Small Business Marketing Tips & Strategies

PR for Professional Service Firms

2009-07-16T07:51:51-05:00

Public relations is an important and power lead generation tactic for professional service firms. The press release is still a powerful tool for reaching out to the media. Just like any other marketing tactic, we need to be strategic about how we use press releases in order to effectively generate leads.

In order to be strategic about PR, we need to focus on the needs of our audience. In the case of PR, writers want to provide useful information to their audience. Therefore, the important question is, how can we help them help their readers?

This requires us to spend some time learning about writers and their audience. Luckily, the internet makes this relatively easy. Do you target writers have blogs? Do you read their articles on-line? Using tools like Google Alerts can help you find and keep up journalists who write about your subject matter expertise.

Take the time to learn about them, what they write about. Figure out how you can become a valued source for them. Work at becoming the person they turn to when they have a question about your area of expertise rather than being the guy who sends them a release once a year about the company picnic.

To get better results from you PR efforts, focus on the needs of reporter(s) you are pitching.

Get Your Booth For the 2009 SHBC Entrepreneurial Expo

2009-07-13T09:25:00-05:00

Planning is well under way for the 2009 SHBC Entrepreneurial Expo. This is a great opportunity to showcase your business, sell your services or products and let people know about what you have to offer. They are expecting over 1,000 people to come through SHBC's Entrepreneurial Expo.

This is the premier event for Kauffman Foundation's Global Entrepreneurship Week in KC!

Here are the even particulars:

SHBC Entrepreneurial Expo
Thursday, November 19, 2009 10am to 6pm
Johnson County Administration building (Clock Tower building)
111 S. Cherry Street
Olathe, KS

For more information about the expo, visit www.KCSHBCEXPO.org

Networking - Getting Your Turn To Talk

2009-07-13T05:16:00-05:00

During a recent presentation about referrals and networking, the subject came up about what to do when someone you meet doesn’t let you talk.

We were discussing a technique in which we begin by asking someone what they do for a living. The expectation being that after answer, they will return the favor and inquire about what we do. The question came up about what to do when that person doesn’t make that inquiry.

I'm not sure I did a good job of answering this question at the time, but I think you have two main choices, 1) force the issue or 2) cut bait and move on.

I say force the issue, but of course you need to have a professional way to go about it. In my experience, when someone doesn’t return the “what do you do” question, they usually are not comfortable with networking. So our first job is to make them more comfortable.

Start by asking permission to ask a question - “would it be ok if I ask you a question?”. Then give a short explanation of what you do, followed by your usual question(s) that you use to determine if this person is someone who may do business with you.

Every once in a while, you will run into someone who just isn’t interested in having a conversation. They may be interested in doing a lot of telling, but that isn’t a conversation. In these cases, you may just have to politely excuse yourself and move on. Excusing yourself may sound something like “I’m sure you came here to make contacts, so I won’t monopolize your time”.

Remember, the goal of networking isn’t to make a sale right then and there. Rather, you goal should be to identify people who look like the types of folks who may do business with you or are able and willing to introduce you to others who will.

The Sandler Rules - 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How To Apply Them

2009-07-07T06:14:06-05:00

If there is anything that professionals service providers hate worse than marketing, it is probably selling.

I'm a big fan of the Sandler Sales system, and I've posted about it several times on this blog. I wish they had taught this stuff in college (but would I have been smart enough to take that class?).

The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them. Adapted by David Mattson, outlines 49 "Sandler Rules". These timeless selling principles will be more successful by showing you how to be "180 degrees different from the traditional salesperson".

The principles are divided into three main parts. Part One outlines six rules, or core concepts, that will transform your selling process (or help you get one).

Part Two contains rules that focus on execution. The 27 rules in this section outline many of the tactics that you will use "where the rubber meets the road" during your sales calls.

The rules in the last section help us remember the proper attitudes that we need to have in order to be successful in sales.

Follow the rules in this book and your sales will definitely improve.

Marketing for Accountants, CPAs, and Professional Service Firms - New E-Book

2009-07-06T07:31:17-05:00

Marketing for Accountants, CPAs, and Professional Service Firms - New E-Book

Free e-book outlines what works and what doesn't when it comes to marketing professional services.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 05, 2009 – Professional service firms have traditionally relied on referrals to grow their practices. However, for many firms, referrals may not bring in enough new business to meet the firm's financial goals.

According Kansas City area Duct Tape Marketing Coach Bill Brelsford, "Many professional service providers believe marketing (other than referrals) won't work for their type of firm. It's not unusual for them spend a lot of money on a campaign that produces little or no results, causing them to sour on marketing."

In his new e-book, "Saying the Wrong Thing Louder Doesn't Make It Right", Brelsford outlines why referral marketing works and how most frustrations related to professional services marketing are caused by failing to stick with what works for referrals when engaging in other marketing tactics.

The e-book starts by telling the story of a typical accountant who starts his own practice and then challenges he faces while building his business. A discussion of why referrals work, why the "other marketing stuff" doesn't. The e-book outlines the elements of a successful referrals and concludes with a discussion of how to apply the principles of successful referral marketing to a firm's other marketing activities.

The free e-book “Saying The Wrong Thing Louder Doesn't Make It Right” can be found and downloaded at http://www.rebarbusinessbuilders.com/freeEbook.aspx

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About Rebar Business Builders

As an Authorized Duct Tape Marketing coach, Rebar works with professional service providers to install marketing systems that allow them to spend less time chasing business and more time working with profitable clients.

