The More Clients Blog

The Contribution Factor

Over the past few months I've been re-thinking everything about Action Plan Marketing. And during the past two weeks, over the Holidays, I've worked at re-branding my business.

For years my message has been: "Marketing for Independent Professionals who are struggling to attract clients." Up to this point this message has served me well.

However when I looked at the ideal clients and customers for my products and services, I realized that this message was outdated.

One of the ideas that I've always emphasized was that the key to effective marketing was to make a contribution through your marketing. This was also the foundation of the InfoGuru Manual.

Making a contribution, providing value, and making a difference is the most powerful and effective approach to growing your business. It's what builds credibility and trust and draws prospective clients to you without force or manipulation.

This is our new brand: "Marketing for professionals committed to making a difference."

I've written a report called "The Contribution Factor" that shows exactly how to use this principle to grow your business. This is the report that all new More Clients subscribers will receive.

The first part of this report is below and you can download the complete report at this link:

www.actionplan.com/thanks_contrib.html

The Contribution Factor

We all want to make a contribution. In fact, it’s the thing we want more than anything else. When we’re making a contribution, we feel that we matter, that what we do makes a difference, an impact. When we are making a contribution, we feel fulfilled, successful and powerful.

If you’re a consultant, coach, trainer, speaker, writer, therapist or other professional service business owner who is focused on helping individuals and organizations develop, grow, change, evolve, improve or transform, your business is all about making a contribution.

All you wanted to do when you started your businesses was to make a contribution - to your clients and to the world. And you spent a lot of time studying your profession so that you could make your contribution real.

You wanted to be as good as you could be. And you knew that if you strived for excellence, your impact would be greater and that you’d be both successful and fulfilled.

But has it turned out like that?

Perhaps you’ve done well working with clients, helping them produce results, and even getting paid well for those efforts. But pretty early on in your business you may have realized that the most challenging and daunting activity in a business was not making a difference with your clients but in attracting new clients.

Maybe clients came in slower than you had expected and you had no sound strategy to attract more of them. And because of this, you’re not making the contribution (or the money) at the level you know is possible.

For many self-employed professionals (also known at Action Plan Marketing as Info-Gurus), their primary marketing strategy is to do great work for their clients and then pray for referrals!

But, other than referrals, very few Info-Gurus have the know-how or skills to bring in new clients consistently. Even ones who have been in business for some time tend to resist, if not detest, marketing and selling activities.

Therefore, it’s not unusual that many very talented Info-Gurus who are committed to making a contribution, find themselves thwarted because they are only working with a limited number of clients and they don’t have a reliable strategy for attracting more of them.

This often leads to frustration, struggle and discouragement. And this isn’t the case just for new business owners. It’s not unusual for established Info-Gurus to also struggle with marketing.

Perhaps they do all right; they make an okay living and enjoy working with and contributing to the clients they do have. But underneath they have the nagging feeling they could attract more clients if they could only find a way to market their services more successfully.

The question is, how?

Continued here: www.actionplan.com/thanks_contrib.html

You can both read and/or listen to this report.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The most powerful approach to marketing your professional services is to focus on making a contribution - not just to your existing clients but through all of your marketing activities. Make sure to read the full report to learn how to make The Contribution Factor work in your business.

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How have you used The Contribution Factor to market your professional services? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

If You're Fearing the Economy...

Today I received a link to an article in the New York Times by neuroeconomist, Dr. Gregory Berns, that hits the nail on the head about what people are going through in this economic downturn:

"Everyone I know is scared. Workers' fear has generalized to their workplace and everything associated with work and money. We are caught in a spiral in which we are so scared of losing our jobs, or our savings, that fear overtakes our brains. And while fear is a deep-seated and adaptive evolutionary drive for self-preservation, it makes it impossible to concentrate on anything."

He goes on to discuss the neurlogical roots of fear and what we can do to avoid getting sucked into this fear mentality:

"This means not being a fearmonger. It means avoiding people who are overly pessimistic about the economy. It means tuning out media that fan emotional flames. Unless you are a day-trader, it means closing the Web page with the market ticker. It does mean being prepared, but not being a hypervigilant, everyone-in-the-bunker type."

