. Was he doing other tasks? You bet. Was he developing business, calling clients, following up on sales leads, and doing paperwork? Sure... but he also had his "mission" for the day. 

When it comes to being a small business owner, independent professional or speaker/consultant, you have a million things to do and a hundred priorities. 

Wouldn't having a SINGLE mission for the day be great? 

Well - you can. Many important tasks can be done in as little as 15 minutes -- and tackling ONE head-on might be exactly what you need to regain that most precious entrepreneurial asset - MOMENTUM.

Some examples to get you started: 

• Revise your home page copy
• Write an important email to a client or prospect
• Send an invoice you've been proscrastinating on
• Post a blog
• Submit an article to a trade journal or industry publication
• Respond to a media request
• Send out your email newsletter
• Circle back with a prospect who's on the fence
• Clean up your LinkedIn profile
• Post a long-overdue recommendation on LinkedIn
• Send a thank-you note
• Mail a book to a prospect, influencer or decision-maker
• Pick up the phone and apologize to someone important
• Ask for that referral you've been shy about pursuing
• Contact that virtual assistant you've been thinking of hiring 
• Post your internship job description with your local university
• Begin a research file or a Google Doc for your next book
• Make a list of 20 companies you'd like to do business with
• Clear off your desk (you can do this in 5 min. if you create a file folder called "Crap from Desk" and today's date!)
• Do a competitive sweep and see who's doing what in your industry so you can refresh your offerings
• Shoot a 2-minute video and post it to YouTube
• Buy my book and get $747 in bonuses right now (Shhh...)
• Erase the whiteboard in your office and create a "fresh start"
• Take yourself out to a coffee shop for a 2-hour strategic meeting with yourself, a legal pad, and a pack of Sharpies
• Take a nature walk and bring your pocket audio recorder or smart phone to capture ideas
• Reconnect with an old client, friend, or colleague
• Write an amazon book review for a book you admire in your field
• Call your tech wizard to fix a nagging technology problem you've been tolerating for way too long
• Leave a 45-second voicemail for a client just to say how much you value your relationship with them
• Visit your favorite bookstore or newsstand and buy a magazine to flip through for new business ideas

The new marketing is all about Ask and Give. 

What does that mean? 

• Ask for attention
• Give value
   
• Ask for engagement
• Give relevance
   
• Ask for help
• Give relationship
   
• Ask for support
• Give community
   
• Ask for insights
• Give advice

Two great examples you can adapt in your own business:

1. My friend Karyn Greenstreet is Asking for your input. And she is Giving 26 business building bonuses for answering her 6-question survey about how small business owners and entrepreneurs like to learn. It will take you two minutes or less to share your opinions. The GIVE is far greater than the ASK. 

2. Here is an amazing story from the world of music - notice how everything Amanda did (and does) is based on Asking and Giving:

What do YOU think of the approach above? Please share your advice, insights and recommendations about the value of ASKING and GIVING in the COMMENTS area below...

Guest post by Scott Plum

Last week I made a visit to my neighborhood mobile phone carrier’s retail store and noticed a ‘No Solicitors’ sign in the window.  This gave me pause before entering.  I thought – “I’m a Solicitor, what’s wrong with me.  Why don’t they want me to come in?”

I peered through the glass like a school boy at a peep show, wondering what is going on inside that I was forbidden to see.  Others inside the store began to look at me and I finally mustered up the guts to pull the door open and walk in...

Read the rest of the story here...

Quick announcement for you - and a "mark your calendar"... 

You're invited to join me for a brand new teleseminar titled "Consulting Revenue Roadmap" on Wednesday May 8 at 12pm Eastern.  

Details are here if you want to cut to the chase. 

This is perfect for professionals who want to start a consulting practice or seasoned consultants who want to grow their practice and make more money. Also highly relevant for speakers, authors, coaches, high-fee experts, independent professionals, and senior executives.

What you will take away from this 60-minute info-packed program:

• Design the best consulting strategy for your particular expertise
• Discover and evaluate potential niche markets
• Get a simple, repeatable process for researching what types of consulting services and programs your target market will pay for - and use this strategy to start prospecting tomorrow
• Package, promote, and price your consulting programs to maximize profitability
• Set up simple backend systems to scale your consulting marketing AND delivery tasks
• Adopt no-hype, high-integrity methods of selling tens of thousands of dollars of consulting each time you work with clients and audiences of any size in any industry
• Develop a continuing stream of new prospects to fill your professional practice and your marketing database
• Build long-term recurring revenue into your business model with licensing and certification programs
• Do all of this in a specific, structured, and stepwise way to short-circuit any feelings of overwhelm and to regain full control of your business, your income, and your life!

