Last month, I discussed a kinder, gentler definition of marketing—simply communicating your message clearly and building strong relationships. This month, we’re exploring some of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make in their marketing, actually pushing away prospective clients rather than attracting them.
If you're frustrated or stuck in your marketing, read on and notice if you're making any of these mistakes.
1. Trying to get clients. I'm sure you've seen it at networking events—someone with a cheesy smile who’s making a show of working the whole room. He fancies himself a master salesperson and makes sure everybody knows it. What a turn-off.
Now, I'm sure you never do this. I know, because all of my subscribers are of the highest taste and classy beyond compare. However, if you think prospective clients can’t tell you’re trying to get their business, think again.
Instead, go back to our simple definition of marketing—building strong relationships and communicating your message clearly. If you're doing that, you won't have to try to get clients; clients will naturally come to you.
This isn't to say you shouldn't be speaking to groups or going to networking events. Of course you should, and the more the better. But resist the temptation to try to get clients. Just get curious about people and what challenges they face, and if you have a service that can help them, simply let them know. What could be more attractive than that?
2. Communicating what you do. Go to 90% of coaches’ websites and one of the first tabs you will see says “About Coaching.” Click on it and you'll get a lengthy description of that coach’s process, full of passion and excitement.
The only problem is that nobody cares. When a visitor first comes to your website, the only thing they care about is what you can do for them. Your first task in marketing is to gain their attention and interest, and you have about four seconds to do that before they move on. Talking about what you do—your process—doesn't come close.
Imagine a window washer who markets his service by describing the high quality of his squeegees, or speaking passionately about the great soap he uses. The shop owner only cares about clean windows, not about how they get that way.
Instead, get the attention of your ideal clients by communicating that you understand their issues and challenges, and that you can help them overcome them.
3. Jumping the gun on asking a prospect to be your client. When I first started coaching, I was taught to do a sample coaching session with a prospect, and at the end, say the magic words, “Will you be my client?”
Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. What I didn't know at the time was, when it didn't work, it was because I hadn't built the trust of a real relationship.
If you’ve communicated your message clearly to a prospect, worked on building a mutually beneficial relationship, and developed the kind of familiarity necessary, when you get around to asking that person to become your client, all the pieces will be in place. Oftentimes, you won’t have to ask—it will already be understood that you’ll be working together.
4. Getting impatient about how fast clients are coming to you. This is one of the most common challenges solo entrepreneurs face. It's a real problem for two reasons.
First, is that it shuts you down. I know from experience when I've been impatient, or frustrated with how slowly clients were coming in, I wanted to do anything except market my business. Watching reruns of the Home Shopping Channel was a favorite avoidance tactic.
Secondly, your attitude comes through to the very people you're trying to attract. We might think we can just smile through the stress, but remember that when somebody needs your service, they're looking at you more acutely than they would normally. People have as strong a grasp for when someone is frustrated, anxious, or stressed, as they do when they’re at ease, confident, and grounded in their sense of success.
So relax, and take heart in the fact that you can only do what you can do. If you are truly doing everything you can do to market your business, your ideal clients will come when the time is right.
5. Trying to get something for nothing. As a small business owner, you probably don't have an extravagant marketing budget, so it's tempting to look for all kinds of free or cheap ways to get your name out there. And that can be a good idea.
What's a bad idea is getting into a scarcity mindset that keeps you from making positive investments of all kinds—money, time, interest, creative energy, etc.
It's really a question of how you treat your business. Are you a sincerely growth-oriented business owner? Are you willing to take risks to see a return on your investment?
The old adage that you have to spend money to make money is often true. So keep your eyes open for real opportunities to grow your business, and invest your time, money, and energy in things that will really pay off.
6. Wasting your time with people who are trying to get something for nothing. Ever had this experience? You get to know somebody, get familiar with their situation and what they want, you even give them a sample of your services and you think they're a great prospect, ready to work with you. Maybe they even agree to become a client. But when it comes time to sign a contract or collect the first payment, they disappear.
There are folks out there, you may think are your ideal clients, yet they're wasting your time trying to get something for nothing. In dealing with them, you’re throwing away hours that could be spent attracting people who are serious about moving forward.
Robert Middleton and Jerry Vieira have a terrific audio interview that helps you identify your prospective client as sincerely growth-oriented or as someone wasting your time, trying to get something from you for nothing.
To check it out, click here (scroll down to Secrets to Attracting More of the Right Clients).
7. Thinking of marketing as something you do in your spare time. One of the biggest excuses to not market your business is that “you don't have time.” Sound familiar?
Look, any time you say you don't have time for something, what you really mean is you’re making something else a higher priority. I realize being a sole entrepreneur means you have to take care of everything on your own. You've got clients to service, bills to pay, files to organize, and of course you don't want to miss Oprah.
Remember that marketing is the lifeblood of your business. If you don't make it one of the highest priorities and a central activity of your business, you won't see the kind of growth you want. It's that simple.
What I recommend most (and what I work on with all of my clients), is to have a written plan for your marketing that will keep you focused and on track to bring in new clients consistently. Keep it in front of you daily—work on it, focus on it, and most importantly be motivated by it. If you are not doing something to market your business every day, it's easy to lose track of what you're doing to bring in clients.
8. Doing nothing. As a colleague of mine says, “Hope is not a marketing strategy.” I’m always amazed that people who genuinely want to bring in new business will sit in their home offices, working hard, but without actually doing anything to bring in new clients.
I've said this before and I'll continue to say it: you must do something every day to market your business. This is as much to get your name and message out there, as it is to keep yourself mentally focused and motivated to consistently grow your business.
If you're scratching your head, wondering what the best marketing techniques are, help is here. I've developed a Marketing Startup Kit with my mentor, Robert Middleton, which will give you much of the information you need to get going. As a loyal subscriber you can download it for fr*ee by clicking on this link.
We all make mistakes, and no marketing plan is perfect. But if you make marketing a central element of your business plan, and keep moving on it, you'll see great results. If you don't, well, you already know where that gets you.
Until next month, I wish you a sense of freedom and fun in your marketing.
RJ
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