I found it an interesting article but not really much help, in that it failed to address the source of our fears. It's not the economy. That's just an external circumstance that triggers the fear. It's our thoughts about the economy. And that's really the only thing we have any control over.

Several weeks ago when the bad news on the economy started spewing out of the evening news, Internet and newspapers, I found myself thinking fearful thoughts: "We might go broke; nobody will buy my products in this economy; times are going to be bad for my business, etc."

And feelings of fear, insecurity and scarcity followed the thoughts. This was about a week after the September 29 stock market crash of 778 points in one day. Things didn't look good and I was worried, along with millions of other people.

But I had an ace up my sleeve.

No, I didn't have millions of dollars stashed in a foreign bank, waiting for a rainy day. I had something better.

I had The Work (of Byron Katie).

I pulled out a worksheet I call the "Getting Unstuck Worksheet" and spent fifteen or twenty minutes examining my thoughts, "Is it true we'll go broke? How do I react when I think that thought? Who would I be without that thought?"

Pretty soon I discovered that I didn't even have fear to fear! That was just another story, another thought. It was just all thoughts triggered by the external events in the economy. I was fine. I was completely OK. I would do well as I always had in my 24 years of being in business.

But the great thing is that in this simple realization, and with the release of the negative thoughts and feelings, I was flooded with very positive, uplifting feelings. I suddenly felt that I could do anything. I had nothing to lose.

Dr. Berns confirmed this: "The most concrete thing that neuroscience tells us is that when the fear system of the brain is active, exploratory activity and risk-taking are turned off." But when fear is not present, the exploratory system of the brain is active, free to discover, invent, create, and risk.

My usual creative drive went into hyper-drive!

In less than a month I launched the Action Plan Marketing Club, my best work ever, and enrolled over 300 new members in only a couple weeks. I also launched the Marketing Mastery Program (the most expensive program I've ever offered) which is now half full.

I don't think about the economy much these days. At least I don't worry about it. I observe it dispassionately and then get back to my work of making a contribution.

It's certainly a better way to live.

P.S. Thanks to my friend Gary White of Pacific Crest Marketing who forwarded me this article. It got it one minute before starting to write the eZine (with no idea what I was going to write about.) I call that synchronicity!

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The economy will do what it will do. It will go up and it will go down. Are you going to let these external circumstances completely control your life and the way you feel? Use The Work (or whatever technique works for you), to get past the fear and take advantage of the tremendous opportunities that are sitting right in front of your nose.

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Are you ready to stop blaming the economy for your fear and start examining the real cause: your thoughts? Please share your insights on the More Clients Blog.

Yes You Can!

On Thanksgiving day I saw one of the most inspiring and moving TV shows of my life. It was called "CNN Heroes" (on CNN, of course), and it featured ten ordinary but extraordinary people who had done some amazing things to help people in need.

Here are four of the ten:

Marie Da Silva has lost 14 family members to AIDS. Today, the Los Angeles nanny funds a school in her native Malawi -- where half a million children have been orphaned by the disease.

Anne Mahlum used to run by homeless men each morning. Today, she's running with them, and others, (and transforming their lives in the process) as part of her "Back On My Feet" program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

David Puckett started PIPO Missions to bring ongoing prosthetic and orthotic care (replacing missing limbs) to those in need. Since November 2000, he has helped more than 420 people in southeastern Mexico, free of charge.

Liz McCartney is dedicated to helping Hurricane Katrina survivors in St. Bernard Parish, a community just outside New Orleans. Her nonprofit St. Bernard Project has rebuilt the homes of more than 120 families. Liz was named "CNN Hero of the Year."

As I watched, my mind started racing, trying to think of something I could do to give back to my community. These inspiring heroes made me realize that just giving money wasn't enough.

I wanted to do more. But what?

About fifteen minutes into the program, the "perfect idea" flashed through my mind. It was obvious, clear, and I knew it would work. I'd like to share this idea with you in today's More Clients.

Making it Happen

Over the 24 years of working with Independent Professionals, I've focused on two areas: 1. The how-tos and ins-and outs of how to attract more clients. 2. The internal work of making it happen and making goals and dreams real.