My friend, Karyn Greenstreet, is an amazing marketer and small business coach. You can learn from her - and so can I. Here's how...

Imagine sending an email like this to YOUR subscribers (and please do TAKE Karyn's 2-minute survey too!)...

_______

Subj: Your help with 2-minute survey + 22 gifts

I'm asking for your help to find out exactly which ways you like to absorb new content, learn new skills, acquire new knowledge for your business and professional life.

We're asking small business owners to take this quick, 2-minute survey with six easy questions.

But even 2 minutes is a lot when you're busy, so we're making it irresistible by offering you 22 practical, helpful free educational bonuses, just for completing the survey.

Can I ask you the favor of taking just 2 minutes from your schedule today to take our survey?

Here's where you can take it online: http://bit.ly/152avHr

Thank you for your help!

_______

It is short, to-the-point, value-rich and specific to the needs of small and solo business owners.

You also get 22 amazing gifts - not for BUYING anything, mind you, but for sharing your opinions in a 2-minute survey. Wow. Genius.

By the way, please do take the survey - and get the gifts - this is a REAL offer in exchange for your REAL opinions. Karyn is not only very smart - but she's very generous as well.

Let me know what you think of the approach above - and please share your advice, insights and recommendations about surveying YOUR audiences, prospects and subscribers in the COMMENTS area below...

We had over 200 people register for yesterday's "Master the Cold Call Once and for All" teleseminar with Wendy Weiss. 

The program was excellent. And you have to remember, I'm a guy who HATES cold calling. 

The free recording of this 60-minute training call is available for you to download here:

http://www.doitmarketing.com/free-resources-cold-call

NOTE: The special offer on "The Sales Winner's Handbook" (which includes a soup-to-nuts telephone marketing strategy plus 53 context-specific scripts, templates and tools + over $200 in bonuses) expires at midnight tonight 4/18. All the details on that are online for you here. 

Invest in this cold calling mastery package and your spouse, significant other, dog, bookkeeper and accountant will all thank you.  

Keep an eye out for more sales-focused marketing programs in my "Do It! Marketing Summer Sales Seminars" series of FREE virtual events.

More details on that coming soon!

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I work with clients who are themselves gurus in their own fields - executives, entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, and consultants. 

If you're like these folks, you are maxed out - very busy with your own projects, books, speaking schedule, and consulting clients. 

And - at the same time - if you're doing things right, you are being asked to do more. Guest posts on other people's blogs, endorsements for other people's books and programs, contributing to online groups, etc.

You can't do it all - and you shouldn't.

You simply have to say no.

After asking hundreds of people for hundreds of favors in my professional career - because you can't do anything great alone - I've come to realize that there is a RIGHT way to say no - and many WRONG ways to say no.

The right way(s) always include the following:

• Brief
• Not about your ego
• Fact-based
• Honors the person asking for the favor

The wrong way(s) tend to share the following characteristics:

• Long-winded
• Centered around your ego
• Filled with hype about your own "big" projects
• Diminishes the person asking for the favor

Here's a template you can start to use that meets all the criteria of the right way: 

=====
From: You
To: Recipient asking you for favor

Thank you for your email and kind words - much appreciated.

Unfortunately, my schedule is jammed and I'm unable to add any new projects or commitments. Sorry!

I wish you tremendous success with your [book, blog, conference, project]! 

-- [Your name]
=====

* A version of this note originally came from the awesome Guy Kawasaki when I asked him for a book endorsement for the new Do It! Marketing book. He said no - many other gurus whom I respect generously said yes. 

Side note #1: Along the way to asking many smart, busy people for some pretty big favors, I picked up several key patterns about success and successful people. First among those - and this surprised me - some of the biggest names answer their own email. No gatekeeper, no screener. You send an email. They get it. They respond. (Rumor has it they also put on their pants one leg at a time.) It was the mid-level gurus (still NY Times bestselling authors and 5-figure speakers, mind you) who had the team of minions and assistants.

