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The very worst marketing mistake you can make…

Posted byIan Brodie on May 5th, 2013.

..is stopping marketing when you've got lots of work on.

I know that doesn't sound like a huge disaster – but hear me out.

If you cut back on marketing when you've got plenty of clients, not only does it mean that you suddenly have to scrabble around for work when your boom period ends…

…it also means your marketing is going to be WAY tougher when you do start it back up.

If you need clients in a hurry, you don't have time to build relationships. You don't have time to build your credibility. Instead you end up using brute-force methods to try to find “hot prospects”.

As I explored in a recent blog post, if you take a long term view then there are plenty of leads out there. Plenty of people who will need what you have in 3, 6, 9, 12 months time.

What's in short supply is people who need your stuff right now. And if you do happen to find them, chances are they're already hooked up with someone else who's taken the time to nurture a relationship with them.

But if you keep marketing when you've got plenty of client work you can be establishing those relationships and building credibility well in advance of them needing help.

By the time you need the work, many of those people you've built relationships with will be ready to buy. And they'll already trust you and know what you can do.

If you have to win work in a hurry from a standing start, then the only sort of work you'll win is work where the client doesn't need to have established a relationship and you don't need to build credibility. That's commodity work. Painful and low reward.

In next Sunday's email I'm going to be sharing some of the ways I've found to fit marketing into your schedule when you're busy with client work.

But the first step is critical: you have to recognise you need to do it. It's not just “nice to have”, it's absolutely essential.

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Is your “shop window” letting you down?

Posted byIan Brodie on April 28th, 2013.

I get emails every now and then from professionals frustrated that they're not getting the clients they feel they deserve. Their less talented competitors seem to have all the luck and be in the right place at the right time.

When I look at what they've been doing with their marketing though, it turns out it's almost never down to luck.

Usually their website looks nice – but it has no content on it that would let anyone know what an expert they are in their field.

Do they do many presentations or run seminars showcasing their expertise? Nope – they go to networking events and tell people how great they are rather than demonstrating it.

Articles, a book, a podcast, email marketing? Nope.

In essence they're expecting their potential clients to have psychic powers – to magically know how good they are without ever proving it.

It's a bit like having a retail store with nothing in the shop window.

Can you imagine a clothing store without the latest fashions showing in the window? A technology store without any gadgets on display? A bakers without mouthwatering cakes, tarts and breads on show?

Smart retailers know they can't just tell people what's inside the store or rely on them knowing. They have to show their best stuff in the window to entice customers in. And then they have to give them a chance to “try before they buy”.

Fashion outlets let you try on the clothes. Tech stores let you play with the gadgets. Bakers always have a little sample tray so you can see that their stuff tastes as good as it looks.

You've got to do the same in your business.

You've got to have a shop window that showcases what you can do. And you've got to have some way that potential clients can “try before they buy”.

That could be a blog or videos on your website. A regular series of presentations or webinars you run. Articles in magazines your clients read.

Hiring a professional to help with a critical issue in their business or life is a huge decision or most people. If you don't have a decent shop window it's no surprise they turn to someone else.

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Do you have this vital business-winning trait?

Posted byIan Brodie on April 21st, 2013.

I met an accountant at an event a few weeks ago.

Nice guy, senior partner in smallish practice. Very good accountant it seemed. But his business was struggling.

I asked him a few questions about what he'd been doing marketing-wise and the answer was the same as you'd get from most struggling practices. He'd been picking up the odd client from recommendations. And the occasional one from the breakfast networking group he went to.

And that was about it for marketing. Oh, he had an old website that wasn't getting any traffic either. But other than that, nothing.

As we chatted it became clear that he was hoping to find some kind of silver bullet solution to his lack of clients. Not because he really believed in silver bullets, but mainly because he didn't want to do anything different.

Going to a regular breakfast meeting with friends and hoping they'd pass him referrals was inside his comfort zone. As was waiting for clients he'd done a good job for to recommend him to others.