The how-tos are the simple part. Making it happen is the hard part. I was inspired by these CNN Heroes because they not only made it happen, but they all did things that were profoundly generous and that made a lasting contribution.

What is the contribution I could make?

I decided that it would be in the form of a Free Workshop that I'll offer in the San Francisco Bay Area called "YES I CAN! - Going Beyond Limits in Your Life and Business."

The only catch is that a contribution of $10 to $1000 is required (your choice how much) that will be going to my favorite local charity - The Second Harvest Food Bank.

The workshop is for anyone who is looking for a way to get past their limitations -- to growing their business and to producing results in their lives. The workshop is based on the "The Work of Byron Katie" as I've adapted it over the years for my clients, and participants in workshops and other programs.

This work makes a profound difference, but I've never felt I could dedicate enough time to it. This workshop is an opportunity to spend a full day breaking through those limitations while giving back to the community at the same time.

I plan to do the workshop at least two times a year in the Bay Area with 100 or more people. But first I will be doing a "Pilot Workshop" (to fine tune the program) in January.

Here are the details:

One Day Workshop - From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Date: Saturday, January 17
Spaces open in Pilot: 20
Held at hotel: (TBA) in the Peninsula area of SF
Tuition: Free (I don't get paid a dime)
Contribution: From $10 to $1000
Recipient: Second Harvest Food Bank

If you would like to be one of the pioneers of the Pilot Workshop, let me know by email. Also, let me know how much you'd like to contribute to Second Harvest. I'd love to get the contributions *before* Christmas. They need it now! I'll personally be contributing $500.

I expect to get a big response, so I will choose the twenty people who pledge the most for Second Harvest. In future workshops it will be first come, first served, even if you can only contribute $10.

To reserve your space, please respond to this email: sendto:rjm@actionplan.com

I look forward to seeing you at the workshop!

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Making a contribution can be the most enlivening thing you can do it your life. It makes your personal problems and challenges seem small in comparison. You could see from the faces of the CNN Heros that in helping to transform the lives of others, they were also transformed.

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Please share some ways you'd like to make a big contribution next year. Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Selling High-End Programs

Last week, I told you that listening was the biggest secret to marketing success. Sadly, most won't pay attention to this as they are out there looking for the "silver bullet of marketing."

A marketing silver bullet is a strategy that takes very little time or effort, and every single time you use it, prospects flood you with calls and emails begging you to work with them, willing to pay any price you ask.

Over my 24 years in business I've seen a lot of pretty good strategies, but never one that good! And every time I see something like this promised in an email (I get a ton of them), I roll my eyes, thinking, "There they go again."

The problem with most of these schemes is that they only work for certain kinds of businesses in certain conditions. And most of the time it's impossible to duplicate those conditions.

Today I would like to share a strategy with you that I've been using for years. It's not a silver bullet, but it can work for a wide variety of professional service businesses. It's not for beginners in business, but if you have substantial experience it can definitely work for you as well.

This is the approach and strategy I teach in my Marketing Mastery Program and the strategy I've used to fill my Marketing Action Groups and Certification Programs over the past several years. I've never talked about this up to this point.

I call it "High-End, Outcome Based" programs, or HEOB for short.

An HEOB Program is a turn-key program, system or service that provides a total solution for a client. This is what you'd offer clients if they really wanted to achieve outstanding results.

The funny thing is, very few professional service businesses offer HEOB programs. Instead, they offer what might be called "generalized services" where they sell their expertise by the hour or the day. They don't sell a solution, but time and materials.

An HEOB Program is like selling a car. It's already designed, has certain components and comes at a fixed price. It's designed to produce reliable results. It comes with a guarantee. Of course you can do a little customization, as needed.

Consultants, coaches, trainers, speakers and many other professional service businesses have successfully developed, marketed, and sold HEOB programs. It's not that hard to do, so why isn't it more common? Good question...

Because HEOB programs are actually easier to market and sell.

I think you don't see this much because most independent professionals aren't using "marketing campaigns" to sell their services. They are networking, talking to people, seeing who needs some help, etc. But this is nothing like an organized, focused campaign. And that's what you need.

