Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I've seen small businesses at both ends of the spectrum - from the very successful to the very NOT successful (and, of course, a lot in between).

Of particular interest to me has always been the small business marketing challenges of the solopreneur.

You too may have come to the realization that running a successful solo business is a real F.E.A.T. -- and here's what that means to YOU: 

Fee - Demand high fees. Right from the get-go. Why? Because if you're a solo business owner, you live or die on your margins. Profits are not optional, they're required for survival. Early on, they help you stay afloat and that's even more important at the outset than later.

Wanna be cheap or affordable? Terrific. But wait til you're successful and your retirement fund is in the bag!

Starting out at the shallow end of the money pool is a fast way to drown!

Enthusiasm - Energy and drive and fun are REQUIRED to keep you going. You won't always be up and happy, but your core enthusiasm is the deep-rooted foundation that will help you get back up just one more time after you're knocked down. Again and again. And again.

You gotta love what you do - or do what you love. This is a decision, by the way - not a circumstance and not a "woo-woo" pile of nonsense. If you need a personal "live-with" or mantra to keep you on track towards enthusiasm in your business, then so be it.

I'll share mine with you if it's helpful:

"Do work you love WITH those you love and FOR those you love." 

That's it - pretty simple. But if a project, task, client, or intitiative comes across my desk and it's NOT in line with my personal live-with, I DON'T do it. And you shouldn't take on people or projects that violate yours, either.

Altitude (aka what I call the "Alpha Dog Effect") - Your ambitions and accomplishments ALWAYS gravitate to the same level as that of the people you hang out with.

What does that mean for you? Easy: Hang with the cool kids, successful kids, optimists, drivers, movers, shakers. Seek out the people who are doing more of what YOU want to do more of.

Hang with people who earn more than you - and you'll soon join their ranks.

Make friends with people who are dedicated to bringing MORE to their business, their clients, their prospects, and their marketplace. And you'll bring more to yours.

Do NOT waste a moment of your time with the brokeass losers, whiners, coulda-beens and excuse mongers ("It's the economy, it's the banks, it's the government, it's the weather, it's the market, or my favorite - it's the stupid prospects")

Tenacity - Like a dog chewing on a bone, you have to stick it out.

If you are able to get up in the morning and just as happily work for someone else - you're MUCH better off if you just go do that. Entrepreneurship might not be for you. 

If you're like most of us, then you're in business for yourself (and for YOUR specific business) because you don't know how to wake up and NOT do it.

Bust through walls for your business and soon you'll be sitting on an empire.

Not because you read it on some marketing guy's blog -- but because you're on your way to doing it anyway. Long before you landed here to get my encouragement, respect, and congratulations!

"I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow."
-- Woodrow Wilson,
28th president of US (1856 - 1924)

As I was preparing for a marketing seminar last week, it occurred to me that there are very few people who know MORE than you do.

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, my clients and fellow speakers sometimes say, "Wow - you know so much MORE about marketing than me." And I guess I better if it's my life's work, right?

But they know so much more than I do about how to run a $2 million consulting business, how to operate a $50 million franchise, how to apply paint protection film to the front end of a Maserati, and how to design a build a LEED Platinum-certified office building.

POINT: Sure, I might know more in a particular area, but then YOU know more in different areas than I do (a LOT more probably!!)

So, perhaps a way to cross-pollinate ideas, surround yourself with "smart" people, and learn from your peers is to seek out NOT people that know MORE than you do - but to seek out people that know DIFFERENT than you do.

When's the last time you spent some time with a college professor? I live next door to two of 'em.

When's the last time you spent some time with a storyteller, actor, or improv comedian? Not to hear stories or jokes, but to exchange ideas and think WITH them.

Do you know the Guinness Book record-holder for balloon sculptures? I do. He's a great guy.

How about a puppeteer? Psychologist? PR guru? Web designer? Pastry chef? IT geek? Nurse?

Talk to these people. Seek out people that know DIFFERENT. Very few people actually know MORE.

What do you think? Ideas, comments, additions, rants, raves? Use the COMMENTS area below and let's hear from YOU. Yes, you in the blue shirt. Just click below and start typing...

Guest post by Chris Di Fonzo

It's true, where to seat a prince for dinner as a guest in my home, never became relevant.  Still, those professional etiquette workshops "the man" made me take had value.  Shake hands, even if someone is visibly sick?  Yes!  Lift your glass when being toasted?  Nope.  Arrive late for calls and meetings?  Obvious.

Then what gives?  Lateness, lack of follow up, and lack of formality are prolific today, even among enterprise consultants, salespeople, managers, and executives.  The worst thing about perpetually more casual behavior in business is it's a death spiral.  Business culture is organic, not static, and our daily interactions either raise the bar or push it down.

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creative independents, this is as opportunity to differentiate ourselves.  I'm calling myself out and asking you to join me.  Let's set the example by bringing back (a little) decorum.