But proactively asking for referrals. Doing presentations to groups of potential clients. Meeting people he didn't know. He just wasn't comfortable with that.

I'm certain he knew that he'd get results if he just started doing more of those activities. But he didn't feel comfortable with them, so he kept looking for something else. A kind of “easy button” he could press to get more leads and clients without having to step out of his comfort zone.

I think we're all a bit like that sometimes. I know I spend too much time fiddling with my website because I enjoy it and I'm good at it, when there are other much higher payoff activities I could be doing.

It takes a lot of courage to try something new. Especially when it comes to marketing as it impacts something we all care about deeply: what others think of us.

We don't want to be seen as pushy. Or desperate. Or needing the help (even if we do).

It takes courage to overcome that fear. To step out of your comfort zone and do something that might not work. To stop worrying so much about what others think about you.

Not heroic levels of courage. We're not putting our lives at risk or anything.

But more courage than most people manage to muster.

If you can develop this vital trait, to be just a bit more courageous with your marketing, you can make a big difference.

I have clients who are trying out video, direct mail, running seminars, blogging. All things they've never done before. And they might not work the first time or even the second.

And like any new skills, while they're learning how to do them it won't feel comfortable. They won't be brilliant straight out of the gate.

But their courage (and a little bit of support from me) will see them through the challenges.

How can you develop this kind of courage?

In my experience the best, perhaps the only way, is to start small.

Try something new that's just a bit outside your comfort zone. Get help and support to make sure it's a success.

That'll give you the confidence to try something bigger. And then something bigger.

And pretty soon you'll be taking on things you never thought you'd be able to do. And it won't seem all that courageous (even though it is).

More Clients Memorandum

Follow-up strategies that will win you clients

Posted byIan Brodie on April 14th, 2013.

Do you remember my email from a couple of weeks ago?

The one where I talked about the potential client I lost because I just hadn't followed up properly with them.

I thought I'd put down a few thoughts on follow-up strategies that might help you avoid falling into the same trap as I did.

The first principle of effective follow-up is that the more you know about someone, the easier it is to follow up with them.

Let's say you meet someone who could be a potential client at an event but you spend all the time trying to impress them by using your clever elevator pitch and droning on about your business and how great you are.

When it comes to getting back in touch later, how are you going to break the ice? You've got nothing to to talk about.

If instead, you spend your time at the event asking about them and genuinely listening to them talk about their business, what they like and what's important to them then you'll have a whole database of stuff to contact them about.

Provided, of course, you remember to write down everything while it's still fresh in your mind.

The second principle of effective follow-up is to get back in touch quickly after your initial meeting.

If you contact someone straight away after meeting them just to sincerely say thanks, or remark on something you discussed then later on when you want to get back in touch it's easy to just call or email.

But if you let weeks or months pass by without any follow up then it just feels embarrassing to get in touch only when you need something. And the other person will assume you're only interested in them for what they can do for you.

It works similarly on Linkedin too. Whenever I connect with someone on Linkedin I try to send an immediate message to say hi and get a conversation going.

It means that later on, rekindling the conversation will be so much easier than if we'd never chatted.

The third principle is to keep in touch, even if there's no obvious reason.

David Maister once said that the secret to good relationships – in business or in marriage – is to “talk even when there's nothing to talk about”.

Many of us aren't good at this kind of small talk. I know I'm not. We worry that we should only contact someone if there's a “real reason” to do so. Or that the other person won't be interested in just friendly contact.

But if you think of your close friends and colleagues, how often is what you talk about “serious”? Probably not a lot.

Small talk and casual contact is the oil that lubricates relationships.

Of course, you don't want to pester busy people. But don't feel that every time you contact someone it has to be with earth-shattering news or groundbreaking new insights.

Finally, make follow-up a habit.

The very best rainmakers are systematic in their follow-up. They book dedicated slots in their schedules to carry out follow-up activities.