An HEOB Marketing Campaign looks something like this:

1. Develop the program or service. It needs to be comprehensive and deliver very high value. It can be anything that will increase results and improve outcomes for your clients. It might be a multi-day intensive training or a full-year immersion program.

2. Develop your sales process. Yes, this is next, and it needs to work like a well-oiled machine. When you find a prospect for your service, you offer them a complimentary session where you discover their needs and challenges, present your services and invite them to participate.

3. Develop your marketing materials. These days this is usually on your web site in the form of a detailed description of the HEOB Program. No price is listed. If they want to know more they need to fill out a form indicating their interest. You follow up with them by email and phone and set up the complimentary session.

4. Develop your marketing strategies. This will usually be several strategies, from networking to speaking, to announcements in your eZine, to mailings to those you joint venture with. The whole purpose of all of these activities is to point them towards your marketing materials online.

There you have it. Using this basic strategy over the past few years I've generated hundreds of thousands in program revenues. When I discovered this approach, I was amazed at how relatively easy it was. And it was a lot less work that signing up clients one at a time for individual coaching services.

Again, it's no silver bullet, there's no such thing, but it sure does work!

Maybe it's time to develop your own HEOB marketing program?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: A High-End, Outcome-Based Program can be the very best approach to marketing and selling your services. If you have a high level of skill in your field and can be counted on to produce the very best outcomes for your clients, this is something you can do.

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Have you offered some version of an HEOB Program? How did it work for you? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

THE Secret of Marketing Success

I know this is a bold title. But very few Independent Professionals are aware of how powerful this secret is (let alone what it is). It's THE key to making your marketing work, attracting more clients, and taking the struggle out of marketing.

It's something you know how to do, but when it comes to marketing, you do it very rarely. You put your focus on a dozen other things and miss the secret every time.

And one of the reasons you resist marketing is that you don't do this one thing. If you could really get how powerful this secret is, your whole attitude to marketing would change.

But as simple as it is, most people find this one thing very difficult to do. Or they just don't believe that it could be THE SECRET to marketing. Most think of it as a minor component that is certainly useful sometimes, but certainly not the most important. It mostly gets lip service.

And when I reveal it to you, you are apt to just brush it off as something you knew already, but is certainly no big secret.

Okay, where do I start?

Let me start with what everyone seems to believe IS the big secret of marketing. And that's a powerful "Marketing Message."

A marketing message is certainly important. But a great marketing message can only come into being if you first understand the REAL secret first.

Let's look at marketing messages.

People work on developing a marketing message with the hope that when they use it - verbally or in print - that the person hearing or reading that message will be immediately stimulated into wanting to do business with them.

Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that is a delusion.

A marketing message can do just one thing - get the attention and interest of your prospective client so that the real marketing process can actually begin.

In the Fast Track Program (part of the Marketing Club), we call that "getting a prospect onto first base." But first base isn't that big. It's important, but it certainly isn't a home run. Those rarely happen.

I often think of a marketing message as a "conversation starter."

Someone asks you what you do and you use your marketing message to generate some degree of attention and interest. But when you notice they are not jumping up and down asking you to work with them, what do you say next?

One of the most common responses is to then tell this person everything about your business in the hope that something sticks. So you expand on your marketing message, tell stories, and explain the process of what you do.

And at the end of the conversation, they politely ask you for your card which you give eagerly, hoping they'll call you. You also ask for their card, but when you try to follow-up, not a whole lot happens. You wonder what you did wrong.

Well, you didn't use THE SECRET, that's for sure!

I want you to imagine a similar scenario. Someone asks you what you do and you again use your marketing message. That starts the conversation, but instead of continuing to talk about your business, you turn the tables and find out about this person and their situation (or about their business).

For instance, if they have a business, you find out how it works and what they love about it. You put all your interest and attention on them and take it off yourself. You learn as much as you can about them and their business (while avoiding making it feel like you're giving them a "third degree interrogation").

When you conduct your marketing conversations like this, great things happen: First, you learn if this person is actually a prospect for you or not. Second, you create a much deeper connection with them than if you had spent the whole time talking about your business. And third, by learning about them first, you open the door to them learning about you.

Have you guessed the secret yet?