Three basics to get us going:

1.     Say what you're going to do, and do it.  A simple formula – Learn it and live it.  Your word matters; treat it like a contract.  Think before making commitments.  Once made, follow through.

2.     Thank people.  Walt Disney was known for handwriting thank you notes daily.   Try it for your most important ones, it feels great and people remember.  Always formally thank customers and people who refer you business.  Failure to appropriately thank others is lazy and tragic.  (Self-disclosure: A little behind on thank you notes myself; I'm going to start catching up today.)

3.     Learn names and use them.  A dollar for every time you’ve heard, "I'm not good with names;" you’re a zillionaire.  Excuse, copout, laziness.  Make it a point to learn people's names and use them, it's fundamental.  The first rule to remembering names (and anything) is intent to remember.  When we care enough to remember, it's amazing how easy it usually is.

Why bother with decorum?  Many reasons, here’s one.  You represent your company, yourself, your cause, your town, your community.  Entrepreneur is a hard road, requiring more of us, not less.  Independence is not a reason for a lack of decorum; rather a responsibility to embody it.  Whatever your perspective on business etiquette, consider applying a little more protocol, formality, and decorum.  Represent.

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The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.

The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise to the occasion.

As our case is new, we must think anew and act anew.
---

So, is this the latest pronouncement from some marketing speaker or management guru like Tom Peters, Jim Collins, or Jack Welch?

Nope.

Just some wise advice from Abraham Lincoln.

From over 140 years ago.

As the saying goes, "The more things change..."

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach on the front lines of the meltdown economy, I'm seeing firsthand and through my clients that marketing has become even more challenging because – now more than ever – your buyers are lazy, busy, and befuddled.

See if some of these characteristics ring true with YOUR prospects and buyers over the last few months:

Lazy: Your buyers do not look forward to being marketed and sold to. The old standards of good, cheap, and fast have been replaced with the new “Web 2.0” standard of perfect, free, and now. Instant gratification, easy to buy, and effortless to install are the new watchwords for marketing and sales success. The expert at hand is the expert who gets hired.

Busy: Buyers have a million things on their plate besides researching the best options for products, services, vendors, partners, and trusted advisors. You need to become the obvious choice, the smartest choice, and the least risky choice – all in the span of a very short amount of time to be heard above their (internal and external) noise.

Befuddled: Buyers are overwhelmed with information, choices, data, specs, features, benefits, and marketing hype. It can be hard to separate the best service providers from the best marketers – and rarely are they one and the same. Your buyers have been burned, disappointed, and let down by slick marketers in the past.

So what can you do?

You won’t win them over with sizzle so your only choice is to convey TWO things with the utmost clarity and conviction:

1. We understand what you’re up against

2. We can fix it

That's marketing in a nutshell, folks! Agree? Disagree? Comments? Fire away down in the COMMENTS section and I'd love to hear from YOU...

As a motivational speaker in the area of marketing and business development, I'm often asked by CEOs and business owners about how they can be better leaders of their internal marketing efforts. 

My answer is you can't be a great marketing leader unless you're first a great leader.

Here are some guidelines that the best leaders across all disciplines have come to recognize as foundational to their leadership success and that I share with you for the benefit of your own marketing success:

1. Expect the best from people you lead.
2. Become fully aware of others' needs.
   
3. Establish high standards of excellence; communicate them
   clearly and often.
4. Create an environment where failure is not fatal.
   
5. Climb on other people's bandwagons if they're going
   anywhere near the neighborhood you want to go.
6. Employ stories, examples, analogies, and models to
   encourage success.
   
7. Use a balanced mix of positive and negative feedback in
   a constructive spirit and with specific substance.
   
8. Appeal sparingly (or not at all) to competitive or
   aggressive impulses.
   
9. Encourage and reward collaboration.
10. Build into the group an allowance for healthy conflict
    and "fights" around issues, not around personalities.
    
11. Recognize and celebrate achievement.
    
12. Take steps to keep your own level of motivation genuine
    and high

1. The first secret is to have a compelling business idea, one that is differentiated and sustainable.
2. The second secret is to be a zealot.
3. Third on my list of secrets is to have a conservative business plan.
4. Secret number four is to work effectively with others.
5. The last secret of truly successful entrepreneurship is to change and grow as your business grows.

Professional speakers, coaches, consultants, and independent professionals should not present themselves as technicians, number- crunchers, or talk about their “techniques, approaches, and methods.”

Newsflash – Your customers and prospects don’t care.

Instead, present yourself as a problem-solver.

For years now, large accounting firms have taken the lead in portraying themselves as "business partners." They know the danger of being viewed as "number crunchers" or “geeks” or... heaven forbid, “consultants.”

Why have they changed their tune?

Simple. Experience shows that today's customers want both solid results PLUS personalized help, guidance and direction. And as a small business owner, YOU are ideally suited for this role!

