Productive Holiday Cheer

Here we are, in the midst of the holiday season now. How can you make the most of the endless stream of holiday parties? How can you keep your sanity and good humor, celebration after celebration? Participate in the merriment of the season and prepare yourself for a productive January by following these suggestions. Mark your calendar with all the events you’ve committed to, allowing appropriate prep and recovery time. Recovery time also includes acknowledging …

Marketing Plan and Calendar

Second Article in the Series: Pulling It All Together As we move toward the close of the year, many of us begin planning for the next year. If you haven’t already, set aside some time on your calendar preferably away from the office, to reflect on this year and plan for the next. This series will walk you through some of the key steps for strategizing the upcoming year. With your Ideal Client in mind, …

Keys to Marketing that Works

Sixth Article in the Series: Marketing that Works You’ve invested six weeks in developing a marketing plan that works. Let’s recap some of the key components. Mindset: You know specifically the type of client you want to attract, you enjoy serving them and you like being around them. Guess what? The feeling is mutual. Unique Value: Your work with Passions, Strengths and Values and identifying your Ideal Client made you aware of the gift you …

Continual Marketing is the Key

Fifth Article in the Series: Marketing that Works Early on in this series I said that most marketing plans fail because they are never executed. The difference between the plan you are creating and most other marketing plans is that yours is created around your passion and strengths, your unique service and the value you bring to your clients that you love working with. Many “marketing plans” are a knee-jerk reaction to the sudden realization …

The Importance of Consistent Messaging

Fourth Article in the Series: Marketing that Works Last week we looked at one component of earning mindshare with your client and that was creating a consistent message or brand. The other component is to message consistently. It is great to have a nifty logo and great name, yet if your prospective client does not encounter your brand on a regular basis, then you will have invested too much in graphic design! Getting your message …

Earn Mindshare Through Branding

Third Article in the Series: Marketing that Works The last two messages focused on the importance of knowing your Ideal Client and the value your service brings to them. Okay, great! You know all of this. How do you begin sharing this in the marketplace and more specifically, with Ideal Prospects? With all the work that you have done thus far, you know what your Ideal Clients need from you and you have the solutions …

Your Unique Value

Second Article in the Series: Marketing that Works Last week’s message brought a new concept to your work and marketing efforts — that you have a gift to share and that you will do so only with those who appreciate and value your gift. Your gift is your product or service that you provide, combined with your passions, strengths and values. Think about that…how many others bring the same unique value to your Ideal Client? …

Sharing Your Gift

First Article in the Series: Marketing that Works The last series of messages focused on “Making Work Play”. Most of us need to earn a meaningful income from our daily work. Yet work need not be the drudgery that we associate with the term. “Making Work Play” focused on utilizing your passions, strengths and values with a goal of 75% of your work time being spent doing what you do best with clients you love …

Emotions Make Decisions

Ninth Article in the Series: Making Work Play Now that you know who your Ideal Client and thus Ideal Prospect is, how do you create a message that speaks to them? Think of the advertisements on television that get your attention, beyond the outlandish ones! The ads that cause you to stop and listen on an emotional level. They may share a story of fun and laughter with friends and family, or be a touching …

Understand How to Attract Ideal Clients

Eighth Article in the Series: Making Work Play What did you learn from identifying your Ideal Client? For most of my clients, this type of in-depth work on your current client base is very revealing. You see common linkages between your clients you never knew were there, and you learned something about why they are your clients. More importantly, you learned something about you. In analyzing your client base, you begin to understand what attracted …

Who is Your Ideal Client?

Seventh Article in the Series: Making Work Play If you participated in last week’s message, you are now ready for the last step in your work on your Ideal Client. Pull out your worksheet and look afresh at that list of clients that provide 80% of your revenue. To help you see common linkages between the clients, add columns to your spreadsheet to identify various characteristics. The following column headings will give you a start: …

Diving Deep

Sixth Article in the Series: Making Work Play From last week’s message, you’ve prepared a worksheet that ranks your clients based on revenue from highest to lowest. We are now going to look at this list a bit more deeply. First, you want to know the breakdown of revenue generation in your client base. What percentage of your clients provide the majority of your revenue? The Pareto principle is a good rule of thumb; that …

Look Inward First to Identify Your Ideal Client

Fifth Article in the Series: Making Work Play If you have been in business or in your career long enough, you’ve heard plenty about working only with Ideal Clients. Yet the majority of professionals and business owners reject this idea, instead pursuing every possible prospect that just might become a client. Why limit yourself, you ask? Well, are you tired of that hamster-wheel yet? “Market, market, market.” “It is a numbers game.” We have all …