It's that magical skill called LISTENING. And yes, it's THE SECRET to marketing (and selling) success.

Marketing is so hard for most people because they simply don't listen. They are focused on communicating their message, their agenda, their stories. And why doesn't this work? Because nobody is listening to them!!!!

So how do you get people to listen? You listen first.

Forget about yourself, your business, your agenda, your stories. They're not going to hear them anyway, so don't even bother this early in the conversation. Turn your attention in the other direction and really listen to others.

A participant in one of my recent workshops, Mark Thompson, related a story about this. He told about a time he met someone and decided to just ask questions and listen and do nothing else. After about forty five minutes of this, the other person had to go and he remarked, "You know Mark, you're on of the most interesting people I've ever met!"

And Mark hadn't told one single thing about himself, shared any valuable information or told a story. His listening and his being interested is what made him interesting.

So what does listening have to do with developing your marketing message? Simple, if you spend more time listening, people will tell you what interests them. They'll tell you their issues, challenges and problems. And then you'll craft your messages to speak to those concerns.

A challenge to you:

The next time you get into a conversation with a person socially or in a networking situation, or even if someone calls you on the phone, do this: Spend the whole time asking questions and listening and absolutely no time talking about yourself or your business. You may be amazed at what happens.

Next week - "What comes after listening?"

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Listening is THE SECRET to marketing. It's simple and powerful but it's not as easy as it sounds. It takes some real attention, intention, and practice to uncover the power of listening when your are marketing your business.

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How has listening, more than talking, helped you grow your business? I'd love to hear some real stories. Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Making a Marketing Commitment

Remember that part in star Wars where Luke says "I'll try," and Yoda says, "There is no try, only DO!"

Yoda was talking about commitment, and from my experience that is sorely lacking when people talk about marketing their business. Everyone is trying. Only a few people are doing.

The funny thing is, when we try, we really think we're committed, and when we have an excuse for not doing we think that the excuse equals the doing. "I couldn't get it done because I was busy." How could that possibly equal: "I got it done, even though I was busy."

When someone says they will try, what are they really saying?

They are saying, "I'd really like to do it but I'm not sure I can," or "I want to do it but I'm not sure I can fit it in," or "I'd love to have those results but it looks like a lot of work."

Another way of saying it is that we're reasonable. But if you want to get stuff done, to put your marketing into action, for instance, you need to be unreasonable.

For instance, if I asked you, make a commitment to get a new client within one week, you'd be reasonable. "Well, I'll try, but I have a lot of things on my plate. It might take some time, blah, blah, blah." That's being reasonable.

Okay, change the scenario. You get a call from a stranger. He says, "I just stole your new mercedes. You'll never see it again if you don't get a new client within one week."

Now at this point, only an idiot would be reasonable. Instead, you'd find some way, by hook or by crook, to get that new client. You wouldn't try, you'd make it happen. And it would probably happen in a day or two, not even a week.

You'd be committed.

And when you're committed things happen. Being committed isn't about waiting to be discovered. It isn't about getting everything perfect first. It isn't about overcoming all your doubts and fears before you start. It's not about having the time. It's not about hoping and wishing and praying.

It's about making it happen. Period.

What generates commitment? This is an important question, because if you tell the truth and stop making excuses, you may realize that you're simply not committed. You have very little intention, interest or inspiration to make it happen.

Commitment is generated by a want, a wish, a desire, a longing in your heart to have something. That may be security, or riches, or success, or making a contribution, or anything else. But you've got to know your want.

You want to grow your business and attract more clients.

Okay, fair enough, but why? What's behind that want? What's the deeper want? If you're not in touch with it, then you're just going through the motions. And you're spending a lot of time trying, wondering why getting clients is such a struggle.

Getting clients is not a struggle when you're in touch with that want and your commitment to fulfill that want. Then it's a fun challenge, a game, a problem to be solved. But it's not a burden; it's not awful work. It's exciting and stimulating.

Again, what is your want, your commitment?

Remember when you started your business? You had it then. You could see a possibility - perhaps for financial freedom or the flexibility to work for yourself without a boss hovering over you.