Side note #2: The true professionals respond to requests FAST. It almost seems that the more email they get, the faster they've learned to filter, sort, process and respond. Again, it was more the has-beens and the wannabes who took a long time to respond. Or didn't respond at all. 

Side note #3: Gurus need favors, too. On several occasions, the gurus I asked for help, in turn, asked me to help them. One multi-million copy selling author asked me to post a review on amazon of the book that I genuinely praised in my initial note. Another guru asked me to blurb his newest book. A third asked me to spread the word on his newest Kindle ebook during it's free promotion. Important: These return favors were NEVER presented as pre-conditions or requirements for me to get what I wanted. In all these cases, the guru provided what I asked for. And THEN they asked for my help. It was the true law of reciprocity in action. Never assume that you have nothing of value to offer the rock stars in your world.

What do YOU think? Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your advice, insights and recommendations on this topic and join the conversation... 

Don't take this personally but... you're making a BIG mistake. 

Yeah... it's bad.

And you don't even know it. 

But it's costing you money, time, relationships, and ultimately it's impacting your bottom line in ways that you cannot even imagine. 

In a word, it is... 

LAZINESS. 

Yup. Sorry. Truth-telling time. 

You're a lazy bum.

What do I mean?

You're marketing mindset is set to "bulk mode."

Over the last two weeks alone, I've had several of my smart, professional, experienced and (otherwise) emotionally intelligent clients either ask me about (or worse - tell me that they already did) the following: 

1. Send out a mass email prospecting for a six-figure consulting program
2. Use a LinkedIn status update to request LinkedIn Recommendations from their 900 connections
3. Use a bcc email to about 20 high-profile authors, speakers and experts soliciting blurbs for their upcoming book

In each of these cases, my reaction was swift and simple -- and as painful for them to hear as it was for me to convey:

This is jaw-droppingly stupid.

Even if you needed to communicate with 100 high-level decision makers at one time (and you don't) - do you think you'd get better results if you sent a private note OR if they see that you put in ZERO effort to reach out to them INDIVIDUALLY because at the bottom of your note it says "Click here to unsubscribe or change your email preferences - Sent by Constant Contact."

Come ON, folks... 

Similarly, would you be more likely to help someone who sent you this LinkedIn Recommendation request via 1-on-1 email...

===

Lisa,

Thank you again for inviting me to keynote for your GPPCC Mini-Summit last week. So glad to hear that Bob is recovering from his accident and that the direct mail project we discussed is off to a roaring start!

Would you be wonderful enough to write a few sentences by way of a LinkedIn recommendation for me based on your great feedback you shared with me right after our program last Friday?

Thank you in advance for considering it and let me know how I can be helpful to YOU. 

-- David

===

...OR someone who posted this as their LinkedIn status: 

===

I'm collecting testimonials or recommendations from my past work. If interested in contributing, please email a testimonial that I can use on my website and other marketing materials... I am positioning for a new book... more to come soon! Many thanks in advance!

===

Not even close, right? 

Here's the math you need:

1x100 is 100X Better than 100x1

Send the same core email - personalized and tailored to each person - to 100 people. 

Do NOT send 100 generic emails to a list and hope for anywhere near the results you want. 

I don't care if you're asking for sales, asking for leads, asking for referrals, asking for book blurbs, asking for help, asking to sell Girl Scout Cookies, or asking for a date.

If you don't make THEM feel special and worthy of your precious time, you can be sure they will reciprocate with the exact same level of effort - aka ZERO - in helping you get what YOU want. 

Not the outcome you're after.

Final note: I've had salespeople and internet marketing types tell me, "Yes but you can personalize those emails."

Come on... your clients, customers, advocates, allies, referral partners and friends aren't stupid. They can tell the difference between a true PERSONAL email (the good kind) and a PERSONALIZED email (the bulk kind). Doesn't matter how cleverly you disguise it.

They. Can. Tell.

Want one more cautionary tale? See this post for a great way to NEVER get a referral. 

Anytime you need a reminder - just print this out and post it in your office where you can see it nice and big (right-click the graphic and select "Save Image As" to save it to your desktop):

Tags: sales mistakes, 1x100 is 100x better than 100x1, doit marketing, marketing speaker, marketing coach

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Use the COMMENTS area below to leave your advice, insights and recommendations on these ideas and join the conversation...