Free e-Book - Marketing Professional Services

2009-07-03T12:19:04-05:00

I just posted my first e-Book on my website. In it, I discuss marketing for service professionals – specifically, why referrals work, how to get better referrals consistently, and how to apply what works for referrals to the rest of your marketing activities

This e-Book is totally free. No registration required. You can download it here.

New Drip Marketing Program - Beta Program Saves You Big Bucks

2009-07-02T11:30:08-05:00

Drip Marketing With Swiftpage

I mentioned in a previous post that I am part of a partnership with ACT! and Swiftpage

I am very excited about this partnership. I have spent most of my career automating business systems to make them reliable, consistent, cost effective, and measurable. I really like what Swiftpage brings to small business.

Swiftpage helps put your sales and marketing initiatives on cruise control. With it, you can build and deliver multi-step marketing plans that use different media (phone calls, letters, postcards, fax, and e-mail).

A strong drip campaign can operate like a sales rep or customer service rep for a fraction of the cost.

You can even send messages based on the recipients actions – send one message to the people who opened your e-mail and a different one to the people who didn’t.

Drip Marketing Beta (or Pilot) Program

I have put together a new program to help small business get up and running as quickly and effectively as possible with Swiftpage. Since this is a new program, there will be a beta phase as we work out the normal bumps that are part of a new service. The good news for you is, you can save some big bucks. Here’s how it works:

I will work with you to design your drip marketing campaign. Together we will plot out the objectives of the campaign, what each step will consist of, the look and/or copy of each step and to whom it is going to go to and when.

I will then set it up for you in SwiftPage. I will also work with you to follow up, evaluate, and make adjustments to your campaign as necessary.

The beta test investment is $899 and in exchange you agree to excuse any lumps and bumps in the process and be willing to give us feedback on the program as well.

After the beta period, this service will be competitively priced between $2500 - $4500, so this is a sizzling hot opportunity.

If you are interested in participating, please contact me so we can have a short discussion to make sure that this program is right for your business.

P.S. SwiftPage works great with ACT! If you own ACT!, I’ll show how the two work together to create a great small business CRM system. If you don’t have ACT! but want to set it up, we can price that separately for you and get you up and running quickly.

7 Tips For More Productive Networking

2009-06-30T13:10:44-05:00

Recently, I've been talking to several business owners and independent professionals who are frustrated with the results they get from attending networking events. Networking came become a huge drain on our time - particularly if we are not consistently generating business from these events.

Networking is one of those important business skills that they don't teach us in school. Here are a few tips both I and my customers have used to achieve better results when attending networking events.

Go in with a plan - What is your goal for this particular event? Have you identified specific people you would like to meet?

Have something to give - the golden rule in networking is "give to get". I find that following this rule makes me a better listener, which in turn makes me a better salesperson. One of my favorite ways to give at my regular networking events is to act as a connector. Because I attend these events regularly, I have a good idea of what everyone does, which helps me introduce people who can help each other in their business.

Form a tag team - Some people are uncomfortable talking about themselves, but love to make referrals to others. If you fall into this category, trying going to your next networking event with a "tag team" partner. Spend a little time learning about the types folks each of you would like to meet and then spend your time at the event looking for great contacts for your partner.

Qualify - We all have a limited amount of time, so it is important to qualify the people you meet before you let them into your prospecting system. I don't mean qualifying as we normally think of in selling. Rather, you should be prepared to have a structured conversation that allows you determine if this person is available to "date" before you automatically add them to your prospect list.

Don't sell at the event - Similar to a cold call, the goal is not to make the sale, but to get an appointment. You may not be able to set the exact date and time of the appointment but you should create a clear expectation of how and when you will follow up to set the appointment.

Follow Up - It doesn't do any good to go to a networking event, collect a bunch of business cards, and then leave them on a pile on your desk. Create a system to make sure you consistently follow up with everyone you have qualified to be in your prospecting system.

Cultivate - If people aren't thinking of you before they have a need for your services, do you think they will think of (or remember) you when they do have a need? You need to have a system in place to first achieve "Top of Mind" status when you meet a new contact. You also need to make sure that once you achieve "Top of Mind" status, that you stay there.

Promotional Products Distribution Telesummit Recordings Available

2009-06-29T16:33:43-05:00

Back in March, I participated in The Business of Promotional Products Distribution Telesummit. I was one of six panelists that led discussions related to marketing and sales for the promotional products industry.

Each of the six sessions were recorded and are now available from PPDGYM. You can purchase an individual session, or all of them as a group. PPDGYM.com gives you the option to instantly download your files or you can order the recordings on CD.

For more information about the The Business of Promotional Products Distribution Telesummit recordings, visit the PPDGYM web site.

9 plus 1 Benefits of Blogging

2009-06-29T07:32:54-05:00

John Jantsch of Duct Tape marketing recently posted his list of 9 Hidden Benefits of Blogging. Here are two of my favorites from his list:

"Blogging keeps me focused on learning - The discipline required to create even somewhat interesting content in the manner I’ve chosen requires that I study lots of what’s hot, what’s new, what’s being said and what’s not being said in order to find ways to apply it to the world of small business."

and

"Blogging makes me a better salesperson - I write like I speak and often I write to sell an idea or even a very specific tactic. It’s amazing, but I find that clearly stating idea pitches in writing has improved my ability to quickly articulate them in selling or interview setting. It’s like you build up this reserve bank of preprogrammed discussion points."

One benefit that I would add to John's list is blogging helps me meet and start conversations with people I would probably never meet otherwise.

Read the rest of John's list of blogging benefits and let me know which one is your favorite.