For many customers, your business can become a one-stop shop, giving customers the benefits of a product expert, service partner, information advisor, strategy planner, and personal guide all rolled into one.

There is another factor here that should not be ignored: It is never in your best interest to be viewed as a commodity. Today, your small business must offer the value of a consultant in order to secure lasting and price-irrelevant relationships.

You must be able to subtly and regularly communicate to every customer: “These are the measurable ways I am enhancing your results.” Do that, and they won’t leave you for a slightly cheaper alternative down the street. And do it consistently, and you’ll develop customers for life.

As a marketing speaker, I'm often asked the question if I'm also a "motivational speaker" and my answer is no. Although I do admire motivational speakers and topics - and HAVE trafficked in a bit of leadership thinking and writing.

Here's an oldie but goodies from the archives: 

===

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you
damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human
duty, the duty to take the consequences.
-- P. J. O'Rourke

As a leader, I will expose you to the options and the
likely consequences of those options.
-- Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

The Leadership 22

Leadership means...
* Exposing people to options
* Getting along with people
* Being a dealer in hope
* Sales (products, services, ideas, values)
* Teaching, mentoring, guiding
* Be the example
* Results, not talk
* Bringing sides together
* Being a dispenser of enthusiasm
* Solving problems
* Blazing the trail and leaving a path
* Producing more leaders
* Showing average people how to do the work of superior people
* Character and integrity
* Putting first things first
* The capacity to translate vision into reality
* Finding a parade and getting in front of it
* Your switch is never turned off
* The ability to communicate something people want
* Action, not position
* Backbone, wishbone, funny bone
* Doing the right things at the right time for the right reasons

What do YOU think? What would you ADD? Leave a comment below and share your opinion...

Brilliant advice from marketing expert Maria Marsala. Maria is a Business Builder and former Wall Street Trader. With her motto of "Powering-UP service businesses and their owners," she provides articles, tips, classes, and resources to do just that. Learn more at www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com 

1. My charge for an initial consultation is "x." If we turn out to be a good match, and you hire me, I'll apply 1/2 of "x" towards your commitment.

2. I'm happy to give you 5 minutes or less of free time, however, most issues are more quickly & effectively resolved in an undisturbed session(s). May we schedule a meeting so I can give you my undivided attention?

3. If someone is very persistent, whip out a stopwatch & say "For $2 a minute I'd be happy to go into this now. May I start the clock & do you prefer to pay with cash or check?"

4. What I can do is refer you to a free resource on "_______."

5. I do work with two pro-bono clients, who are in desperate need financially. I'll take your card and add you to the waiting list.

6. Yes, I do work with clients on "name the issue." Would you like to set up a consultation?

7. That will cost "x" per hour.

8. There's a lot I can do for you that's similar to the work I did for "xyz" client. Would you like to get together and build a marketing plan? (And then charge for those services.)

9. Well, I'd love to suggest something; however, my fees are "xxx" per hour.

10. Are you looking to hire me?

11. Are you looking to hire _____? Well, I'd love to talk to you about that; my fees are "x" per hour."

12. You may call me for a 15-minute talk, very focused, on that issue.

13. "Well, the answer to that question depends" and then spend a few minutes explaining some of the options and considerations. For example, I may explain that the best way to identify the "solution" is to work backward from the desired end result and process. That provides a natural lead-in to: "If I were to work with you on this project, here's how we would do it..."

14. Sorry, I can't answer that unless you pay my fee (or hire me).

15. A complete answer to your question is going to take more than 15 minutes over the phone. Would you like me to send you a proposal on this?

16. I have really enjoyed talking with you and would like to help more. May I send you one of my brochures and a rate card?

17. Do you have a time line and/or budget in mind for solving this problem?

18. Have you looked at cost estimates from others who would like to help you solve this problem or complete this project?

19. It's not a good time for me to begin a session right this minute. Would you like to briefly discuss session times and fees?

20. Are you seeking generic free information on "the topic" or to work with a "your profession here" to address your specific situation? [If I have a free resource, I'll ask for their email address and send it to them.]

21. I provide a general 3-4 sentence overview of how I would address their concern with them. Then I say that I've found that the sorting of the information available and subsequent application of that information is so specific to each individual that I always recommend hiring a "your profession here" for getting that one project completed.

22. Well what I can offer you on that subject is an ebook (CD, audio, etc) called ________. I'll email you the link.

23. Refer them to these "free" or "almost free" resources:

• The library has books/tapes/audios/CD/reference librarians.
• To an outsider, your local SBA and SCORE Offices "look" free. They're really not "free" either. Their classes "cost $" and their advice is paid for by all of us as part of our taxes.
• Find a professional who needs your services and see about some sort of in-kind exchange or barter. Again, this isn't totally free, as you do need to report it on your taxes, but in most cases, there isn't any money exchanged.
• Join lots of ezines by experts in the area you're looking to learn about, but do it quickly while they are still free. And know that the 'best of the best' contain ads and affiliate programs, too.

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

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