Maybe you realized (as I did when I started my business 24 years ago) that you had a real talent and that if you got to use that talent it would be very fulfilling in many ways. You knew you could make a difference in the world and you got out there with a lot of enthusiasm.

That is until you hit the marketing speed bump. "Nobody told me marketing my services would be this hard. Nobody is interested in what I'm offering. The economy is bad. I'm not a born sales person. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

And as we buy into those thoughts, our want and commitment gets buried by limiting thoughts and beliefs. Suddenly business isn't so fun anymore. It's a struggle, a slog. And those riches, where are they? Fulfillment? Not so much.

Start by getting in touch with your original want and your commitment. Tap into the inspiration generated by your want. Remember what it was. Write it down. Talk to people about it. Stop complaining and start acting.

And then start making unreasonable promises: "I WILL get a new client this week." Not, "I will TRY to get a new client."

See what happens; it might surprise you.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Commitment is making things happen, despite the circumstances. You won't always hit your targets, get all your results, or be successful 100% of the time. But with commitment, you're not on the sidelines debating about getting into the game; you're in the game and playing your heart out.

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What is your commitment to your business? How does it show up every day? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

The Spirit of Selfless Selling

The words "sell, sales and selling" may be the most misunderstood in the English language.

We see selling as a necessary evil, something to be avoided at all costs, an undertaking that's rather unsavory, maybe even unethical, and certainly beneath the dignity of a professional service business owner.

Over the years I've asked this question of thousands of people: "When you think of selling, what is it that the sterotypical salesperson sells?" The answer is always the same: "Used Cars!"

We equate selling with selling used cars. And because we see it that way, the negative associations are very strong.

In the InfoGuru Manual I make a distinction between two very different kinds of selling - Selfish Selling and Selfless Selling. We tend to put most selling into the Selfish Selling category.

Selfish Selling includes these attributes: The focus is primarily on making the sale, not serving the customer; the attitude is primarily self-serving; the agenda is some level of deception, and the perspective is that of "win-lose."

If we think that this is what selling is about, of course we wouldn't want to associate ourselves with that activity.

Selfless Selling includes these attributes: The focus is primarily on serving the customer; the attitude is one of generosity; the agenda is to educate and inform, and the perspective is that of "win-win."

When we encounter a sales person with this perspective, we don't even think it's selling. It feels more like natural communication. The experience is of being educated and assisted in making the right decision. There is no pressure, only possibility.

Well, Selfless Selling is REAL selling. And Selfish Selling is just a kind of manipulation. It has nothing to do with real selling.

When you see this, selling becomes more approachable, more interesting, more fun, more fulfilling and also more successful.

When you are doing Selfless Selling, you are serving the prospect, working with them to discover their aspirations and dreams, uncovering challenges and offering powerful solutions.

To discover the spirit of Selfless Selling inside you, here are some questions to ask yourself in any selling situation:

• How can I be of service?
• What do I need to know to help this person?
• What is their current situation and what is their biggest challenge?
• What information would be most valuable to provide?
• What stories would be most useful to share?
• How can I be clearer and demonstrate the value and the benefits?
• How can I make the choice easier?

When you discover this spirit or mindset of Selfless Selling you don't have to worry so much about sales and closing techniques, you make such a powerful connection with the buyer that the sale happens so naturally that it doesn't feel like selling.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Real selling is Selfless Selling. It isn't about manipulation and it certainly isn't about techniques. It's about connecting authentically with another human being and discovering how you can work together creatively.

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Do you have an experience of using Selfless Selling or someone selling to you selflessly? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Election Messages

By the end of today we'll know who the next president of the United states will be. As you know, it's an historic election that's sure to change the direction of the United States (and perhaps the world).

But what you may not have considered is that, in the end, what will determine the outcome of the election will be messages. The candidate who has delivered the most persuasive and potent messages will win the election.

Millions of people have heard these messages at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. And the winner takes all in the election message game.

In your business, the messages you deliver will also determine your success. The good news is that you don't need to spend millions of dollars, and it's not winner take all. Just a small percentage of people need to respond to your messages to attract all the business you can handle.