They keep records on who they want to follow up with so they can recall what they're interested in and what's important to them. It doesn't have to be a fancy CRM system. One brilliant business developer I know keeps all his records on index cards.

Whatever system you use, the key is to regularly review the high priority contacts in your database and find ways to keep in touch that add value to them.

Send them relevant articles (preferably ones you've written). Connect them to useful people. Invite them to events. Think of them when people ask for recommendations.

Or occasionally just phone for a chat and invite them for a coffee. Sometimes we all just want to get out of the office for a bit.

Above all, don't do what I did and let good relationships wither and die.

More Clients Memorandum

The “gold door” strategy for attracting clients

Posted byIan Brodie on April 7th, 2013.

I had a bit of trouble sleeping recently, so I ended up downstairs flicking though the TV looking for something vaguely entertaining.

I managed to catch a classic episode of Frasier. It was the one where Fraiser and Niles mistakenly get an invitation to an ultra-exclusive spa which they decide they must find a way to get into.

After they manage to sneak their way in they have a great time until they discover a gold door leading to an even more exclusive section they're not allowed in.

All of a sudden the spa they'd been enjoying so much is no longer good enough and they devote themselves to getting into the private section.

When they do, the same thing happens again. They discover a platinum door and all of a sudden their exclusive gold experience doesn't feel so great. They can't resist sneaking through the door and end up, well, you'll have to watch the show to find out.

I smiled as I watched the show, recognising some of the same characteristics in myself.

We all want that sense of exclusivity in our lives. The feeling we're part of something that not everyone has access to. That we're getting something special.

And we'll often go to great lengths to get that feeling of exclusivity. To get access behind the gold door.

Perhaps not always as far as Niles hopping through the door in full body wrap with cucumbers over his eyes. But often very far indeed.

Which of course, prompts the question: what are you doing to give your best clients that sense of exclusivity? That feeling that by working with you they're part of a club where they get special treatment.

Personally, in addition to the training resources and practical step-by-step guides in Momentum Club, I also give members the opportunity to ask me questions and get feedback in the members-only webinars I run.

Often it's just little touches like that which can make all the difference to give your clients and members a sense they're getting something special.

And the nice side effect is that it gives potential clients a feeling that they're something they need behind that golden door.

More Clients Memorandum

My shocking wake-up call

Posted byIan Brodie on March 31st, 2013.

Have you ever had that awful sinking feeling when you know you've screwed up?

A few years ago a local sales trainer asked me if they could buy me a coffee and pick my brains.

I'm always happy to help people out (especially if they ask nicely and bribe me with a fancy coffee) so we set up a meeting.

The trainer asked for advice about working with law firms. He'd just won a contract to do sales training for the senior staff of a large local firm. But with no experience in the sector he wasn't sure how to tailor his material.

I went through my experience working with law firms with him, giving him some clues and tips on how to adapt standard sales training to be more suitable to professional firms.

At the end, out of interest, I asked him who the law firm was. His answer shocked me.

It was a firm I'd spoken to about a year previously. In fact, I'd done a free seminar that a couple of their partners had attended and had given brilliant feedback on. They'd then asked me to come and talk to them about growing their client base.

Yet I'd gone from pole position to losing out to someone with no previous experience in the sector.

How come?

I'd made a huge mistake. After that initial meeting, the client had told me the time wasn't quite right for an improvement programme.

And my response was…

…I ignored them. Did nothing to follow up or keep in touch.

Despite the fact that they could have been a great client had the timing been right, I decided I had bigger fish to fry.

And so I lost out to someone with no real expertise in what they needed – but who did keep knocking on their door until the timing was right.

Persistence and nurturing trumps just about anything. Not only do you build relationships and credibility over time more effectively than with just “one big hit” – it also means you're in the right place when a client decides to take action.

That meeting was a big wake-up call for me. Nowadays I follow a structured and rigorous approach to nurturing relationships with potential clients that means I never miss out like this any more.

Hopefully you won't need a wake up call: you'll make sure you're nurturing relationships without needing such a shock to the system.