It's Not the Economy! Three Ways You're Sabotaging Your Own Marketing Efforts

Is the economy hurting your business right now? Are things slow because nobody is spending money? Are you discouraged that you're not getting as many people calling you as before? Are you waiting for the economy to improve before you get out there are start marketing yourself? But is it really the economy that's hurting your business? Last week I went to a networking event and had a great time meeting new people. Right now I'm not looking for new clients, but I'm always on the lookout for services that I need at events like this. I met a young man who was selling health insurance. And since I'm not very happy with my coverage, we talked and I asked him many questions. What he said sounded good to me. So I handed him my card and asked him to call and tell me more. And then he gave me his card and said something like: "OK, I'll call you or you can call me." Guess what? Over a week later I still haven't heard from him! In my experience, this is more often the rule than the exception. Even when making a connection with a real potential client who has a real need and who has real money to spend, so many Independent Professionals fail to follow-up. I just got an email from someone who read an earlier version of this article. She told me: "In the last year I can only think of 1 person who has proactively followed up with me after meeting me at a networking event. I will never forget her since she made the effort and made herself memorable." It's not the economy that's hurting your business. It's you! The magic of successfully attracting more clients has very little to do with the economy or brilliant marketing messages or exposure on every single social media site. It has a lot more to do with setting up opportunities to connect with more qualified prospects and actually following up with them. Believe me, this is not theory. I don't need any new clients right now because in the last month I just signed up 16 of them for a one-year Marketing Mastery program. And yes, it took a lot of follow-up! So why doesn't everybody do this? Three main reasons: 1. People don't have a system and they are not prepared. They literally have no plan, no intention, no purpose or goals to build their business. They don't have a written step-by-step strategy. They haven't thought much about the tools and resources they need. And if you don't have that, nothing much will happen. Not even if the economy picks up. By the time it does, your business may be dead and gone. Without a plan and preparation and some serious thinking about what you're doing and what you're trying to accomplish, your business will not grow. 2. People are disorganized and unfocused. Even if they have a basic plan, they are scattered. They get home after a networking event, put the cards they collected on their desks, and then they get busy and the cards collect dust. Two weeks later, they look at the pile of cards and go, "Oh, s###! I forgot to follow up with anyone at that event!" If this is your modus operandi for growing your business, you're in deep trouble. Like my young insurance agent, without some systems and organization, you'll be left with a pile of cards but no appointments with potential clients. 3. People are afraid of rejection. If all of the above wasn't bad enough, we fail to follow up or take any kind of proactive action because we think things like this: "I don't want to be pushy. If they're interested in me, they'll call me. I'm just not the sales type. I don't have time for follow-up." All of this is a disguise for deeper fears such as: "I'll be ostracized if I market myself too aggressively. I'll be rejected and then won't be able to show my face at that group again. I really have nothing of real value to offer. Why am I doing this anyway?" How to Stand Out and Attract Lots of Clients Those who are attracting as many clients as they can handle are doing the exact opposite of the above: 1. They have a plan and they know what they are doing. They are focused, prepared and ready to play the game of marketing. 2. They are organized with real systems in place which they follow without fail. Follow-up is not a burden but on opportunity. 3. They are fearless. They understand the value of their service and don't worry about being rejected. They make it happen. Now if this describes you, you are already attracting a lot of business and you probably wonder what all the fuss is about! You realize that marketing yourself is part of your business and you simply work at getting good at it until it's never a big issue again. For everyone else, please read this carefully: If you are not attracting as much business as you could because you have no plan, are poorly organized, and are afraid of rejection, what are you going to do to get beyond these three things? Here are your options: 1. Do nothing and hope the economy changes. This is the mindset of resignation and hopelessness. It's affecting many people in this economy. But this is not a plan of action! What if the economy doesn't change for some time? 2. Try halfheartedly but continue to complain about how marketing is so hard. This approach will get a lot of sympathy from many people. We love to commiserate with each other, but where does that get you? 3. Make a real commitment to change. This is the only thing that has ever worked, good economy or bad. In fact, I'm noticing that the economy has been a wake-up call to many business owners, large and small. They realize if they don't take action now, nothing will change. I hope the insurance agent I spoke of chooses option number three. If he doesn't, his business is going to be slow for a very long time. 2009-04-01T17:46:51Z

2009-04-06T06:10:21Z

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its-not-the-economy-three-ways-youre-sabotaging-your-own-marketing-efforts

2009-04-06T06:10:08Z

2009-04-06T06:10:21Z

When times are tough economically, we tend to blame these external conditions for our poor marketing results. However, with a closer look, we might discover that the economy plays only a small role in our lack of marketing effectiveness.

It's Not the Economy! Three Ways You're Sabotaging Your Own Marketing Efforts

2009-04-06T06:10:21Z