But you still have to communicate the right messages! What are the key elements of a message that will get your prospective clients to respond? Here are 10 important ones:

1. Do you demonstrate that you can relate to the situation, challenges and frustrations of your prospects? If you can, they'll listen to you because they'll feel like you're one of them.

2. Do you communicate your message without showing off? We are attracted someone who is knowledgeable, but don't appreciate a tone of superiority or arrogance. That will just push people away.

3. Do your messages have energy? As David Ogilvy, the direct marketing guru said, "You can't bore someone into doing business with you." If your messages are dull, routine and clichéd, people will abandon you in droves.

4. Do your messages make sense? A message is also an argument or case you are making. If a prospect can easily poke holes in your case, you're not going to win them as clients.

5. Do your messages stimulate emotions? You can't appeal only to logic, but must speak to the hearts of your prospects. The best way to do this is through stories about clients who've experienced similar challenges and got real results.

6. Are your messages simple and clear? Messages that are too complex and convoluted are only going to confuse your prospects. If you gave your message to your mom, would she get it? She isn't dumb, and if it's confusing to her, it will be confusing to your prospects.

7. Is your message complete? A story half-told will not persuade anyone. Once you get the attention of a prospect, why not tell them the whole story, one that answers every single question a prospect might have.

8. Is your message easy to read or listen to? The medium of the message can be just as important as the message itself. If the typeface is too small or the graphics are primitive, they will detract from your message and the full impact will be lost.

9. Is your message persistent? It had better be, as you can't count on your prospects to see, let alone read it the first time. All marketing messages need multiple exposures to get noticed and produce optimum results.

10. Is you message authentic? That is, does it communicate what you really believe and stand for, or is it inauthentic, saying what you think prospects want to hear? If it is, they will see right though it and end up tuning you out.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Messages, however you deliver them - in audio logos, web copy, articles, eZines, books, presentations, speeches, or advertisements - must adhere to these ten principles. If they don't, you may lose the election to attract more clients.

Final message: VOTE TODAY!!

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What part of a marketing message do you think persuades the most? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Your Enthusiasm Quotient

For the past few weeks I've been burning the midnight oil to complete my updated web site, online Fast Track Program, and the new Action Plan Marketing Club.

In the process of putting the finishing touches on the APM Club on Sunday, I was updating my list of the "Ten Must-Have Marketing and Selling Books" and remembered Frank Bettger's Classic "How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling."

In the first chapter, originally a talk given on a country-wide workshop tour with Dale Carnegie (we're talking 1947, folks!), Frank talks about how he transformed his selling career and life by discovering the magic of enthusiasm.

I think we give Enthusiasm short shrift these days. It's not cool to be enthusiastic. Instead we try to be laid back and hide any emotion about what we're involved in. (As if we could bore people into doing business with us!)

If you approach marketing your services that way, I promise you one thing - marketing will be a dreadful, painful, struggling slog.

Look at some of the synonyms for enthusiasm:

Keenness, ardor, fervor, passion, zeal, zest, gusto, energy, verve, inspiration, excitement, vigor, fire, spirit, avidity, devotion, motivation, commitment, willingness, earnestness.

Let me assure you, those are GOOD attitudes to bring to marketing, to business, and to life. But it seems in short supply these days. What can you do to generate it in a society that's become increasingly skeptical, let alone downright cynical?

How to Heighten your Enthusiasm Quotient

1. Fall in love with good ideas. My path to the APM Club was a talk at an Internet conference in May by Sean D'Souza. Sean convinced me that the next logical step in my business was to offer programs at graduated levels. It took me five months to implement it, but the idea took hold and never let go.

2. Trust your inner voice. If you feel you can do something, feed that feeling. We tend to starve it instead with doubt, caution, and an overabundance of "reasonableness." You feed your enthusiasm by sharing your ideas with like-minded, supportive people who are just as enthusiastic about their ideas.

3. Act as if. This was Frank Bettger's formula. He discovered that if he acted enthusiastically, he started to feel enthusiastic. I used to call this "fake it until you make it." When you exhibit enthusiasm, it's contagious and you can become addicted to it. I can certainly think of worse addictions!

