Marketing systems with IMPACT= Increased revenue

"Let's assume for a minute, we are in this to make money."

Ok look, the economy sucks we all get it. But that does not mean you get to use that as an excuse. Get out there and sell your product or service!

But wait…let's look at our plan first, not a 200 page marketing plan that collects dust on a shelf, but a real world, simple plan that works. I have been asked to speak about this twice over the last week, met with four clients who have asked for assistance with this over the last two weeks so I decided to address the topic here to help answer some of those questions. I want to make this as simple as possible but have maximum impact for your efforts. These are guidelines only and may need to be adjusted based on your business model. I have also listed some resources that I know and trust to help you along with the different aspects. Ok, enough of that let's begin.

Rethink your business model
Why am I in business?

Sounds simple doesn't it? It may be the toughest thing a business owner can ask themselves. It has so many determining factors. Income, no income, lifestyle, no life, freedom, no freedom, employees, customers, etc. etc. I would take a few days to really think on this one. If you can answer this question to your satisfaction, and the answer is to keep moving in your business, then you are ready to put everything you've got into marketing. If not then maybe selling, closing, or implementing your exit strategy is in order. It is not a bad thing if it means moving on to a better life as you see it. Having recently gone through this process myself I feel more than qualified to speak on this topic, but that story remains as a subject for another entry.

Your strategies and approach to customers is crucial

Let's face it as entrepreneurs when sales are good, we are too busy to take a real in depth look at value added service, different marketing tools, or doing the simple things that brings in more sales. It is human nature to get into the mindset that the good times will never end. Then when it does end, or slow, it is a mad rush to get customers to buy. By reconsidering what you offer and how you offer it you may find some value added service or products you may not have otherwise thought of. Get creative!

Rethink your current marketing efforts
In a slow economy the time is right to analyze everything you do in your marketing to see if has the return on investment you deserve. If it does not, quit it! Quantify all results. Figure out on a pie chart all of you marketing efforts. Not just the ones you trade cash for but also the ones you spend your time doing (your time is valuable). Now seeing it in the pie which slice is the largest? Which one takes the most time? How expensive is each slice?

In person networking:
I am amazed at the number of businesses showing up at networking events all over Salem because it is a slow economy. It seems they never thought they needed to do that before because sales were so good, those of you who have always done that as part of your marketing are in a much better position to pick up business. You have been working the relationships for months or years where as they have to start building them from the bottom up. So when the economy picks up speed again you will be in a power position from your established relationships to build quickly. Having had businesses in other cities, Salem is very good with networking, while other cities it was not worth the effort for me.

Quantify: Make sure you identify one to three people you can approach about your business. It may be to ask about their business if you have a need of the service or product offered or it may be to offer yours. Either way make a note of who you talked to and get a business card. Then follow up, more on this later. There tends to be a lot of socializing at events, this is good and bad. You want to get to know people but you also want to do business. It is up to you where you find the happy medium. If you are in Salem, Kyle Sexton will be doing a business seminar on best practices for networking. He is a marketing guru and I encourage you to attend. You will not be disappointed. See the Salem Chamber website below for details.

Social networking and web presence:

It is time to get with the program. If you are not on the internet you will not be as successful! Now you may be successful, but without the partner of the web working 24/7 you will be behind your competitors. I am no expert, but I watch trends and keep my finger on the pulse of business. For expertise in this area visit my friend and colleague Tim Fandrich at his company's website http://www.thethirdriver.com/members/thirdriver to see more details than I can go into here. Give him a call and he can talk about your particular business and how to maximize your return. I will tell you I use Plaxo, LinkedIn, Facebook and the Salem Chamber face2face. I am currently building my website http://www.scottsadlercoach.com/ and this is all enough for me right now. I am open to increasing my presence as I grow. Right now these, along with this blog are enough for me to manage myself.

Quantify: Make sure your tracking where you get results from each place on the internet. This can be a bit tricky sometimes but a guy like Tim can help you with this. I know for example I have picked up two clients in four weeks from facebook. I know because they contacted me directly through my page. Other times if someone sees your page or website they may call you later and you would need to ask them how they found you, and then write it on your tracking sheet.

Old school basics:
After the high tech internet talk, this is going to sound boring. Please trust me it works. I owned Clean Sweep a commercial cleaning company for 16 years. We struggled with how best to market our company. The first and best thing we did was join the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, http://www.salemchamber.org/ , the second best thing we did was systemize the way we got in contact with potential new customers. Are you ready? From a sales list phone book or whatever,

1) Send a short introduction letter and testimonials.

2) One week later follow up with a phone call. Example below.

You: "Hello this is Scott Sadler and I sent you some information about our company, Clean Sweep last week and wanted to know if you had received that."

Prospect: "Why yes Scott we did, but we are very happy with our current service right now."

Scott: "Excellent, do you mind if I check back with you in a few months?"

Prospect: "No, that would be fine."

Scott: "Thanks so much for your time, what was your name?"

Prospect: "Janice."

Scott: "Ok Janice, have a great day and if you have a need before I talk to you again keep my information handy and give us a call."

Janice: Will do Scott, take care now.

Scott: "You too, goodbye."

1. Write a short note on what you talked about, when, who, etc. File it in a file folder marked for the month; let's say three months out May. Than at the beginning of each month at the designated time you have scheduled, you pull out the list and call all of them again. "Hi Janice, just checking back with you" call. I may even send them a little gift, like a magnet with my contact info and a thank you note after six or nine months.


2. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

I picked up customers 4 years later by working this system over and over. When they had an issue with the current service we had top of mind awareness and we got the jobs. This system was the most crucial element in reaching 1.2 million in sales when we sold the company in 2003. The buyer after looking at several companies like ours, said they were impressed with our systems, from employees (we managed 120), to growth, but especially our marketing. They knew they could step in and continue the system and it would keep the hopper full.

Quantify: You are quantifying every step of the way here. You will know your return when you have worked this for at least a year. This all depends on you and your discipline.

Advertisements:
A short summary of suggestions as this can get very in depth depending on your type of business. Quantify everything! Not using the companies, or salespersons numbers, use your own.

Yellow page ads - Get a tracking line and have them provide reports showing your incoming calls. Divide the calls into the jobs you received and then you know your true costs you are paying for the advertisement.

Coupons, flyers, door hangers etc. – Put a phrase of some sort to track only to that piece. Record your results over a period of time and determine the usefulness of continuing that form of advertising.

Radio, TV – Same as coupons, flyers, door hangers, etc. Make sure your message is slightly different so you know how to track it separately from the other ads and efforts.

To sum it up, here come the analogies. Planning your marketing needs to be taken slowly and done thoughtfully, as it is done in nature. A farmer does not just say find a piece of land, and throw seeds out, hoping to harvest the next day. Give this some serious thought over a week or so and devise your plan. Surround yourself with people who can help you, and believe in you. Then prepare the soil, plant the seed, weed, till, water add fertilizer, repeat. You will be harvesting before you know it!

I do have a lot more to share, but have made a promise to you that this blog be short and have an effect. If you want more information please let me know. scott@scottsadlercoach.com I would be happy to meet you for a no obligation 30 minute coaching session in person or by phone to discuss this or any other business/life issues. For testimonials see my website.

Ask me about creating a winning Value Proposition. Win the hearts and minds of your target market, stop wasting time and effort.