One of my favorite sales gurus is Scott Messer of Sales Evolution. Not only is Scott a good friend, he is a sales expert and master sales coach.

This post will help you solve Your Biggest, Nastiest, Stupidest, Most Expensive Sales Mistake... and give you several of Scott's brilliant sound bites to help you improve your sales success.

We're talking about a BIG sales mistake you probably made last week, will make again this week, and -- unless you heed Scott's wisdom -- will make next week again. 

All of which will cost you THOUSANDS if not TENS of thousands of dollars in lost sales. 

Scary, right? 

What is this big, nasty, pervasive, expensive sales mistake? 

Here it is: Not being a fanatic about collecting decisions from prospects.

Scott says selling is 100% about collecting decisions.

It's not about getting yeses, it's not about closing gimmicks. It's simply about being tenacious about taking prospects down a path (aka your sales process) to help them make a clear and definitive DECISION. As in "Yes" or "No."

Not "Let me think about it" - not "I'll get back to you" - not "circle back with me next week" - not anything other than a firm date and time on the prospect's calendar for you to hear "YES" or "NO." 

How do you do this? Simple - Scott recommends that at every step of the sales process, put a date and time on the calendar for a "decision call." Here's how to ask: 

• Let's put a date and time on the calendar for us to discuss your decision
• Let's put a pushpin in the calendar for us to reconnect about your decision
• Because you and I are both so busy, let's put a date and time on the calendar so you can tell me "Yes" or "No" or to answer any final questions you may have for me

Scott recommends that you forget about your sales pipeline - forget about your number of first appointments, forget about your number of "hot leads" - there is ONE and ONLY ONE measure of how healthy your sales pipeline truly is. 

That measure is - how many decision calls are on your calendar? A decision call, by the way, needs to be not only on YOUR calendar - it needs to be on your PROSPECT'S calendar because it is their responsibility to make one AND communicate it to you on that call. 

Example: I had a prospect call me two weeks ago. Let's call him Paul (which is cool because his name is really... Paul.) 

All was going well. Then I got a little derailed when he asked for references. Ordinarily, I would set a decision call by asking him, "When will you make time to call my reference folks? Let's make a time to discuss your decision after that." 

But I goofed. I was in a hurry. I let Paul wander off with no decision date on the calendar. When I called him this morning to circle back, he told me that he had gotten "distracted" and had not called the references at all. He then said, "I'll get back to you within three weeks." 

I laughed. 

Instinctively, I said, "You'll get back to me in three weeks because you're the kind of guy who likes to take lots and lots of time to make a decision and have people like me chasing you endlessly and leaving message after message and email after email when the real answer is no." 

Yup, I said that.

Out loud.

Right to Paul's face. 

Why? Because to quote another Scott Messer sound bite - "You can't blow up a good prospect." 

Paul laughed and admitted that he did NOT, in fact, enjoy being chased endlessly. 

So I put Paul out of his misery and fired him as a prospect. Here's how that sounded: 

"Paul, I'll put you down as a "No" for now. If you'd like to revisit working together, you know where to find me." 

He was perfectly cool with that. So I knew the deal was dead.

I've used that "No for now" line in the past and GOOD prospects will jump in with "No, no, no I definitely want to work with you. I just need more time to..." and they put themselves back into the active prospect column.

What do I do then? You guessed it - we set a decision call on the calendar. 

Anyway, back to Paul... I wanted to put a nail in the coffin so I sent the following email after we hung up the phone: 

===

Paul,

Because you are no longer an active prospect, please do NOT call the folks I sent as references.  

As I'm sure you can appreciate, references are precious and I do not want to burn out my reference folks by speaking with less than 100% committed prospects. (I probably should not have given you references this early in the process anyway. My mistake.)  

Best of luck on your adventures and thank you in advance for respecting my wishes.  

-- David

===

So the lesson is - be relentless with setting your decision calls. There is no other single determining factor that's more important to your sales success.

Trust me - I make more money when I relentlessly implement Scott's "decision call" philosophy. And I make less money when I don't!

Tags: sales prospecting mistakes, big nasty dumb stupid expensive sales mistake, doit marketing, marketing speaker, marketing coach

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Use the COMMENTS area below to leave your advice, insights and recommendations on these ideas to boost your sales success...