4. Question your unenthusiastic attitudes. When we're feeling apathetic, bored, disinterested, hesitant, stagnant, or fearful, it's useful to ask, "What would I have to believe to feel that way?" Often it's something like: "If I really went for it 100% I might fail," or "I really don't make a difference anyway." Are those thoughts true? Can you be absolutely sure? Probably not.

5. Take on a huge project. Think of Kennedy's speech: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade, not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Today is a good day to choose enthusiasm. I can't think of a better choice, a better thing to do, or a better contribution you could make to yourself, to your business, to your community and to the world. Be enthusiastic because it's the right thing to do.

It also tends to make you rich.

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What are you most enthusiastic about in your business right now? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Seven Key Marketing Skills

This week I have a Marketing Reality Check in the form of a scorecard for seven key marketing activities/skills.

This will help you determine the current viability of your marketing (and ultimately, your business). Score yourself on how well you are doing in these seven key areas.

1. Do you have an active mailing or email list? Do you have from 500 to 2,000 on this list? If so, give yourself 1 point and then an extra point for every additional 2,000 on your list.

Your Score _____

2. How often do you contact this list? Ten points for monthly or more often, five for every two months and three points for quarterly. No points if you haven't been in touch for over three months.

Your Score _____

3. Do you have a good, working web site that gets serious inquiries from prospective clients that turn into appointments? Ten points if you do. If you have a web site up but get no inquiries, two points, and zero points if you don't have a site or if it's incomplete.

Your Score _____

4. How many 'live prospects' do you have in your marketing/sales pipeline? This is anyone you feel has a good chance of becoming a client in the next year. One point per prospect.

Your Score _____

5. How many sales appointments do you have lined up (in the next month or two) with qualified prospects ready to explore working with you? Give yourself five points for each one.

Your Score _____

6. Your sales appointments to new clients ratio. Ten points if 75% or better. Five points if 50% to 74%. Two points if 24% to 49%. Less than that or no idea of your ratio? Zero points.

Your Score _____

7. How many of your past clients have given you a written testimonial or case study? Two points for each.

Your Score _____

What is your total score? _____

How well did you do? Rate yourself below:

80 to 100 (or more) points - You should have all the business you can handle. Congratulations.
60 to 79 points - Your marketing is doing very well. Keep it up.
40 to 59 points - Not bad, but you have some real work to do.
20 to 39 points - You're struggling and need to do a lot of work.
0 to 19 points - Your marketing is barely on life support.

No matter what your score is, we all need to work at increasing both our activity level and abilities in all seven areas. Let me tell you why this is so important.

1. Mailing/email list. This IS your business. Your ability to reach out and communicate with your list will often determine your income. Work tirelessly at building your list.

2. Contacting list - If you have a list and you aren't contacting those on it at least every month, how do you expect them to remember you? An uncontacted list is as good as no list at all.

3. Web Site - This is your marketing hub that communicates the value of your services. The better, the site, the more business you tend to get. Sites with poor content and design don't help much.

4. Marketing/Sales Pipeline - This indicates your marketing activity. The more activity, the more prospects in your pipeline. Networking, speaking, and publishing all work to fill the pipeline.

5. Appointments Set - This shows how good you are at follow-up activities and setting up appointments with prospects. This is the biggest fear of Independent Professionals. You must conquer it.

6. Appointment to Sales Ratio - This is a measure of your sales ability. If your closing rate is low, you need to work not only on sales skills but on attracting more qualified prospects.

7. Testimonials - This shows both your level of client satisfaction and your commitment to increasing that satisfaction. Remember, past clients are your best source for new clients.

No, these aren't the only indicators of marketing and selling success, but they are the key ones. If you want to survive in a down economy, let alone thrive, you need to constantly be working on implementing and improving these seven skills.

To summarize: Seven key marketing activities/skills:

1. Build your list
2. Contact your list regularly
3. Have a good web site
4. Engage in marketing activities
5. Follow up with prospects
6. Turn prospects into clients
7. Get stories from satisfied clients

Where do you need to start?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: None of this happens accidentally. It's time to go to work to implement these activities and to build your skills in these seven vital areas. Once you do, you'll have a solid marketing foundation that is recession proof.

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Which of these seven activities/skills do you need to put the most work into? Please share on the More Clients Blog.